 ZZ Top - This sturdy American blues-rock trio from Texas consists of
Billy Gibbons (guitar),
Dusty Hill
(bass), and
Frank Beard (drums). They were formed in 1970 in and around Houston from
rival bands
the Moving Sidewalks (Gibbons)
and
American Blues (Hill
and
Beard). Their first two albums reflected the strong blues roots and Texas
humor of the band. Their third album (Tres Hombres) gained them national
attention with the hit "La Grange," a signature riff tune to this day, based on
John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen." Their success continued unabated
throughout the '70s, culminating with the year-and-a-half-long Worldwide Texas
Tour.
Exhausted from the overwhelming work load,
ZZ Top took a three-year break, then
switched labels and returned to form with Deguello and El Loco, both harbingers
of what was to come. By their next album, Eliminator, and its worldwide smash
follow-up, Afterburner, they had successfully harnessed the potential of
synthesizers to their patented grungy blues-groove, giving their material a more
contemporary edge while retaining their patented Texas style. Now sporting long
beards, golf hats, and boiler suits, they met the emerging video age head-on,
reducing their "message" to simple iconography. Becoming even more popular in
the long run, they moved with the times while simultaneously bucking every trend
that crossed their path. As genuine roots musicians, they have few peers;
Gibbons is one of America's finest blues guitarists working in the arena
rock idiom -- both influenced by the originators of the form and British
blues-rock guitarists like
Peter Green -- while
Hill and
Beard provide the ultimate rhythm section support. The only rock & roll
group that's out there with its original members still aboard after three
decades (an anniversary celebrated on 1999's XXX),
ZZ Top's music is always instantly recognizable, eminently powerful,
profoundly soulful, and 100 percent American in derivation. They have continued
to support the blues through various means, perhaps most visibly when they were
given a piece of wood from
Muddy Waters' shack in Clarksdale, MS. The group members had it made into a
guitar, dubbed the "Muddywood," then sent it out on tour to raise money for the
Delta Blues Museum.
ZZ Top's support and link to the blues remains as rock solid as the music
they play. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
ZZ Top for your next corporate or private event.
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