The group formed in Houston in 1969 (!) and has remained intact to this day, with guitarist/singer Billy Gibbons, bassist/co-singer Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard (ironically the only member of the group without the trademark Rip Van Winkle facial hair). From the start, the band's sound incorporated elements of the blues into modern rock songs.
On Eliminator, the group updated their sound even further, adding synthesizers and drum machines to their blues-rock sound. Though this sounds like a recipe for disaster, the results were spectacular. It was this updated sound, combined with a shrewd use of videos, that drove ZZ Top's massive success.
1985's Afterburner continued in the same vein, albeit with results that did not hold together quite as well. Still, there were highlights, such as "Stages," which is our favorite cut off the album. The song reached #21, while the Afterburner LP went to #4 (thus becoming the highest charting ZZ Top album ever).
The band released one more synthesizer-influenced LP, 1990's Recycler, before returning to a more traditional sound. While their mainstream popularity gradually declined from the 1980s highs, they remain active in the music industry to the present day.
Cool trivia fact: The ZZ Top name came as a tribute to blues legend B.B. King. The band was originally called ZZ King, but decided that this was too similar, and changed it to ZZ Top.
Great music!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, CL, and I appreciate the comments, as always.
ReplyDeleteZZ Top name as I understand came from their early days before they were famous. The newly formed and unnamed group were sitting bored in their hotel room getting stoned, and discussing which rolling papers were better. Zig Zag or Top. They had a side by side list of the merit of each brand with the words ZZ/Top. Their manager came in to ask if a name had been agreed on, as he needed to have concert flyers printed ASAP. Seeing the stoned band not forthcoming a name, he grabbed the list and said fine, tonight you'll be ZZ Top, in frustration, and it stuck.
ReplyDeleteExcellent story and totally plausible. Billy Gibbons continues to say (at least publicly) that it came from posters of B.B. King (and Z.Z. Hill): https://ultimateclassicrock.com/billy-gibbons-zz-top-name/
DeleteThanks for the props Rockdog. The PC police/ war on drugs put a damper on a lot of good hand me down rock stories, as many bands didn't want to be labeled a drug band. IMHO. For the "record" I prefer Zig Zag hands down, I remember using ZZ Tops Tres Hombres album cover to clean my stash, and then drool over the Mexican food gatefold. Heard the band name story around 1976. The ZZ Top boys have a perverse sense of humor as well as seen by the fur guitars and lyrics to songs like "TV Dinners". As they were a psychedelic band before, I believe they were plenty "experienced". According to Paul McCartney "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds isn't about LSD, not at all.
ReplyDeletePoint taken, mysterious unknown stranger, and appreciate the thoughts. ZZ Top has definitely shown a sense of humor through the years; who knows what the "true" story is. Regardless, we dig folk histories around here.
DeleteAttn:Rockdog>about me. mcintyrejoe1959@gmail.com says Stranger! now that was a good song,1981 Jefferson Starship. My computer shows I'm replying as the name listed, wifey set it up, I think it said reset password a while back, will ck it out. I've been enjoying this blog lately, like the fun vibe so I commented on Bruce Hornsby piano/Don Henley song and ZZ Top. I'm computer challenged but if you need a Sony Discman patched into your cassette deck using accessory plugs I'm your man. I've always loved Rock, especially forgotten stuff from the 60's & 70's. Thought I'd see if there was any good stuff from the 80's/90's that would float my boat nostalgia wise and damn, I'm blown away, theres SO much good stuff I'd glossed over. My main claim to fame for the eighties is that I went to both US Festivals 82/83 for 3 days each and broke some records for partying, it would have made a Deadhead blush. Also I watched a lot of MTV, it was pretty much the only TV channel we watched. Growing up in San Bernardino, Ca.the main past times were partying, cruising and going to concerts at the Swing Auditorium. I did the transistor radio/one earphone American Top 40 thing for years religiously, building a huge database of useless knowledge as a child. The 1st British Invasion/psychedelic era massively influenced my tastes, and as a 70's teen I leaned towards the Foghat,Zeppelin,Sabbath stuff. No matter what, I gotta have my music. Its one of my rocks in life, pun intended. And I want to know about it too, even if I'm underwhelmed. kudos on the blog. Well done.
Deletemcintyrejoe1959 says Attn Rockdog, feel free to delete this post and the previous post pertaining to my identity. I acknowlege this content may not be compatible with the intent of your comments section. I would like to keep up my ZZ Top posts. I will be honing my internet communication skills for future contact. If I post blog comments I'll put my name first. thx Joe
ReplyDeleteHi Joe (is that right)? I am happy to leave the comments up, or delete them if you prefer - just let me know. You can also reach me at eightiesrarevideos@yahoo.com if you would prefer to be private. Love the stories about the US Festivals - now that's some great music. Glad that you're enjoying the blog, too. I've always loved music and ERV is my way of sharing.
Deletemcintyrejoe1959>says Thx for the friendly reply Rockdog. Lets leave up the previous comments, was a lot of typing. Concerned I may have been making it all about me when its a music blog. I'm a bit of a Luddite when it comes to computer messaging and iphone skills, so I'm working on that, Simplify is my mantra. Just retired, so now I have time. OMG the US Festivals! That was the most insanely good time, how I survived those 3 day fests blows my mind. Especially 83. Sadly not all the bands have good videos, but there are a few. Such memorable performances, words fail. I'd love to share some US Fest stories, lets save that for future contacts. I ride MTB in Glen Helen area and I always imagine the music and magic were absorbed into the surrounding hills and I can tap into it. This msg prsnl reply.delete yes. Joe
ReplyDeleteJoe - cool, happy to leave up your thoughts, I think music fans are happy to share stories, reminisce, discover new (old) songs - that's why we do the blog. If for any reason you change your mind, let me know and I'll take stuff down. In the meantime, there's 472 posts up (I just put a new one up), and I try to do a couple each month, so that should keep you busy!
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