The American musical landscape in 1979 was all over the map. While the charts were dominated by disco and glossy pop, punk and the burgeoning new wave scenes ruled the underground. Rock and roll, however, was still near the top of the mountain. Cheap Trick broke out with their legendary Live At Budokan album, Led Zeppelin was making its last stand with In Through the Out Door, and The Knack charged right out of the gate with "My Sharona," which would go on to the biggest song of the year.

A band like ZZ Top didn't exactly fit into any of the commercial or cool music circles, so the band just shrugged and cranked out one of the weirdest - and best - albums of their career. Deguello arrived in November 1979, preceded on radio in October by lead single, "Cheap Sunglasses." The band was already playing the song live, along with other tracks that landed on the LP. Riding a dark, swampy groove thick with guitarist Billy Gibbons' crunchy riffs played through a blown amplifier, the track became an instant FM staple. While it didn't exactly burn up the charts, the track has stood the test of time and remains among the most popular tracks in the ZZ Top catalog. Opening with a cover of Sam and Dave's "I Thank You" as well as one of the most bizarre songs in the ZZ Top repertoire, "Manic Mechanic," Deguello also boasts perennial fan favorite, "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide."

With Deguello, ZZ Top kicked the 1970s in the ass one last time before going on to MTV superstardom a few years later with the release of Eliminator.