La Grange

ZZ Top, 1973. Solo by Billy Gibbons.

Boogie shuffle, pinch harmonics and a Texas swagger.

After a tense, muted intro and verses, the band kicks into a full shuffle and Billy Gibbons delivers a series of greasy, bent-note blues phrases. He described the setup as simply guitar straight into amp, so the grit is pure tube distortion, with pickup changes providing the tonal shifts. The phrasing has roots in older blues players like Robert Johnson, but the swing and swagger are pure Texas. Studio overdubs mean the record carries more guitar than a trio can play at once, yet the band still performs it without extra players. Listen for the tonal shift from the quiet intro to the full shuffle; much of it comes from Gibbons changing pickup settings rather than stomping on pedals.

La Grange by ZZ Top is ranked #71 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Billy Gibbons and the song was released in 1973. It appears on 9 lists, placing as high as #8 (SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum)).

The story of La Grange

'La Grange' is named for the small Texas town whose outskirts hosted the Chicken Ranch, a brothel that ran from the early 1900s until 1973. Legend says Depression-era customers could pay with live chickens, hence the nickname. Gibbons and Dusty Hill have both spoken of visits there as a teenage rite of passage. Soon after the song came out, a TV exposé forced the place to close, and its story later inspired The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Musically, Billy Gibbons built the song on the old boogie groove heard in John Lee Hooker's 1948 'Boogie Chillen'', and its mumbled 'a-how-how-how' comes from Hooker's 'Boom Boom'. Gibbons has said the song uses just two chords and only two verses. He told Louder that a Dave Marsh book about Buddy Holly shaped his decision to end the lyric on a couplet that does not rhyme.

The band recorded Tres Hombres with manager-producer Bill Ham; sources cite both Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas, and Ardent in Memphis. Songfacts tells how Ham ruled out overdubs, only for engineer Robin Hood Brian to add extra guitar layers while Ham was out fetching barbecue. Ham approved the result without realising. The recording itself features just the trio: Gibbons on guitars and vocals, Hill on bass and Beard on drums.

'La Grange' was released as a single in early 1974 and peaked at No. 41 on the Hot 100 that June, yet it became ZZ Top's calling card and Tres Hombres their first top-ten album. In 1992 the copyright holder of 'Boogie Chillen'' sued, but a federal judge dismissed the case in 1995, ruling that Hooker's song had passed into the public domain.

The solo

Billy Gibbons handles all the guitars and the stinging leads. In an interview quoted by Songfacts he described the setup as simply guitar straight into amp: a 1955 Fender Stratocaster fitted with a stop tailpiece, played through a 1969 Marshall Super Lead 100. The grit is pure tube distortion, with changes in pickup selection providing the tonal shifts; he credits the quiet opening to an in-between 'mystery setting' before five-way switches were common. After the tense, muted intro and verses, the band kicks into a full shuffle and Gibbons delivers a series of greasy, bent-note blues phrases that Songfacts traces partly to Robert Johnson, played as a shuffle. Studio overdubs mean the record carries more guitar than the trio can play live, yet they perform it without extra players.

Legacy

Rolling Stone placed 'La Grange' at No. 74 among the 100 greatest guitar songs and called it a standard for guitarists to show off; Q ranked it No. 92 among great guitar tracks. It is a classic rock radio perennial, certified multi-platinum in New Zealand and platinum in France and Spain. The band has played it at virtually every show since 1973, performed it at their 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and it re-charted in 2020 after the documentary That Little Ol' Band from Texas.

Top 10 facts about La Grange

The song is about the Chicken Ranch brothel near La Grange, Texas, which operated from 1905 to 1973.
Louder
Gibbons says the lyric's non-rhyming last couplet was inspired by a Dave Marsh book about Buddy Holly.
Louder
Bill Ham banned overdubs, but the engineer added them while Ham was sent out for barbecue, and Ham approved the mix.
Songfacts
Gibbons recorded it with a 1955 Stratocaster with stop tailpiece into a 1969 Marshall Super Lead 100.
Songfacts
A 1992 lawsuit claiming the song copied 'Boogie Chillen'' was dismissed in 1995 because Hooker's song was ruled public domain.
Wikipedia
The single peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1974.
Wikipedia
The song re-entered the charts in March 2020, reaching No. 12 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Wikipedia
Rolling Stone ranked it No. 74 on its 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
Wikipedia
ZZ Top played 'La Grange' and 'Tush' at their 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Wikipedia
Tres Hombres, the album featuring 'La Grange', was ZZ Top's first top-ten album, peaking at No. 8.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (2004) ZZ Top played a short set of 'La Grange' and 'Tush' on being inducted.
Live from Texas (Nokia Theatre, Grand Prairie) (2008) Filmed 1 November 2007; a 7:41 version near the end of the set.
CMT Awards (2014) Opened the ceremony performing it with Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line.
Tres Hombres 2006 remaster bonus track (2006) A live 'La Grange' added as a bonus to the reissued album.

Notable covers

Hank Williams Jr. (1983) Country star's version of the boogie standard.
Tracy Byrd (2002) Recorded for the tribute album Sharp Dressed Men.
Jamey Johnson with Billy Gibbons (2011) Eight-minute closer on ZZ Top: A Tribute from Friends, with Gibbons guesting.
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci Three-guitar G3 jam on the song.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #43
See Them Live — #18
Deep Cuts — #34
The 25 Greatest Blues Rock Guitar Solos — #8
The 25 Greatest Southern Rock Guitar Solos — #12
Played on a Les Paul — #18
Most Divisive — #5

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on La Grange?

Billy Gibbons played the solo on ZZ Top's La Grange (1973).

What guitar was used on the La Grange solo?

A gibson les paul (pearly gates), according to widely reported accounts.

Where does La Grange rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#71 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 9 of them.

What is La Grange by ZZ Top about?

It is about the Chicken Ranch, a long-running brothel outside La Grange, Texas.

What guitar did Billy Gibbons use on La Grange?

He has said it was a 1955 Fender Stratocaster with a stop tailpiece into a 1969 Marshall Super Lead 100.

What album is La Grange on?

ZZ Top's 1973 album Tres Hombres.

Did John Lee Hooker sue ZZ Top over La Grange?

The copyright holder of 'Boogie Chillen'' sued in 1992, but the case was dismissed in 1995 as the song was public domain.

Who wrote La Grange?

Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.