ZZ Top, an American rock band, was established in 1969 in Houston, Texas. They were made up of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill for 51 years until Hill’s passing in 2021.
ZZ Top developed their own distinctive sound based on the blues guitar playing of Gibbons and the rhythm combo of Hill and Beard.
They are well renowned for their energetic live performances, clever songs, and Gibbons and Hill’s matching ensembles of sunglasses, hats, and long beards.
ZZ Top was formed in 1969 when Gibbons’ prior band, Moving Sidewalks, split up. Within a year of signing with London Records, they released ZZ Top’s First Album (1971).
The singles “La Grange” and “Tush,” as well as later albums like Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975), all saw a lot of radio play. ZZ Top was well-known for its live performances in North America by the middle of the 1970s, especially the critically acclaimed and economically successful Worldwide Texas Tour (1976–1977).
Gibbons, drummer Dan Mitchell, and bassist/organist Lanier Greig made formed the band’s original Houston lineup. The band’s name was created by Gibbons. He noted that the band resided in a small apartment covered in tour posters and that several of the vocalists’ names had initials.
Gibbons was particularly fond of B.B. King and Z. Z. Hill. He thought about combining the two to become the “ZZ King,” but he decided against it because it was too similar to his previous name.
After concluding that “king is at the top,” he came up with the name “ZZ Top” for the band.
Who replaced Dusty Hill from ZZ Top?
Dusty Hill died in 2021, in accordance with his intentions, and longtime guitar technician for the band Elwood Francis replaced him.
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