Songoftheday 9/5/14 - It's a fine time to fall in love with you, I ain't got a single thing to do...

ZZ Top - "Stages"
from the album Afterburner (1985)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 7

Today's Song of the Day comes from the Texan boogie-rock trio ZZ Top, who had come running out of the gate with their follow-up album Afterburner to replicate the success of their multi-platinum classic Eliminator album. The first single, "Sleeping Bag", gave them a good start, reaching the top-ten and "tying" for their highest-ranking pop hit ever. The next single from the project, "Stages", was another slice of frantic robotic dance-rock cut from the same cloth...

"Stages" became the second top-40 pop single from Afterburner in March of 1986, while going all the way to #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock radio chart (like its predecessor). The record was also a top-40 hit in Ireland and New Zealand. The single, and it's music video continuing the storyline that had made them popular on MTV, was a fun rocker that doesn't require much brain matter. (Oddly, the song doesn't appear on their recent The Baddest hits package in either the regular or deluxe version. Strange for a #1 rock hit.)

Up tomorrow: A teenage guitar ace has some solitary drums.