ZZ Top

The “Little Old band from Texas” as often characterized, are an original Texas founded rock band thriving since 1969. 

ZZ Top began their musical journey with the blues rock genre dominating their sound but soon transformed into the band’s unique blend of new wave and exclusive guitar chords exhibitions.

ZZ Top
ZZ Top

The group is not just popular for their musical exploits, but also for their involvement in the television and film production industry.

The band is best recognized for their twiddle with different genres of music, sound and ideas to fit their own preference. 

ZZ Top’s lyrical content includes on a large scale, the use of sexual innuendos. The original genres running through all their albums and releases are their primary blues rock, boogie rock, a section of southern and hard rock. The band is amongst one of the most loved in Texas and the United States as a whole.

They have kept an almost minimal number of line-up changes throughout their career. They have a maximum of three former members as of this writing.

ZZ Top’s current line-up includes:

  • William Frederick Gibbons also known as Billy Gibbons (Principal lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter)
  • Joseph Michael Hill also known as Dusty Hill (bassist and backing vocalist)
  • Frank Lee Beard (drummer & percussionist)

Achievements

The Texas band have so far complemented their sound with some well-acknowledged successes. ZZ Top has sold over 25 million albums in the United States alone and over 50 million worldwide with the release of fifteen Studio albums, four live performances, seven compilation albums, and forty-four singles.

10 of the band’s 15 studio albums together with four of the seven compilation albums and one live album received certifications from the Recording Industry Association of the United States (US).

In countries like Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), France, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, and Austria, they have received the sales threshold acknowledgments.

Some of the band’s album certifications include their 1973 album Tres Hombres which received the US & CAN Gold, the 1975 album Fandango, receiving the US Gold & CAN Platinum, Tejas, and El Loco with the US Gold, Deguello earning a US Platinum and GER Gold while their 2012 album La Futura, the GER Gold certification only.

Four of the group’s studio albums sold exceptionally well receiving a variation of eight, five, nine, and another eight of the Silver, Gold, and Platinum certifications all together.

ZZ Top earned themselves three MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) for Best Direction, Best Group Video, Best Art Direction in the 1980s.

The group was inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk in 1994. They received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Music Film for their film That Little Ol’ Band from Texas in 2020.

ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Interesting Facts about ZZ Top

Despite ZZ Top’s somewhat straightforward career path, there have been and still are some very fascinating facts surrounding both their individual and collective lives.

ZZ Top’s first performance was at a concert on 10th February 1970 at Columbus Hall located at the outskirts of Houston, Texas.

The band had a consistent line-up from its formation in 1969 till the late 1970s. Comparing them to many others that have emerged since the 1930s, they are one of the few that did not have frequent line-up changes during their primal years.

For 52 years of the band’s existence, the group has had only three line-up changes. The past members of the band are Lanier Greig, Billy Ethridge, and Dan Mitchell.

Billy Gibbons earned the 32nd spot on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time.

The band members rejected an amount of $1,000,000 from the American brand of safe shaving equipment and products, Gillette after they requested that the band members shave their beards.

The group performed for Former American President George Bush in 2001 during the inaugural ceremony. President George Bush as Governor of Texas in the late 1900s, declared 15th May 1997, a ZZ Top Day.

They were more popular and loved especially for their live performances. Despite the great albums and singles released by the Texas group, it was their live performances that set them high in the hearts of their fan base.

In 2000, Joseph Michael Hill, (Dusty Hill) was diagnosed with Hepatitis rendering him physically unfit for a period. The group canceled most of their shows during that period so their band member could get the best treatment and heal properly.

The band was managed by a famous American music producer, Billy Mack Ham (Late).

Billy Mack Ham’s life took an unexpected turn when his wife was kidnapped and murdered in 1991. The suspect was later apprehended and charged with a death sentence.

The band’s musical style was visualized when the stage for their 1976 Worldwide Texas tour was shaped like Texas, a snake, a steer and a cactus.

Brief Conclusion

After over five decades of maintaining a consistent musical career, the Texas band has proven to be one of the most enduring and successful bands in the history of Rock N’ Roll. The group launched a tour dubbed Goin 50 in celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2019.

By April 2020, they had begun working on records and collaborations for the new decade and are still very active. So far, there has not been any event that depicts that ZZ Top will be disbanding anytime soon.

Popular Songs by ZZ Tops

  • “(Somebody Else Been) Shakin’ Your Tree”
  • “36-22-36”
  • “Arrested for Driving While Blind”
  • “Bang Bang”
  • “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”
  • “Breakaway”
  • “Can’t Stop Rockin'”
  • “Cheap Sunglasses”
  • “Concrete and Steel”
  • “Decision or Collision”
  • “Delirious”
  • “Doubleback”
  • “Enjoy and Get It On”
  • “Fearless Boogie”
  • “Francine”
  • “Fuzzbox Voodoo”
  • “Gimme All Your Lovin'”
  • “Girl in a T-Shirt”
  • “Give It Up”
  • “Got Me Under Pressure”
  • “Gun Love”
  • “I Gotsta Get Paid”
  • “I Thank You”
  • “It’s Only Love”
  • “La Grange”
  • “Legs”
  • “Leila”
  • “Miller’s Farm”
  • “My Head’s in Mississippi”
  • “Pearl Necklace”
  • “Piece”
  • “Pincushion”
  • “Rhythmeen”
  • “Rough Boy”
  • “Salt Lick”
  • “Sharp Dressed Man”
  • “She’s Just Killing Me”
  • “Sleeping Bag”
  • “Stages”
  • “Tube Snake Boogie”
  • “Tush”
  • “TV Dinners”
  • “Velcro Fly”
  • “Viva Las Vegas”
  • “What’s Up with That”
  • “Woke Up with Wood”

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