ZZ TOP: TEXAS BEARDO HOT SHOTS

Just a I’il ol’ band from Texas. That’s what they’ve always called themselves. But for three guys comprising a trio, they make what is unquestionably one of the biggest sounds around. ZZ Top—probably the very best hard boogie blues (don’t ya dare call ’em metal!) trios of the ’80s!

Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard (oddly enough, he’s the only guy in the trio who doesn’t sport a beard!) have been playing together for many years. Prior to that, Billy was the lead guitarist of the Moving Sidewalks, a primal Texas “garage/punk” band that opened shows for some of the greatest acts of the late ’60s, including the Doors and Jimi Hendrix. A prophecy of things to come was foretold when Hendrix called Billy one of the best guitarists he’d ever heard.