In celebration of ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons 75th birthday, today’s Forgotten 45 at 3:45 is from the band. Their 2nd top 40 hit from 1980 “I Thank You”.
The song was a remake of the original Sam & Dave hit in 1968, their version went to #9 on the pop charts and #4 on the R&B charts. In 1979 ZZ Top recorded their version of the song and it went to #34 and became only their 2nd top 40 hit following 1975’s “Tush”.
Of course the band was about to explode in 1983 with their “Eliminator” album that sold over 11 million copies and was certified Diamond. The trio of Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard (the one without one!), and Dusty Hill played together for 51 years until Dusty’s passing in 2021.
I found a live video from 1980 of ZZ Top with “I Thank You” today’s Forgotten 45.
