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Cover of Degüello by ZZ Top
Cover: Degüello

Song · ZZ Top

“Cheap Sunglasses” by ZZ Top

From the album Degüello (1979)

“Cheap Sunglasses” by ZZ Top appears on 66 radio countdowns from 25 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1979 on the album Degüello. Its best result is #128 on the Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #386 of the '70s.

66countdowns
25stations
#128best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

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Cheap Sunglasses

Video from YouTube (ZZ Top - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Cheap Sunglasses" was the second single pulled from ZZ Top's 1979 album Degüello, and it's the band at their most greasy and sly. Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard wrote it together, Bill Ham produced, and Gibbons sings lead with Hill joining in.

The secret is in the guitar tone. Gibbons ran through a Marshall Major amp and a Maestro ring modulator, and the amp had a blown tube during the session, which only made the sound nastier and better. Trade papers of the day heard the humor as well as the heat: Cash Box praised its smoldering blues-rock and funny lyrics, and Record World its wit and earthy riffs. The B-side was the album cut "Esther Be the One".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 146 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 280 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 386 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1996 308 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 257 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1997 433 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1997 173 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1998 340 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 325 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2002 526 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 525 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 185 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 356 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2011 440 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 445 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 318 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 516 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 484 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 199 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 313 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 316 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 380 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 354 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 344 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 315 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 335 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 341 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 372 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2016 481 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 320 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 128 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 446 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2017 151 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 482 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2017 413 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2018 454 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2018 228 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 471 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 450 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 321 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 454 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 373 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2020 378 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 159 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 712 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 497 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 461 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2021 489 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 414 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 499 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2022 387 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 401 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 434 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 229 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 689 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2023 440 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 425 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 407 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 401 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2024 417 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 435 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 425 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 1032 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 340 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 422 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2026 363 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Cheap Sun Glasses.

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