ZZ Top has been serving up straightforward hard-driving Texas boogie blues rock with tons of cool cock-strutting attitude for the past four decades, never straying very far from their distinctive sound and adopting a sort of “If it ain’t broke, don't fix it” creative mentality that, while not always successful, has never been considered irrelevant and continues to influence blues rockers to this day.
Eminent axeman Billy Gibbons doles out licks and riffs without any flash or pretense, his guitar tone thick and crunchy and warm with a bite. He delivers cheeky lyrics in a characteristic sandpaper growl, sometimes suggestive, other times blatantly sexual or just plain nasty (remember when you first got “Pearl Necklace”?). Bassist/backing vocalist/co-bearded frontman Dusty Hill and whisker-free drummer Frank Beard provide the relentless grinding rhythmic foundation to the band’s thunderous sound.
The trio’s unchanging image and style is as famous as their music – long trailing beards, dark sunglasses, all manner of head gear (cowboy hats, baseball caps, biker bandannas and the like), a music museum’s worth of guitars, from custom-made fuzzy white novelties to a vintage classic ’59 Les Paul so holy it’s been dubbed “Pearly Gates,” a penchant for hot rods and hogzillas…
ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, has released 14 studio albums – 1983’s Eliminator (“Legs,” “Got Me Under Pressure,” “Sharp Dressed Man”) the most successful to date – and the original lineup has been intact for the entire length of the band’s tenure. They celebrated their 40th anniversary last December and a 15th studio album commemorating the hallmark is currently in the works with producer Rick Rubin manning the boards.
I had the chance to e-mail some questions to Gibbons last week, and he responded with clever, quickfire answers. Check out our virtual conversation below.
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2010.