Master of Sparks


"Master of Sparks" is a song by American rock band ZZ Top from their 1973 album Tres Hombres.

Background

The song tells the true story of Billy Gibbons and his friend R.K. Bullock who with a workman, welded together a steel ball cage with a seat and seatbelt fitted inside. They placed the cage into the bed of a truck and at night, after reaching a speed of, on Highway 6 near Houston, rolled the cage out the back with the hapless narrator and friend taking a ride inside. The cage generated a tail of sparks on the road but in its crushed condition stopped rolling. Still moving at high speed, the now egg shaped cage crashed into a fence. Both occupants survived relatively unscathed and were awarded the title "Master of Sparks" by the cheering crowd.

Personnel