ZZ Top

ZZ Top biography

ZZ Top is an American rock band from Houston, Texas. Formed in 1969, the group consists of Billy Gibbons (guitar and vocals), Dusty Hill (bass and vocals), and Frank Beard (drums and percussion). ZZ Top's early sound was rooted in blues but eventually grew to exhibit contemporary influences. Throughout their career they have maintained a sound based on Hill's and Beard's rhythm section support, accentuated by Gibbons' guitar and vocal style. Their lyrics often gave evidence of band's humor and thematically focus on personal experiences and sexual innuendos.

ZZ Top formed its initial lineup in 1969, consisting of Anthony Barajas (bass and keyboards) and Peter Perez (drums and percussion). After several incarnations, Hill and Beard joined within the following year. Molded into a professional act by manager Bill Ham, they were subsequently signed to London Records and released their debut album. They were successful as live performers, becoming known to fans as "that little ol' band from Texas", and their 1973 album Tres Hombres, according to Allmusic, propelled the band to national attention and "made them stars". In 1979, after returning from a one-and-a-half year break of touring, the group reinvented themselves with their 1983 hit album Eliminator and the accompanying tour. ZZ Top incorporated New Wave and punk influences into their sound and performances, and embraced a more iconic image, with Gibbons and Hill sporting chest-length beards and sunglasses. Similar experimentation continued for the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s with varying levels of success. On ZZ Top's 2003 album Mescalero, they adopted a more contemporary sound while maintaining their influences from their earlier musical pursuits.

Maintaining the same members for over forty years, ZZ Top has released 14 studio albums and are among the most popular rock groups, having sold more than 25 million albums in the United States. They have won three VMAs, and in 2004, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. VH1 ranked ZZ Top at number 44 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". They have performed at many charity events and raised $1 million for the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

History

Formation and early years (1969-1971)

ZZ Top formed in Houston on June 20, 1969. Billy Gibbons, who previously formed the Moving Sidewalks in 1966, had suggested "ZZ King" as a potential name for the band after looking at posters of Z. Z. Hill and B.B. King on his apartment wall. According to Gibbons' autobiography Rock + Roll Gearhead, he settled on "ZZ Top" because B.B. King was "on the top". Consisting of Lanier Greig on keyboards and Moving Sidewalks' drummer Dan Mitchell, the group was signed to London Records by manager Bill Ham, and released two singles-"Salt Lick" and "Miller's Farm". Soon after, Greig and Mitchell left the group and were replaced by Billy Etheridge and Frank Beard, though Etheridge quit the band in January 1970, and was subsequently replaced by Michael "Cadillac" Johnson; he was replaced by Dusty Hill in the following month: The finalized lineup of ZZ Top performed their first show on February 10, 1970 in Beaumont, Texas. The group's debut album, ZZ Top's First Album, was released in January 1971; the single, "(Somebody Else Been) Shakin' Your Tree", peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite being unpolished, the album established the band's sound and attitude, as Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that it's filled with "fuzzy guitars, barrelhouse rhythms, dirty jokes, and Texan slang".

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