Before the MTV era kicked in, it was an early testament to the group’s knack for making roadhouse blues riffs feel bracingly modern. According to Hill, ZZ Top’s travels led them to many a roadside stop, and, as he told Spin, “Every gas station in the world had a cardboard display of the cheapest and ugliest sunglasses you could imagine.” Starting with its gnarly riff, and extending to Hill’s rock-steady bass line, “Cheap Sunglasses” wasn’t just advice for anyone with a hangover. Who says the drudgery of touring can’t be inspiring? One of the highlights of 1979’s Degüello (along with “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide”) was this ode to low-cost eyewear, which came to the band on tour. If the guy’s got good wine, it’s OK.” The way the song seamlessly segued into Hombres’ bar rocker “Jesus Just Left Chicago” as if nothing happened made for one of the best one-two punches in the history of road rock. The thing about a bus is who you have to sit beside.
“You can meet some very unique people on a bus and in a bus station,” Hill told Spin in 1985. The Homeric track that opened their iconic Tres Hombres album starts with a thin, precise bluesy guitar lick and a tight, sighing drum line that foreshadows the band’s electro-blues era, setting up Gibbons and Hill to plead for compassion in concert: “Have mercy!” Gibbons goes on to explain they’ve been waiting for the bus all day, with a bottle of booze and some leftover scratch, but, horror of horrors, when the bus arrives, it’s “packed up tight.” Blues harp virtuoso James Harman takes a solo, and by the time the song finishes up, the ZZ guys are dreaming of getting a Cadillac someday (fast forward to Eliminator ).
ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.Poor ZZ Top, they just wanted to get home. By 2014, ZZ Top had sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. That includes eleven gold, seven platinum and three multi-platinum albums as of 2016, according to the RIAA. Total record sales of 25 million place ZZ Top among the top-100-selling artists in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The band's top-selling album is their 1983 release Eliminator, which sold more than 10 million copies in the United States. Their songs have a reputation for containing humorous lyrics laced with double entendres and innuendos. Beginning with blues-inspired rock, the trio later incorporated new wave, punk rock and dance-rock by using synthesizers.
The band released its debut album, ZZ Top's First Album, in 1971. "Gibbons is one of America's finest blues guitarists working in the arena rock idiom while Hill and Beard provide the ultimate rhythm section support." "As genuine roots musicians, they have few peers", according to critic Michael "Cub" Koda. The band has, since 1970, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Billy Gibbons (the band's leader, main lyricist and musical arranger), bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard. ZZ Top (pronounced "zee zee top") is an American rock trio formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. Without further ado, here are ZZ Top top 10 tracks of all time: 1. ZZ Top (pronounced "zee zee top") is an American rock trio formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas.įiddler's Green Amphitheatre, Dickies Arena, Abbotsford Centre, Abraham Chavez Theatre, Amphitheater at White River State Park, Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion, Azura Amphitheater, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, Blossom Music Center, BOK CenterĪbbotsford Centre, Place Bell, Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, Vina Robles Amphitheatre, The Mountain Winery, Hayden Homes Amphitheater, Pikes Peak Center, OKC Zoo Amphitheatre, Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre, Foellinger Theatre Follow ZZ Top to get alerts about upcoming events and special deals! Follow