ZZ Top  is an American rock band that formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas.  The band is composed of bassist and lead vocalist Dusty Hill, guitarist and lead vocalist Billy Gibbons (the band's leader, main lyricist and musical arranger), and drummer Frank Beard.  One of just a few major label recording groups to have held the same lineup for more than 45 years, ZZ Top has been praised by critics and fellow musicians alike for their technical mastery.  Since the release of the band's debut album in January 1971, ZZ Top has become known for its strong blues roots and humorous lyrical motifs, relying heavily on double entendres and innuendo.  Their 1983 album Eliminator, remains the group's most commercially successful record, selling over 10 million units in the United States.  The band is known for Hill and Gibbons' long beards; despite his surname, Frank Beard usually only has a moustache.  (More from Wikipedia)

 

Homer was fortunate enough to record their single at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas, which was managed by Robin "Hood" Brians.  ZZ Top recorded their debut album, ZZ Top's First Album at this studio, and Mouse and the Traps laid down their early tracks there as well, including their Dylanesque classic "A Public Execution".  

 

(April 2014)

 

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ZZ Top also had a lot of fun with videos in the 1980’s. Their name was created so that they would be the last band name in an alphabetical list. Bandleader Billy Gibbons (guitar, vocals) and Dusty Hill (bass, vocals) grew very long, more or less matching beards; their drummer’s name is Frank Beard, leading longtime Village Voice rockcrit Robert Christgau to describe ZZ Top once as “two beards and a Beard”.

 

Beginning with “Gimme All Your Lovin’” in August 1983 as the first single from their album Eliminator (though it was not initially a hit), ZZ Top released a series of rock videos featuring a customized 1933 Ford coupe, a ZZ keychain, a trio of ZZ girls, and some smooth fades, often after giving signature arm gestures. Other videos coming just from the Eliminator album – which was Diamond-certified (i.e., 10 million albums sold) – include “Legs”, “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Sharp Dressed Man”. 

(March 2016)

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Since I am down to a quarterly schedule rather than a monthly schedule, my annual list is a lot shorter, so I will try listing all of the people that I have discussed in some depth rather than just the Under Appreciated Rock Band and the Story of the Month. They are all punk rock bands of one kind or another this year (2015-2016), and the most recent post includes my overview of the early rap/hip hop scene that an old friend, George Konstantinow challenged me to write – probably so long ago that he might have forgotten.

 

March 2016 – 1980’s-2000’s punk/funk band THE LOVEMASTERS; Story of the Month on Pat Boone; also, Twisted Sister, the B-52’s, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, ZZ Top, Deee-Lite, Katrina and the Waves, Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, the Ramrods, Robert Mulrooney, Bootsey X, Bobby Beyond, One String Sam, the Credibility Gap, Dark Carnival, Nathaniel Mayer.

(Year 7 Review)