America 250 Rocktober Song #1: "Just Got Paid" by ZZ Top

The first song in this year's America 250 Rocktober is from a band that I have somehow never featured during Rocktober:  the legendary Texas trio ZZ Top.  It's somewhat bittersweet, as earlier this year, we lost drummer Frank Beard -- who was the only member of the band who didn't sport a beard -- leaving guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons as the only surviving member (bassist/singer Dusty Hill died in 2021).

"Just Got Paid" is the second song off of the band's sophomore album, 1972's Rio Grande Mud, and it is probably my favorite ZZ Top song.  This is just a badass blues rock song that should be played at maximum volume with all the windows rolled down while cruising around town in your 1977 Trans Am.  Or in your late-model minivan, for that matter. Gibbons's opening riff is infectious, Hill holds down the bottom with aplomb, and Beard gives us a few delicious fills.

I always imagine this song being played during a scene in a movie when our protagonist is triumphantly walking away from a situation where he or she crushed it when not expected to succeed, maybe throwing on a pair of sunglasses and cracking a wry "I can't believe I did it" smirk.  And yes, Hollywood, I am very open to talking about positions for whatever you might call someone who picks music for movies and/or TV shows.