ZZ Top

ZZ Top is a hard rock and blues band from Texas formed in 1969 by vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons. While the band’s debut single “Salt Lick”/“Miller’s Farm” featured organist Lanier Greig and drummer Dan Mitchell, by the time the band’s manager and producer Bill Ham got them a record deal and live performances Gibbons was already accompanied by bassist-singer Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. Ironically, Beard is the only one of the trio without a long beard, though in recent years he’s grown quite a goatee. The band’s sound is known for strong blues roots and humorous lyrical motifs, relying heavily on double entendres and innuendo, to the point ZZ Top’s first hit in 1974 was “La Grange”, about a whorehouse. Their best-selling album is 1983’s Eliminator, source of hits “Gimme All Your Lovin'”, “Legs”, “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Sharp Dressed Man”. They are notable for being the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music, until Hill’s death in July 2021.