The Story and Meaning Behind “Cheap Sunglasses,” ZZ Top’s Ode to Disposable Eyewear

There are some items of clothing that skimping on their price will generally have a detrimental effect on your overall look. According to ZZ Top, shades are not in that category. In fact, the band immortalized the practice of collecting “Cheap Sunglasses” on a 1979 single that stands today as one of the band’s most recognizable songs.

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What is the song about? And what inspired the band to write about such an unusual topic? Let’s take a deep dive into “Cheap Sunglasses,” a ZZ Top track that’s both funky and funny all at once.

“Top” of the Heap

ZZ Top formed in Texas in 1969 and gained a reputation over the years as a reliable purveyor of rock and roll laced with blues, funk, and R&B. They generally kept things light from a lyrical standpoint, which made them stand out in an era when bands tended to be ultraserious in their artistic endeavors.

Pop success mostly eluded them, although they did have a breakout hit in 1975 with the furious and frantic “Tush.” But, then again, they didn’t worry too much about catering to trends. Perhaps that was the smart move, because as the musical fads waxed and waned, ZZ Top churned right along with a dependably invigorating sound.

In 1979, they released Degüello, their first album in three years. The album didn’t find the band messing around with new wave or disco or any of the other hip sounds of the day. The first single was a chunky cover of Sam & Dave’s “I Thank You.” “Cheap Sunglasses,” a song that emanated from an inescapable aspect of life on the road, followed that.

Talk is “Cheap”

“We wrote that song when we used to tour in cars,” ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill explained in a 1985 interview with Spin (as reported by Songfacts). “And every gas station in the world had a cardboard display of the cheapest and ugliest sunglasses you could imagine. I have bought a thousand pair of them.”

Once the song caught on in popularity, the band would throw sunglasses out to their fans at live shows. That became a bit of a liability, since they were always running out of them. “Cheap Sunglasses” also played into the band’s reputation, since they were rarely seen on stage or making appearances without shades.

The song barely made the Top 100 of the pop charts upon its release as a single in 1979. Consistent success of that kind wouldn’t happen for the band until the ’80s, when they embraced MTV, and the network played their videos nonstop. Nonetheless, “Cheap Sunglasses,” with its crunching riffs and swinging rhythm, not to mention lyrics that perfectly address the subject of the song, is now a classic rock standard.

The Meaning Behind “Cheap Sunglasses”

“Cheap Sunglasses” doesn’t so much tell you about the different styles of shades as it does explain the necessity of having these objects in your life. Lead singer Billy Gibbons begins, When you wake up in the morning and the light is hurt your head. What else can you do? And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses.

The second verse details a brief romance, one which was spurred by the girl’s style: She had a West Coast strut that was sweet as molasses / But what really knocked me out was her cheap sunglasses. In the final verse, the narrator gives instructions on how to get started: Now go out and get yourself some big black frames / With the glass so dark they won’t even know your name.

When it comes to choose, you just know that ZZ Top would never go for rhinestone shades. “Cheap Sunglasses” not only exemplified the band’s late ’70s sound, it also helped define them as rock and roll regular guys who grab their shades on the go, just like most of the rest of us do.

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