40 Years Ago: ZZ Top Play 4th of July MTV ‘Liberty or Death’ Concert
ZZ Top has long been the perfect addition to any party plan, as we all know. But they really amplified that concept in a new way on July 4, 1986 when they helped MTV celebrate America and the Statue of Liberty’s centennial in a unique fashion.
The legendary Texas trio provided musical entertainment on board the cheekily named Liberty or Death Party Barge. They understood the assignment, even if the marching orders didn’t totally make sense. “They told us to blow the roof off — what roof?,” late bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill joked with USA Today at the event.
While they didn’t play their usual headlining show, length-wise, they did indeed deliver on the above request, turning in a hit-heavy set list. It came complete with a fun romp through “Jailhouse Rock,” a familiar favorite of the band which made its first recorded appearance in a ZZ Top concert back in 1971.
Landing ZZ Top Was a Big Score for MTV
The relationship between ZZ Top and MTV was red hot by 1986, thanks to the worldwide success they’d enjoyed with the unforgettable and hugely popular videos for 1983’s Eliminator. The clips for “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs helped the album sell millions of copies and made the group a regular ’80s household presence with the frequent airplay they received.
They even snagged the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group honoring “Legs” at the channel’s inaugural awards ceremony in 1984, an honor presented to them by Ric Ocasek of the equally video-centric Cars.
1985’s Afterburner indeed provided further fuel and additional hit singles in the form of “Sleeping Bag,” “Stages” and “Rough Boy.” In July of 1986, they dropped “Velcro Fly,” the fourth single from the album. To say things were going well would be an understatement.
Watch ZZ Top’s ‘Sleeping Bag’ Video
“ZZ Top, by the summer of ’86, they were riding high,” former MTV and Viacom executive Doug Herzog tells UCR. “They were one of the biggest bands in the world and a gigantic MTV band. They had some of the most iconic videos going.”
The “Little Ol’ Band from Texas” been playing multiple nights in arenas in front of crowds that topped out at 15 to 20 thousand people and sometimes higher with outdoor shows. So to go from those types of venues to playing on a boat for an invited audience of 400 people was special, but also, there was a piece of it that made sense logistically.
“I don’t know whether [that was a factor], but as I think back, it was an easy band to put on a boat, right? Three-piece band, right?,” Herzog says. “They were kind of no frills also. So, two guitars and a drummer, it was pretty easy in that regard.”
John “Red” Bartlett was working for Interstate Navigation, the organization helmed by the Wronowski family, who owned the boat and a fleet of similar vessels. They brought a auxiliary generator on board to help power ZZ Top’s set that day, as he notes, telling UCR that advance preparations for the event took place at the company’s dock in Connecticut.
READ MORE: Why ZZ Top Went Behind Their Producer’s Back to Finish ‘Afterburner’
Watch the ZZ Top ‘Liberty or Death’ MTV Contest Promo (Which Starts at 6:25)
ZZ Top Were ‘Genuinely Nice People’ That Day
In reality, the Liberty or Death Party Barge was more commonly known to the locals as the M/V Block Island, part of the area ferry system, servicing a route from New London, Connecticut to Block Island, Rhode Island. It was retired in 1986 (the same year as the MTV promotion) after decades of service.
Eric Hull was 20 years old, going to college and working as a deckhand on the neighboring Nelseco ferry. That day, he was also helping to get people on and off of the boat for the party, where he’d have a chance to interact with the members of ZZ Top directly. As he shared with UCR, the anticipation was palpable.
SOURCE: ultimateclassicrock