History

Early years (1969-72)

The original line-up was formed in Houston and consisted of Gibbons, organist Lanier Greig (died February 2013) and drummer Dan Mitchell.

The name of the band was Gibbons' idea. The band had a little apartment covered with concert posters and he noticed that many performers' names utilized initials. Gibbons particularly noticed B.B. King and Z.Z. Hill and thought of combining the two into "ZZ King", but considered it too similar to the original name. He then figured that "king is going at the top" which brought him to "ZZ Top".

ZZ Top was managed by Bill Ham, a Waxahachie Texas native who had befriended Gibbons a year earlier. They released their first single, "Salt Lick", in 1969, and the B-side contained the song "Miller's Farm". Both songs were credited to Gibbons. Immediately after the recording of "Salt Lick", Greig was replaced by bassist Billy Ethridge, a band-mate of Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Mitchell was replaced by Frank Beard of the American Blues. Due to lack of interest from U.S. record companies, ZZ Top accepted a record deal from London Records. Unwilling to sign a recording contract, Ethridge quit the band and Dusty Hill was selected as his replacement. After Hill moved from Dallas to Houston, ZZ Top signed with London in 1970. They performed their first concert together at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Beaumont on February 10.

In addition to assuming the role as the band's leader, Gibbons became the main lyricist and musical arranger. With the assistance of Ham and engineer Robin Hood Brians, ZZ Top's First Album (1971) was released and exhibited the band's humour, with "barrelhouse" rhythms, distorted guitars, double entendres, and innuendo. The music and songs reflected ZZ Top's blues influences. Following their debut album, the band released Rio Grande Mud (1972), which failed commercially and the promotional tour consisted of mostly empty auditoriums.

First decade and signature sound (1973-82)

ZZ Top released Tres Hombres in 1973. The album's earthy and infectious sound was the result of the propulsive support provided by Hill and Beard, and Gibbons' "growling" guitar tone. Dan Erlewine wrote that the album "brought ZZ Top their first Top Ten record, making them stars in the process". The album included the boogie-driven "La Grange" (written about the Chicken Ranch, a notorious brothel in La Grange, Texas, that also inspired the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). On the subsequent tour, the band performed sold-out concerts in the US. ZZ Top recorded the live tracks for their 1975 album, Fandango!, during this tour; the album showcased their prowess in exciting live audiences. Fandango! was a top-ten album; its single "Tush" peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Tejas, released in 1976, was not as successful or as positively received as their previous efforts, although the album went to no. 17 on the Billboard 200. ZZ Top continued the Worldwide Texas Tour in support of Tejas, though they had been touring for seven years. The band then went on what was supposed to be a 90-day break from public appearances. Gibbons traveled to Europe, Beard went to Jamaica, and Hill went to Mexico. The break extended to two years, during which Gibbons and Hill grew chest-length beards.

In 1979, ZZ Top signed with Warner Bros. Records and released the album Degüello. While the album went platinum, it only reached no. 24 on the Billboard chart. The album produced two popular singles: "I Thank You", a cover of a song recorded by Sam & Dave, and "Cheap Sunglasses". The band remained a popular concert attraction and toured in support of Degüello. In April 1980, ZZ Top made their first appearance in Europe, performing for the German music television show Rockpalast. Their next album, El Loco, was released in October 1981, and featured the singles "Tube Snake Boogie", "Pearl Necklace", and "Leila".

Synthesizer period (1983-91)

ZZ Top's next album was even more successful. Eliminator, released in March 1983, featured two top 40 singles ("Gimme All Your Lovin'" and "Legs"), and two additional Top Rock hits ("Got Me Under Pressure" and "Sharp Dressed Man"), with "Legs" peaking at no. 13 on the Club Play Singles chart. Eliminator was a critical and commercial success, selling more than 10 million copies, and several music videos were in regular rotation on MTV. The band also won their first MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of Best Group Video for "Legs", and Best Direction for "Sharp Dressed Man". The music videos were included in their Greatest Hits video, which was later released on DVD and quickly went multiple-platinum. However, the Eliminator album was not without controversy. According to former stage manager David Blayney in his book "Sharp Dressed Men", sound engineer Linden Hudson co-wrote much of the material on the album while serving as a live-in high-tech music teacher to Beard and Gibbons. Despite continued denials by the band, it settled a five-year legal battle with Hudson, paying him $600,000 after he proved he held the copyright to the song "Thug".

Despite not selling as many copies as Eliminator, 1985's Afterburner became the band's highest-charting album, racking up sales of five million units. All of the singles from Afterburner were Top 40 hits, with two ("Sleeping Bag" and "Stages") hitting no. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The music video for "Velcro Fly" was choreographed by pop singer Paula Abdul. ZZ Top's grueling Afterburner World Tour lasted well into 1987, which also was the release of The ZZ Top Sixpack, a three-disc collection of ZZ Top's albums from 1970 to 1981, with the exception of Degüello. The albums ZZ Top's First Album, Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango, and Tejas were remixed to have a more contemporary sound. The original mixes were included on the 2003 CD box set Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, and the 2004 compilation album Rancho Texicano. In 2006, Tres Hombres and Fandango! were re-released on CD with the original mixes intact. In 2013, Warner Bros. released The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990, a 10-CD box set which contained the original mixes of ZZ Top's First Album, Rio Grande Mud and Tejas for the first time on CD.

Recycler, released in 1990, was ZZ Top's last studio album under contract with Warner Records. Recycler was also the last of a distinct sonic trilogy in the ZZ Top catalogue, marking a return towards a simpler guitar-driven blues sound with less synthesizer and pop bounce than the previous two albums. This move did not entirely suit the fan base that Eliminator and Afterburner had built up, and while Recycler did achieve platinum status, it never matched the sales of those albums.

Return to guitar-driven sound (1992-2003)

In 1992, Warner released ZZ Top's Greatest Hits, along with a new Rolling Stones-style cut, "Gun Love", and an Elvis-inflected video, "Viva Las Vegas". In 1993, ZZ Top inducted a major influence, Cream, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1994, the band signed a $35 million deal with RCA Records, releasing the million-selling Antenna. Subsequent RCA albums, Rhythmeen (1996) and 1999's XXX (the second album to feature live tracks) sold well, but did not reach the levels enjoyed previously. ZZ Top, however, continued to play to enthusiastic live audiences. In 2003, ZZ Top released a final RCA album, Mescalero, an album thick with harsh Gibbons guitar and featuring a hidden track — a cover version of "As Time Goes By". RCA impresario Clive Davis wanted to do a collaboration record (in the mode of Carlos Santana's successful Supernatural) for this album. In an interview in Goldmine magazine, Davis stated that artists Pink, Dave Matthews, and Wilco were among the artists slated for the project. ZZ Top performed "Tush" and "Legs" as part of the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show in 1997.

A comprehensive four-CD collection of recordings from the London and Warner Bros. years, Chrome, Smoke & BBQ, was released in 2003. It featured the band's first single (A- and B-side) and several rare B-side tracks, as well as a radio promotion from 1979, a live track, and several extended dance mix versions of their biggest MTV hits. Three tracks from Billy Gibbons' pre-ZZ band, The Moving Sidewalks, were also included.

Critical acclaim and retrospective releases (2004-11)

In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones gave the induction speech. ZZ Top gave a brief performance, playing "La Grange" and "Tush".

Expanded and remastered versions of the original studio albums from the 1970s and '80s are currently in production. Marketed as "Remastered and Expanded", these releases include additional live tracks which were not present on the original recordings. Three such CDs have been released to date (Tres Hombres, Fandango!, and Eliminator). The first two were released in 2006 and use the original mixes free from echo and drum machines, while Eliminator was released in 2008. The Eliminator re-release also features a collector's edition version containing a DVD featuring several videos and additional live tracks.

The Eliminator Collector's Edition CD/DVD, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band's iconic RIAA Diamond Certified album, was released September 10, 2008. The release includes seven bonus tracks and a bonus DVD, including four television performances from The Tube in November 1983.

The band performed at the 2009 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on the final night on March 22, 2009. In July, the band appeared on VH1's Storytellers, in celebration of their four decades as recording artists.

La Futura and recent years (2012-present)

Billy Gibbons stated in an interview in August 2011 that a new album had been recorded, with initial recording taking place in Malibu, California before moving to Houston, but was still unnamed and had yet to be mixed and mastered. Gibbons said that the expected release date was sometime in March or April 2012, but later on a release in the late summer or early fall was announced. The album was subsequently released on September 11, 2012.

Entitled La Futura, the album was produced by Rick Rubin. The first single from the album, "I Gotsta Get Paid", debuted in an advertising campaign for Jeremiah Weed Whiskey and appears on the soundtrack of the film Battleship. The song itself is an interpretation of "25 Lighters" by Texan hip hop DJ DMD and rappers Lil' Keke and Fat Pat. The first four songs from La Futura debuted on June 5, 2012, on an EP called Texicali. DJ Screw was a major influence on the album as well, particularly because Gibbons and Screw both worked with engineer G. L. Moon during the late 1990s.

The band kicked off a North American tour with a concert in Red Bank, New Jersey, at the Count Basie Theatre on March 3, 2015. After rescheduled dates and additions, the tour wrapped up with a concert in Highland Park, Illinois, at the Ravinia Pavilion on August 27, with opening act Blackberry Smoke. Jeff Beck joined ZZ Top for seven concerts on the tour.

Other appearances

ZZ Top performed at the 2008 Orange Bowl game in Miami, as well as the Auto Club 500 NASCAR event at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. On June 23, 2008, ZZ Top celebrated the release of their first live concert DVD entitled Live from Texas with the world premiere, a special appearance, and charity auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in Houston. The DVD was officially released on June 24, 2008. The featured performance was culled from a concert filmed at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas, on November 1, 2007.

On January 22, 2010, Billy Gibbons accompanied Will Ferrell and others playing "Free Bird" on Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show appearance. O'Brien joined in on guitar.

On June 8, 2011, a press release, reported on various media sources, announced that the new song "Flyin' High" will debut in space. Astronaut and friend of ZZ Top, Michael Fossum, was given the released single to listen to on his trip to the International Space Station.

On June 4, 2014, ZZ Top opened the CMT Awards performing "La Grange" with Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line.

Band members

Current members Billy Gibbons - guitar, lead and backing vocals Frank Beard - drums, percussion, backing vocals Dusty Hill - bass, keyboards, backing and lead vocals,

Past members Lanier Greig - bass, organ Dan Mitchell - drums Billy Ethridge - bass

Discography

Main article: ZZ Top discography

Studio albums

1. ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
2. Rio Grande Mud (1972)
3. Tres Hombres (1973)
4. Fandango! (1975)
5. Tejas (1976)
6. Degüello (1979)
7. El Loco (1981)
8. Eliminator (1983)
9. Afterburner (1985)
10. Recycler (1990)
11. Antenna (1994)
12. Rhythmeen (1996)
13. XXX (1999)
14. Mescalero (2003)
15. La Futura (2012)

Filmography

In addition to recording and performing concerts, ZZ Top has also been involved with films and television. In 1990, the group appeared as the "band at the party" in the film Back to the Future Part III, and played the "Three Men in a Tub" in the movie Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme. ZZ Top made further appearances, including the "Gumby with a Pokey" episode of Two and a Half Men in 2010 and the "Hank Gets Dusted" episode of King of the Hill in 2007. The band was also guest hosts on an episode of WWE Raw. Billy Gibbons also portrays the father of Angela Montenegro in the television show Bones. Their song "Sharp Dressed Man" is currently used as the theme song on television show Duck Dynasty. Black Dahlia Films, led by Jamie Burton Chamberlin, of Seattle and Los Angeles, has contributed documentaries and back line screen work (the footage on back screens during live shows) and has become an integral part of the band's film-making.

Awards and achievements

ZZ Top's music videos won awards throughout the 1980s, winning once each in the categories Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Best Art Direction. The videos that won the VMAs are "Legs", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Rough Boy". Some of the high honors ZZ Top have achieved include induction into Hollywood's RockWalk in 1994, the Texas House of Representatives naming them "Official Heroes for the State of Texas", a declaration of "ZZ Top Day" in Texas by then-governor Ann Richards on May 4, 1991, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. They were also given commemorative rings by actor Billy Bob Thornton from the VH1 Rock Honors in 2007.

ZZ Top also holds several chart and album sales feats, including six number-one singles on the Mainstream Rock chart. From the RIAA, ZZ Top has achieved four gold, three platinum and two multiple-platinum album certifications, in addition to one diamond album. In addition to this, many of their songs have become classic rock and hard rock radio staples.

Charities

ZZ Top supports the following charitable cause: Muscular Dystrophy.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]