Billy Gibbons
Texas boogie, fat tone and the sly art of leaving space
Billy Gibbons grew up in Houston, the son of a working musician and bandleader, and was steeped early in the blues and rock and roll pouring out of Texas radio. As a teenager he led the psychedelic garage band the Moving Sidewalks, whose 1967 single "99th Floor" became a regional hit. The group earned a slot opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience on a 1968 tour, an experience that put the young guitarist in front of big crowds and alongside the most radical player of the era.
When the Moving Sidewalks fell apart, Gibbons formed ZZ Top in 1969, and the lineup soon settled on bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. That trio would stay unchanged for more than half a century. Early records such as ZZ Top's First Album and Rio Grande Mud built a following across the South, and Tres Hombres in 1973 delivered "La Grange," a hypnotic boogie that made Gibbons' tone famous. Fandango! and its hit "Tush" followed, and the band staged its lavish Worldwide Texas Tour in 1976 and 1977.
After a long break, ZZ Top returned leaner and wittier with Degüello and El Loco, then reinvented itself for the MTV age. Eliminator, released in 1983, paired the old boogie with drum machines, synthesizers and videos starring a red hot rod and a trio of glamorous women. Singles like "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Legs" made the bearded Texans global stars, and the album sold in enormous numbers. Afterburner and Recycler extended that sleek sound into the early nineties.
Later decades found Gibbons circling back to the roots. ZZ Top entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and released La Futura, a heavier and more bluesy record, in 2012. Gibbons launched a solo career with the Afro-Cuban flavored Perfectamundo in 2015, followed by the raw The Big Bad Blues and Hardware. After Dusty Hill died in 2021, Gibbons kept ZZ Top on the road with longtime guitar technician Elwood Francis on bass, still playing with the same grin and swagger.
The 10 greatest Billy Gibbons solos
- 1ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1973
- 2ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1975
- 3ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1972
- 4ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1973
- 5ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1975
- 6ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1975
- 7ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1971
- 8ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1979
- 9ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1983
- 10ZZ Top · solo by Billy Gibbons · 1981
The sound
Gibbons is a master of economy: he rarely plays a note he does not mean, and his solos often feel like a conversation built from short, sly phrases with plenty of air between them. His rhythm work draws on the hypnotic shuffles of Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker. His tone is thick, singing and slightly snarling, and he is famous for squealing pinch harmonics that jump out of a phrase. He favors remarkably light strings and has long used a coin as a pick, which gives his attack a distinctive edge and bite.
- 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard "Pearly Gates" (guitar) His most celebrated guitar and the core of the classic ZZ Top sound from the early seventies onward.
- "Muddywood" custom guitar (guitar) A guitar built from timber salvaged from Muddy Waters' childhood cabin, created to raise money for the Delta Blues Museum.
- Gretsch Billy-Bo Jupiter Thunderbird (guitar) A signature Gretsch with a striking body shape, used frequently on stage in later years.
- John Bolin custom guitars (guitar) Bolin built a string of eye-catching custom instruments for Gibbons over the decades.
- Marshall amplifiers (amp) Stacks of Marshalls powered much of ZZ Top's big, saturated live sound.
Covers
- I Thank You, originally by Sam & Dave ZZ Top turned the soul stomper into a swaggering Texas strut with a gritty guitar edge.
- Dust My Broom, originally by Elmore James Gibbons paid tribute to the classic slide riff while stamping it with his own tone.
- Viva Las Vegas, originally by Elvis Presley A rowdy, synth-tinged romp that fit the band's larger-than-life image.
- Treat Her Right, originally by Roy Head He recast the sixties R&B hit with the Latin rhythms that defined his first solo album.
- Standing Around Crying, originally by Muddy Waters A reverent but raw reading of a Chicago blues he has loved since his youth.
- Bring It to Jerome, originally by Bo Diddley Gibbons leaned into the hypnotic beat with a rough, pleasantly unpolished guitar sound.
Timeline
- 1949 Born in Houston, Texas
- 1967 The Moving Sidewalks score a regional hit with "99th Floor"
- 1968 Opens for the Jimi Hendrix Experience with the Moving Sidewalks
- 1969 Forms ZZ Top
- 1971 ZZ Top release their debut, ZZ Top's First Album
- 1973 Tres Hombres and "La Grange" bring a national breakthrough
- 1976 Launches the Worldwide Texas Tour
- 1983 Eliminator makes ZZ Top global MTV stars
- 2004 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with ZZ Top
- 2015 Releases first solo album, Perfectamundo
Facts
- His famous Les Paul "Pearly Gates" takes its name from a car that had earlier carried a friend to Hollywood.
- He has long used a coin, often described as a Mexican peso, as his pick.
- Gibbons favors unusually light-gauge guitar strings, preferring to get his heavy sound from technique rather than string tension.
- ZZ Top's drummer is named Frank Beard, and he was the only member of the classic lineup without a long beard.
- The Worldwide Texas Tour of 1976 and 1977 featured live animals on stage, including a buffalo and a longhorn steer.
- The "Muddywood" guitar was built from wood taken from the cabin where Muddy Waters grew up.
- The hot rod on the Eliminator cover and in its videos is a customized 1933 Ford coupe.
- ZZ Top kept the same three-man lineup from the early seventies until Dusty Hill's death in 2021.
- Gibbons had a recurring acting role on the TV series Bones, playing the father of one of the main characters.
- His father was a professional musician and orchestra leader, so music was a family trade.