Everyone knows the bearded guitarists from ZZ Top. However, the group did not always stand out for such a memorable image of its members. In the distant 60s, the creator of this rock project, Billy Gibbons, played the blues. His group "Moving Sidewalks" was quite popular, and its tracks received the approval of Jimi Hendrix himself. The starting point for ZZ Top's rise to the heights of fame was 1970. Renamed from "Moving Sidewalks", the group did not last long, as the military invasion of Vietnam began, and most of Billy Gibbons' associates went to pay their debt to their homeland. Billy had to put the team together again from scratch.

Its new members were Billy Gibbons, Joe Hill and Frank Beard. At this point, producer Bill Hama invites the group to play hard rock, but in order to maintain popularity with the existing audience, ZZ Top decides to perform blues. After conducting several tours in the southern states, the guys began creating new albums.

The album "Rio Grande Mud", released in 1972, does not reach the top ranks hit parades, although some songs from it were quite popular. The next attempt to break into the charts becomes successful, the brainchild of the group is included in the top ten best compositions with the main hit “La Grange”. After some time, the disc “Fandango” appears, which received platinum status and lasted in the world charts for more than 80 weeks.

After this, the trio went on a tour of Texas, which made an unforgettable impression on the audience; it differed from others in the presence of unusual stage decorations, designed in the Texas style.

In 1976, during the period of numerous tours, the band's guitarists began to have famous beards. From 1979 to 1985, four more albums were released, millions of records were sold, and the album "Eliminator" stayed on the charts for more than a year and managed to appear in the Billboard top ten. After taking a five-year break, ZZ Top resumed work in 1990 and released Recycler. This year they are finishing their work with the Warner Bros label.

Genre: Blues rock, boogie rock, hard rock, southern rock, rock and roll

A country: USA

Years of activity 1969 - present.

Biography:

ZZ Top is a musical group from the USA, working in the blues-rock genre. The lyrics are often humorous, filled with humor and slang. The ZZ Top team was founded in 1969 after another group, also created by B. Gibbons, The Moving Sidewalks, broke up. The members of the new team were D. Hill and drummer F. Bird, and B. Ham, who until 2006 was the permanent producer of the group, was also considered a member of the team. The musicians recorded their debut album in 1970, but it was not very successful, although it entered the Top 100 in the United States. The next album became more popular and was released in 1972. The third album, released in 1973, brought real fame to the musicians. Recording took place with the participation of producer T. Manning in Memphis. The album managed to climb into the top ten of the American Billbord chart, and the number of copies sold reached one million copies. The team's next disc was called Fandango! also appeared in the top ten of the top 100 and became platinum. The band gained worldwide fame after the release of the Eliminator album in 1983, after which ZZ Top began filming videos for their compositions.

In the late 60s, Texas guitarist Billy Gibbons formed the blues band Moving Sidewalks. The group released an album and several singles, and even Jimi Hendrix himself, inspired by its work, invited the musicians to participate with him in a television show, where he called Gibbons one of the best young performers in America. In 1970, Billy opened new project called "ZZ Top". In this matter, he was helped by his Moving Sidewalks comrades, keyboardist Lanier Grieg and drummer Dan Mitchell. This configuration managed to release only one single, after which Billy’s colleagues went to Vietnam, and he had to look for new associates.

New line-up"ZZ Top", cemented for many years, looked like this: Billy Gibbons (vocals, guitar), Joe "Dusty" Hill (vocals, bass), Frank Beard (drums). The fourth freelance member of the team was producer Bill Ham. It was he who advised us to focus on hard rock. But the band also could not abandon their southern blues roots, as a result of which they chose the direction that ensured “ZZ Top” fame on for a long time. At the beginning of their activity, the trio toured mainly in the southern states, but after the release of the second record they gained all-American fame.

Then, in 1972, their single "Francene" made it into the top hundred. For some reason, "Rio Grande Mud" itself did not hit the charts, although songs from the album were played on radio stations. Commercial success came with the release of "Tres Hombres", which contained such action films as "La Grange". Thanks to this composition, the album landed straight into the Top 10. The next half-studio, half-live work, "Fandango", was also present in the hot ten. The platinum-certified disc spent a total of 83 weeks on the charts. The World Wide Texas tour that followed became truly legendary for ZZ Top. The fact is that during the tour the stage was decorated in the appropriate Texas style - with cacti, snakes and other southern “charms”.

After 1976, there was a significant break in the trio's studio activities, during which the group mainly indulged in touring. Gibbons and Hill grew long beards, giving ZZ Top a signature stage image (Bird didn't need a beard because his last name was "bearded"). Between 1979 and 1985, the group released four albums at an equal interval of two years. And if “El Loco” turned out to be weak compared to its predecessors, then on “Eliminator” the trio regained their lost ground, releasing a number of action films “Sharp dressed man”, “Legs”, “Gimme all your lovin’”.

All these songs were played on television, while the record sold in incredible quantities and the army of ZZ Top fans grew steadily. Although "Eliminator" only peaked at number nine on Billboard, it spent more than a year in the top twenty. After the also commercially successful "Afterburner", the band took a break for five years, returning only in 1990 with the album "Recycler". This disc marked the end of a long-term collaboration between ZZ Top and Warner Bros. In 1994, the “bearded men” moved to RCA, where they began with the release of “Antenna”. The album, as always, contained a series of hits, and one of them, “She’s just killing me,” was heard on the soundtrack to the cult Tarantino film “From dusk till dawn.”

“ZZ Top” celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its existence with the release of a new studio work with the appropriate title – “XXX”, after which they embarked on a global world tour. Unfortunately, after the tour, Dusty Hill was diagnosed with hepatitis C, and he had to spend some time restoring his health. As a result, the band returned to full-fledged activity only in 2003, when the album "Mescalero" was released.

When an article came out about those beards that, we immediately remembered ZZ Top, because these beards really suit them. Our boss jokes that these guys were born with beards like this. So why not write about them today?

This famous American blues-hard rock band is notable primarily for the fact that for almost 50 years it not only never changed its composition, but also remained true to its style, unlike these guys of yours. Metallica.

The young 20-year-old guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons was an avid fan of Elvis Presley. He tried to adopt the King's charismatic gait, behavior and style. No wonder the dude started the group very quickly Moving Sidewalks, which played rather specific music, reminiscent of psychedelic rock. The group was widely known in extremely narrow circles and perhaps could have become even more popular if the Vietnam War had not suddenly broken out and almost all of its members had not been taken away to fight. Billy found the same Dusty Hill and Frank Beard who remained after the call. They never parted again. The guys came up with a name new group- ZZ Top. Where did it come from? There is an opinion that it is inspired by the name of the American blues singer Z. Z. Hill or that it is a symbiosis of the names of two well-known brands of rolling paper manufacturers, Zig-Zag and Top. But this is just a legend.

The group did not miss the opportunity to perform anywhere, because someday you will still get lucky, right? So why not take advantage of all the options that life presents to us? And luck smiled on the guys: they were offered to record their first album. It received the simple name “ZZ Top’s First Album”. The group had a very frivolous attitude towards the blues, so their style was even called “Alternative Blues”. Although the album received many positive reviews, it did not bring popularity to the group. The second record, “Rio Grande Mud,” corrected the situation and brought fame to the bearded men. After the guys decided to take part in the Rolling Stones 1972 promotional tour.

But the third album, along with the gorgeous composition “La Grange” with cool guitar riffs, made the group popular immediately and quickly. The album went platinum, and the trio, charismatic and confident on stage in their strange biker costumes, instantly became very recognizable. Deciding to consolidate their fame, the guys in 1974 organized an event at the University of Texas stadium called “Texas-Size Rompin’ Stompin’ Barndance and Bar-B-Q.” About 85 thousand people came to the concert. After this, the university administration decided never to hold any concerts in their lives. The ban was lifted only twenty years later.

The promotional tour for the third album was very, very epic. The guys promised to bring a piece of Texas with them - the guys kept their promise. The scenery consisted of cacti (where would we be without them), typical Texas ranch corners, barns and local wildlife. Once they even drove a herd of large animals onto the stage. cattle and live bison. And then one of the band members brought a real rattlesnake onto the stage. In terms of money, the tour was more than just very successful: the guys earned a record $11.5 million.

And in 1979, the dudes who met to record a new album, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, were surprised to discover that they had both grown long, powerful beards without even saying a word. The third member of the group, Frank Beard (his last name, by the way, translates as “beard”) did not follow their example - probably because he was already tired of being teased with a beard.

The 1983 album “Eliminator” did not please the loyal fans of the blues part of the group; they unanimously said “ugh” when they heard a synthesizer, fashionable at that time, in the songs. But the general public really liked the electronic motifs. The group became extremely popular overnight, their album sold more than 10 million copies, and the whole world started talking about bearded men. In the same year, the famous bright red 1933 Ford roadster appeared in the group’s videos, which, along with beards, became their calling card.

The dudes first appeared in films in 1989 in the film Back to the Future 3. After this, bearded men often appeared in various shows, and references to their group still appear in popular books, films and TV series.

In 2004, the guys received a cushy place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since 2008, the guys have been promising us a new album, but it never comes, although last year information about its release appeared on the official website. We'll wait.

Of course, bearded men have done a lot of good for music in general and for rock and roll, blues, metal and psychedelics in particular. These dudes are young at heart, and when we look at the cheerful performance of these cheerful eternal old men, who have never parted for 50 years, we believe in the beautiful, kind and bright. And these strange beards suit them too.

In the late 60s, Texas guitarist Billy Gibbons formed the blues band Moving Sidewalks. The group released an album and several singles, and even Jimi Hendrix himself, inspired by its work, invited the musicians to participate with him in a television show, where he called Gibbons one of the best young performers in America. In 1970, Billy opened a new project called "ZZ Top". In this matter, he was helped by his Moving Sidewalks comrades, keyboardist Lanier Grieg and drummer Dan Mitchell. This configuration managed to release only one single, after which Billy’s colleagues went to Vietnam, and he had to look for other associates. The new line-up of ZZ Top, cemented for many years, looked like this: Billy Gibbons (guitar), Joe "Dusty" Hill (vocals, bass), Frank Beard (drums). The fourth freelance member of the team was producer Bill Ham, who advised them to focus on hard rock.

However, the band also could not abandon their southern blues roots, as a result of which a direction was chosen that ensured “ZZ Top” fame for a long time. At the beginning of their activity, the trio toured mainly in the southern states, but after the release of the second record they gained all-American fame. Then, in 1972, their single "Francene" made it into the top hundred. For some reason, “Rio Grande Mud” itself did not hit the charts, although songs from the album were played on many radio stations.

Commercial success came with the release of "Tres Hombres", which contained such action films as "La Grange". Thanks to this composition, the album landed straight into the Top 10. The next half-studio, half-live work, "Fandango", was also present in the hot ten. The platinum-certified disc spent a total of 83 weeks on the charts. The World Wide Texas tour that followed became truly legendary for ZZ Top. The fact is that during the tour the stage was decorated in the appropriate Texas style - with cacti, snakes and other southern “charms”. After 1976, there was a significant break in the trio's studio activities, during which the group mainly indulged in touring. Gibbons and Hill grew long beards, giving ZZ Top a signature stage image (Bird didn't need a beard because his last name was "bearded").

Between 1979 and 1985, the group released four albums at an equal interval of two years. And if “El Loco” turned out to be weak compared to its predecessors, then on “Eliminator” the trio regained lost ground by releasing a number of action films: “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Legs”, “Gimme All Your Lovin”". All these songs were played on television, while the record sold in incredible quantities, and the army of ZZ Top fans grew steadily.

Although "Eliminator" only peaked at number nine on Billboard, it spent more than a year in the top twenty. After the commercially successful "Afterburner", the band took a break for five years, returning only in 1990 with the album "Recycler". This disc marked the end of a long-term collaboration between ZZ Top and Warner Bros. In 1994, the “bearded men” moved to RCA, where they began with the release of the album “Antenna”. The disc sold millions of copies, but subsequent releases sold more modestly. “ZZ Top” celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its existence with the release of a studio work appropriately titled “XXX,” after which they embarked on a global world tour.

Unfortunately, after the end of the tour, Dusty Hill was diagnosed with hepatitis C, and he had to spend some time restoring his health. As a result, the band returned to full-fledged activity only in 2003, when the album "Mescalero" was released. Despite the fact that ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the next few years were not characterized by vigorous activity. Only in 2008 was the live album “Live From Texas” released (released on DVD and later on CD), and only after that the “bearded men” announced the preparation of a new studio album.