ZZ Top History

ZZ Top has carried the Blues-Rock torch for over three decades of music history and shows no signs of slowing down.

ZZ Top: The Early Years
With perhaps the one exception of Pantera, no Texas Rock band has gotten bigger and made a larger impact than ZZ Top. However the path to fame was not paved with gold and beautiful women but was created by a decade of solid work. ZZ Top formed from two rival bands, with guitarist Billy Gibbons coming from Moving Sidewalks while bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard came from American Blues. It was certainly not the typical “Super Group” as ZZ Top would struggle to find an audience in 1970s America.

ZZ Top tickets sold well in Texas, but the first two albums floundered in trying to find a market. In 1973, ZZ Top discovered just the right mix of Blues and Rock with album Tres Hombres. While not the hot album that launches bands to the stratosphere, Tres Hombres gave ZZ Top national attention with single “La Grange”. With a patented dose of Texas “Boogie” added to the mix, ZZ Top minded a strong fan base across the nation.

ZZ Top: Worldwide Tour
Taking a grassroots approach to superstardom was not the most glamorous way to go, but ZZ Top continued to grow their mystique, style, and followers with every release in the 1970s. Each tour was exhaustive and would see ZZ Top on the road for more than a year. Songs like “Cheap Sunglasses” would become a fan favorite, and helpful word-of-mouth pushed 1979 album Deguello to platinum heights. The 1981 album El Loco contained two signature ZZ Top songs in “Pearl Necklace” and “Tube Snake Boogie”. The 1980s would be kind to ZZ Top.

ZZ Top: Eliminator
The rise of Metal and Punk from the UK and the United States caused a vacuum in Rock for a band that would fit the standard Blues-Rock mold of the 1970s. While there was nothing “standard” about ZZ Top, their 1983 album Eliminator was the perfect medicine for the acid burn of Metal and Punk. Single “Gimme All Your Lovin’” and the accompanying music video was the push ZZ Top needed to reach the summit of the mountain. ZZ Top tickets sold by the armload as the trio hit the road to support Eliminator.

Eliminator would also bring about two signature ZZ Top songs in singles “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs”. From jukeboxes to gentlemen’s clubs, “Legs” became one of the iconic songs in the career of ZZ Top and its lyrics and riffs are still memorized by millions of fans. “Sharp Dressed Man” also encompassed the Blues-Rock of the 1980s and stands as a landmark of that genre even today. The typical high-energy tour sold millions of ZZ Top tickets around the world, and the events that ZZ Top concerts became brought more attention to Eliminator, which eventually went 10-times platinum.

ZZ Top: Afterburner
With such a colossal hit like Eliminator to follow, ZZ Top was under more pressure and scrutiny than ever before. ZZ Top had to make an album that not only appealed to millions of fans that bought Eliminator but also the fans that supported the band for a decade of near obscurity. The 1985 album Afterburner favored the newer crowd and added some synthesis effects to supplement the Boogie beat of ZZ Top. “Can’t Stop Rockin’”, “Velcro Fly”, “Sleeping Bag”, and “Stages” were all major hits and made Afterburner go four-times platinum.

ZZ Top: 1990s & 2000s
Fans would have to wait five long years for the next studio album Recycler. “My Head’s in Mississippi” returned ZZ Top to their Blues-Rock roots and was seen as a triumph by many of the older fans. “Doubleback” and “Concrete and Steel” also lit the charts ablaze, and Recycler would gain a platinum certification. ZZ Top again took a long time to produce a follow-up thanks to a grueling tour schedule, but 1994 album Antenna would go platinum, proving that ZZ Top could do what their 1980s rivals could not, compete with Grunge.

ZZ Top: Touring
ZZ Top’s long history of touring to make their fame has given them not only appreciation for the power of the live show but a hunger for the road that band’s 20 years their junior cannot maintain. Fans can expect a show filled with amazing guitar riffs, theatrics, and an energy that only a handful of bands can muster. Whenever and wherever ZZ Top takes the stage, a crowd is rocking and ready for a true rock’n’roll show.

Since they are Houston, Texas-natives, ZZ Top is always a favorite attraction at the RodeoHouston event. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continues to be one of the biggest concert events of the year and routinely welcomes over a million fans each year. With ZZ Top bringing down the house in the first three RodeoHouston performances, 70,000 fans with ZZ Top tickets are bound to crowd Reliant Stadium for RodeoHouston.

ZZ Top: Greatest Hits

• “La Grange” from the Tres Hombres album
• “Cheap Sunglasses” from the Deguello album
• “Tube Snake Boogie” from the El Loco album
• “Pearl Necklace” from the El Loco album
• “Gimme All Your Lovin’” from the Eliminator album
• “Sharp Dressed Man” from the Eliminator album
• “Legs” from the Eliminator album
• “Sleeping Bag” from the Afterburner album
• “Stages” from the Afterburner album
• “My Head’s in Mississippi” from the Recycler album
• “Doubleback” from the Recycler album