In the late 1960s, Texas guitarist Billy Gibbons formed the Moving Sidewalks blues team. The group released an album and several singles, and even Jimi Hendrix himself, imbued with her work, invited the musicians to participate with him in a television show, where he called Gibbons one of the best young performers in America. In 1970, Billy opened a new project called "ZZ Top". In this case, he was helped by fellow "Moving Sidewalks" keyboardist Lanier Grieg and drummer Dan Mitchell. This configuration managed to release only one single, after which Billy's colleagues went to Vietnam, and he had to look for new associates.
The new line-up of "ZZ Top", cemented for many years, looked like this: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar), Joe "Dusty" Hill (vocals, bass), Frank Beard (drums). The fourth freelance member of the team was producer Bill Ham. It was he who advised to focus on hard rock. But the team also could not give up their southern blues roots, as a result of which they chose the direction that provided "ZZ Top" with fame for a long time. At the beginning of their activity, the trio toured mainly in the southern states, but after the release of the second disc, they gained all-American fame.
Then, in 1972, their single "Francene" broke into the top hundred. For some reason, "Rio Grande Mud" itself did not hit the charts, although the songs from the album sounded on the air of radio stations. Commercial success came with the release of "Tres Hombres", which contained such an action movie as "La Grange". Thanks to this composition, the album landed straight into the Top 10. The next, half-studio, half-live, work, "Fandango", was also present in the top ten. The platinum-certified disc spent a total of 83 weeks on the charts. The World Wide Texas tour that followed was truly legendary for ZZ Top. The fact is that the stage during the tour was decorated in the appropriate Texas style - with cacti, snakes and other southern "charms".
After 1976, there was a significant break in the studio activities of the trio, during which the group mostly indulged in touring. Gibbons and Hill both grew long beards, giving "ZZ Top" their signature stage image (Bird didn't need a beard as his last name was "bearded"). In the period from 1979 to 1985, the group released four albums with an equal interval of two years. And if "El Loco" turned out to be rather weak compared to its predecessors, then on "Eliminator" the trio regained the lost positions, issuing a number of militants "Sharp dressed man", "Legs", "Gimme all your lovin"".
All these songs were played on TV, while the record sold in incredible numbers, and the army of ZZ Top fans grew steadily. Although "Eliminator" rose "only" to number nine on the Billboard, it spent over a year in the Top 20. After the also commercially successful "Afterburner", the band took a break for five years, returning only in 1990 with the album "Recycler". This disc was the end of a long-term collaboration between "ZZ Top" and "Warner Bros". In 1994, the bearded men moved to RCA, where they started with the release of Antenna. The album, as always, contained a series of hits, and one of them, "She's just killing me", sounded on the soundtrack to the cult Tarantino film "From dusk till dawn".
ZZ Top celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with the release of a new studio work with the appropriate title - "XXX", after which they rolled into a global world tour. Unfortunately, after touring, Dusty Hill was diagnosed with hepatitis C and had to spend some time recuperating. As a result, the team returned to full-fledged activity only in 2003, when the album "Mescalero" was released.
When an article was published about those beards that we immediately remembered about ZZ Top, because these beards just really suit them. Our boss jokes that these guys were born with such beards. So why not write about them today?
This famous American blues-hard rock band is notable primarily for the fact that for almost 50 years it has not only never changed its line-up, but has remained true to its style, unlike those of yours. Metallica.
Young 20-year-old guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons was an avid fan of Elvis Presley. He tried to adopt the King's charismatic walk, behavior and style. No wonder the dude started the band very quickly Moving Sidewalks, which played rather specific music reminiscent of psychedelic rock. The group was widely known in extremely narrow circles and, perhaps, could become even more popular if the Vietnam War had not suddenly appeared and almost all of its members had not been taken to fight. Billy found the same ones left after the call of Dusty Hill and Frank Beard. They didn't part again. The guys came up with the name of the new group - ZZ Top. Where did it come from? It is believed that it was inspired by the name of the American blues singer Z. Z. Hill or that it is a symbiosis of the names of two well-known brands of cigarette paper manufacturers Zig-Zag and Top. But this is just a legend.
The band did not miss the opportunity to perform anywhere, because someday you will be lucky anyway, right? So why not take advantage of all the options that life presents us with? And luck smiled at the guys: they were offered to record the first album. It received the unpretentious name "ZZ Top's First Album". The group's attitude to the blues was very frivolous, so their style was even called "Alternative Blues". The disc, although it was marked by many positive reviews, did not bring popularity to the group. The second disc, "Rio Grande Mud", corrected the situation and brought fame to the bearded men. After the guys decided to participate in the promotional tour of the Rolling Stones in 1972.
But the third album, along with the chic composition "La Grange" with cool guitar riffs, made the group popular immediately and quickly. The album went platinum, and the trio, charismatic and confident on stage in their strange biker outfits, instantly became very recognizable. Deciding to consolidate their fame, the guys in 1974 organized an event at the stadium of the University of Texas, called "Texas-Size Rompin' Stompin' Barndance and Bar-B-Q". About 85 thousand people came to the concert. After that, the university administration decided never to hold any concerts in their lives. The ban was lifted only twenty years later.
The promo tour for the third album was very, very epic. The guys promised to bring a piece of Texas with them - the guys kept their promise. The scenery consisted of cacti (where without them), typical Texas ranch corners, barns and local animals. Once, a herd of cattle and a live buffalo were even driven onto the stage. And then one of the band members brought a real rattlesnake onto the stage. In terms of money, the tour was more than just very successful: the guys earned a record $11.5 million.
And in 1979, dudes who met to record a new album, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, were surprised to find that they both let go of a long, powerful beard without even saying a word. The third member of the group, Frank Beard (his last name, by the way, translates as "beard") did not follow their example - probably because he was already teased with a beard.
The 1983 album "Eliminator" did not appeal to the loyal fans of the blues part of the group, they unanimously said "fu" when they heard the synth, fashionable at that time, in the songs. But the general public liked the electronic motives very much. The group suddenly became terribly popular, their album sold over 10 million copies, and the whole world started talking about bearded men. In the same year, the famous bright red Ford roadster of 1933 appeared in the band's videos, which, along with beards, became their hallmark.
The dudes made their first film appearance in 1989's Back to the Future 3. After that, bearded men often flashed in different shows, and references to their group still flicker in popular books, films and TV shows.
In 2004, the guys received a cushy place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since 2008, the guys have been promising us a new album, but it doesn't exist, although last year information about its release appeared on the official website. Let's wait.
Of course, the bearded guys have done a lot of good for music in general and for rock and roll, blues, metal and psychedelics in particular. These dudes are young at heart, and when we look at the cheerful performance of these resilient eternal old men who have never parted for 50 years, we believe in the beautiful, kind and bright. And they also suit these strange beards.
Everyone knows the bearded guitarists from ZZ Top. However, the group did not always stand out with such a memorable image of its members. In the distant 60s, the creator of this rock project, Billy Gibbons, played the blues. His group "Moving sidewalks" was quite popular, and its tracks were approved by Jimi Hendrix himself. The starting point for the ascent of "ZZ Top" to the heights of glory was 1970. Renamed from the "Moving sidewalks", the group did not last long, as the military invasion of Vietnam began, and most of Billy Gibbons's associates went to pay their debt to the Motherland. Billy had to reassemble the team from scratch.
Its new members were Billy Gibbons, Joe Hill and Frank Beard. At this point, producer Bill Ham invites the band to play hard rock, but in order to maintain popularity with an already existing audience, ZZ Top decides to play the blues. Having spent several tours in the southern states, the guys are starting to create new albums.
The album "Rio Grande Mud", which appeared in 1972, does not hit the top lines of the charts, although some songs from it were quite popular. The next attempt to break into the charts becomes successful, the brainchild of the group is included in the top ten best compositions with the main hit "La Grange". After some time, the disc "Fandango" appears, which received platinum status and lasted in the world charts for more than 80 weeks.
After that, the trio went on a tour of Texas, which made an unforgettable impression on the audience, it differed from the others by the presence of unusual scenery, designed in Texas style.
In 1976, during the period of numerous tours, the famous beards appeared on the guitarists of the group. From 1979 to 1985, four more albums were released, millions of records were sold, and the Eliminator album stayed on the charts for more than a year and managed to be noted in the top ten on the Billboard. Taking a five-year break, "ZZ Top" resumes work in 1990 and releases "Recycler". This year they finish work with the label "Warner Bros".
ZZ Top is a popular American rock band. The group was formed back in 1969. The team is based in Houston, Texas. The main characters of the group are: guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons (Billy Gibbons), bassist, vocalist and keyboardist Dusty Hill (Dusty Hill), and drummer Frank Beard (Frank Beard). The main stylistic trends that ZZ Top music is known for can be considered: blues rock, boogie rock, southern rock, elements of hard rock and heavy metal, rock and roll.
Founding history
The frontman of the band, Billy Gibbons, became the founder of the team, since before ZZ Top he had already played in the psychedelic group The Moving Sidewalks, in which he even shared the stage with the great Jimi Hendrix. After the collapse of the band, Billy did not give up, inviting keyboardist Lanier Grieg and drummer Dan Mitchell to the new ZZ Top project. After both musicians were drafted into the army to serve in Vietnam, a new and definitive line-up was formed in 1970, known to this day.
Billy Gibbons - guitarist for ZZ Top
Dusty Hill - bass guitarist for the band ZZ Top
Frank Beard - drummer for ZZ Top
Sound features
Creativity of the group is based not only on the blues and blues subgenres, but the main commercial success of the team is due to the blues. Known for ZZ Top blues all over the world. Billy Gibbons' guitar playing features classic blues picking, and the sound can vary from prickly and loud to soft, muffled, with broken strokes and intricate accents.
It is impossible to call the group's work unambiguous "old school", as there is a constant search for a new sound, attempts to mix borderline blues and rock and roll musical styles.
In some places you can find significant weighting, especially in the Mescalero album. This allows us to say that experiments and attempts to realize their potential are not alien to ZZ Top in a comprehensive way, and not only within the framework of the style that brought them initial popularity.
studio work
The band's first studio work was ZZ Top's First Album, recorded at Robin Hood Studios at the end of 1970. The official debut took place on January 16, 1971. The composition Somebody Else Been Shaking Your Tree even reached number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite On this achievement, the group ZZ Top enjoyed little popularity, continuing to work diligently in the southern states in the US The band itself defined the style of the album as “abstract blues.” I suggest listening to this debut work.
ZZ Top's First Album
During its further history, the group has released many albums, compilations, individual recordings, clips and singles. The most popular studio ZZ Top albums are: Tres Hombres, released in 1973, the next Fandango in 1975, albums by Tejas, Eliminator and El Loco. It is believed that it was the 1973 album that allowed the band to get the status of real stars, bringing them fame and popularity.
I suggest you listen to the 1983 album called Eliminator.
ZZ Top - Eliminator (Full Album)
Popular compositions
The history of the team contains a great many hits. The most famous ZZ Top songs have become cult. Such compositions include Sharp dressed man, Legs, Gimme all your lovin. The famous film by Quentin Tarantino "From Dusk Till Dawn" contains a soundtrack called She "s just killing me. The authors of the composition are the "bearded" ZZ Top.
ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top - She's just killing me
Before the band was about to start recording the next album after a two-year break and a break from touring in 1978, it turned out that Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill had grown very long and thick beards. They did this without any prior agreement, as they rested in different parts of the world and did not see each other for a long time. Having gathered at the request of the group's manager, the friends barely recognized each other. These beards have become a trademark for the entire group in the future. Drummer Frank Beard did not follow his teammates, although it is his last name that is translated from English as "beard". It turned out very funny and extraordinary.
The music of the group at that time was supplemented by the appearance of a saxophone, but the general style remained the same popular and recognizable blues-rock. The successfully recorded album Deguello scattered around the world, and the new image of the "bearded" performers firmly entered the history of the band.
The next distinctive feature of this group can be considered the attraction to the Spanish language. This is confirmed by the active use of Spanish vocabulary for the titles of albums and compositions, as well as the widespread use of colloquial word forms by Gibbons.
Results
Group ZZ Top has not lost its positions for more than 40 years. Fans waited in anticipation after Mr. Dusty Hill was diagnosed with the hepatitis C virus in 2003. Fortunately, the musician recovered his health and successfully returned to the big stage.
Another studio work called La Futura was released in 2012, and the band members themselves celebrated 45 years since the team was founded in February 2015. The group, which has become a legend of blues and rock for many, continues to successfully perform and give concert sets. On various posters, Internet portals and television channels, there is constantly information that ZZ Top are in a continuous process of active tours.
Clip for a song from the album of the 12th year.
Genre: Blues rock, boogie rock, hard rock, southern rock, rock and roll
Country: USA
Years of activity 1969 - present.
Biography:
ZZ Top is a blues-rock band from the USA. The lyrics of the songs are often comic, filled with humor and slang. The ZZ Top team was founded in 1969 after another group, also created by B. Gibbons, The Moving Sidewalks, broke up. D. Hill and drummer F. Bird became members of the new team, B. Ham was also considered a member of the team, who until 2006 was the permanent producer of the group. The musicians recorded their debut album already in 1970, but it did not enjoy great success, although it entered the Top 100 in the USA. The next album became more popular and was released in 1972. The third album, which was released in 1973, brought real fame to the musicians. The recording took place with the participation of producer T. Manning in Memphis. The album was able to climb into the top ten of the US Billboard chart, and the number of copies sold reached one million copies. The team's next CD was called Fandango! also marked in the top ten of the top 100 and went platinum. World fame came to the team after the release of the Eliminator album in 1983, after which ZZ Top began to shoot videos for their compositions.
