ZZ Top Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
ZZ Top is a
rock band, most prominent in the
1970s and
1980s, from
Texas. The band members are
Billy Gibbons (vocals and guitar, of
Moving Sidewalks), Dusty Hill (guitar, of The American Blues) and Frank Beard (drums, of The Cellar Dwellers, The Hustlers, and The American Blues).
As well as a distinctive guitar sound and hard-driving, innuendo-laced lyrics, the band is probably best known for its distinctive look. Gibbons and Hill are always pictured wearing sunglasses, trenchcoats and their trademark waist-length beards. (Frank Beard, interestingly, does not wear a beard.) In 1984, the Gillette company offered Gibbons and Hill $1 million apiece to shave their beards for a commercial, but they declined.
Their biggest hit was the 1983 album Eliminator, boosted to prominence by music videos for the tracks "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man" each of which featured a small bright red roadster called The Eliminator and a mysterious trio of beautiful women who travel around helping various people in the videos.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted ZZ Top in on March 15, 2004.
Discography
Singles
- "Cheap Sunglasses"
- "La Grange"
- "Nationwide"
- "Tush"
- "Velcro Fly"
- also, the songs listed under "Music Videos" below
Music videos
- "Gimme All Your Lovin'" (1983)
- "Sharp Dressed Man" (1983)
- "Legs" (1984)
- "Sleeping Bag"
- "Viva Las Vegas"
- "Rough Boy"
- "Burger Man"
- "TV Dinners"
DVDs
- "ZZ Top's Greatest's Hits" (2004)
Books
- "ZZ Top: Bad and Worldwide" (1985)
- "ZZ Top" by Mitchell Craven (July 1, 1985)
- "ZZ Top" by Philip Kamin (March 3, 1986)
- "ZZ Top" by Robert Draper (July 1, 1989)
- "Elimination: The ZZ Top Story" (December 1, 1991)
- "Sharp-Dressed Men: Zz Top Behind the Scenes from Blues to Boogie to Beards" (May 1, 1994)
- "ZZ Top: Elimination" (June 1, 1998)
- "ZZ Top Greatest Hits" (July 1, 1999)
- "The New Best of Zz Top for Guitar (Easy Tab Deluxe)" (July 1, 1999)
- "ZZ Top / XXX (Authentic Guitar-Tab)" (March 1, 2000)
- "ZZ Top - Guitar Anthology" (February 1, 2003)
- "Essential ZZ Top" (April 2003)
- "The Very Best of ZZ Top" (April 1, 2003)
- "The Best of Zz Top: A Step-By-Step Breakdown of the Guitar Styles and Techniques of Billy Gibbons" (September 1, 2003)
- "ZZ Top: Fearless Boogie" (This link: The Sheet Music Store has it in stock. The site also show's that the book was released on Oct. 15th, 2004).
NOTE: Most of these books (plus many others) were located at: Amazon.com. Publishing dates were acquired from Amazon.com.
Interesting trivia
- Billy Gibbons has often been referred to as The Reverend Willy G. In 2002, he made that title official and was ordained so he could perform a Dallas wedding.
- In December 1984, Dusty Hill accidentally set off a derringer he kept in his boot and shot himself in the stomach. He fully recovered.
- "La Grange" is a song about a brothel. The real name of the brothel is "Gracie's Chicken Farm". This brothel is also the subject of the film The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.
- The band appeared in the film Back to the Future Part III.
- ZZ Top is a sponsor of the Delta Blues Museum.
External sites
This is an Article on ZZ Top. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About ZZ Top
