ZZ TOP

ZZ TOP
20 GREATEST TRAX

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN'	Billy Gibbons	1983	37	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "We had dabbled with the synthesizer, and then all this gear was showing up from manufacturers. We threw caution to the winds. This was one of the first tracks that started unfolding." (2015:Rolling Stone) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill � bass, backing vocals Frank Beard � drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: ?? Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1982 KILL ME W S
TUSH	Dusty Hill	1975	20	VIDEO	[Q] Dusty Hill: "Tush, where I grew up, had two meanings. It meant what it means in New York. Tush is also like plush, very lavish, very luxurious. So it depended on how you used it. If somebody said, "That's a tush car,' you knew they weren't talking about the rear and of the car. That's like saying, 'That's a cherry short.' But tush as in 'That's a nice tush on that girl,' that's definitely the same as the Yiddish word. I don't know how we got it in Dallas. All it could have took was one guy moving down from New York." (Spin) Billy Gibbons: "We were in Florence, Alabama, playing in a rodeo arena with a dirt floor. We decided to play a bit in the afternoon. I hit that opening lick, and Dave Blayney, our lighting director, gave us the hand [twirls a finger in the air]: "Keep it going." I leaned over to Dusty and said, "Call it 'Tush.'" [The Texas singer] Roy Head had a flip side in 1966, "Tush Hog." Down South, the word meant deluxe, plush. And a tush hog was very deluxe. We had the riff going, Dusty fell in with the vocal, and we wrote it in three minutes. We had the advantage of that dual meaning of the word "tush" [grins]. It's that secret blues language � saying it without saying it." (2016:Rolling Stone) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Dusty Hill - lead vocals, bass Billy Gibbons - guitar Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: ?? Recorded at: Record Plant Mobile Studio, New York based truck, USA KILL ME W S
SHARP DRESSED MAN	Billy Gibbons	1983	56	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "I went to see a film. The credits were rolling, and one of the players was described as "Sharp Eyed Man." That started it. The track had this heavyweight bass line from a synthesizer. " (2015:Rolling Stone) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, lead/rhythm guitar Dusty Hill � bass Frank Beard � drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1982 KILL ME W
LEGS	Billy Gibbons	1984	8	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "I was driving in Los Angeles, and there was this unusual downpour. And there was a real pretty girl on the side of the road. I passed her, and then I thought, 'Well, I'd better pull over' or at least turn around and offer her a ride, and by the time I got back she was gone. Her legs were the first thing I noticed. Then I noticed that she had a Brooke Shields hairdo that was in danger of falling. She was not going to get wet. She had legs and she knew how to use them." (1985:Spin) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill � bass, backing vocals Frank Beard � drums, percussion Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1982 KILL ME W S
LA GRANGE	Billy Gibbons	1973	41	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "We were extolling the virtues of our proximity to Mexico and that gunslinger mentality. "La Grange" was one of the rites of passage for a young man. It was a cathouse, way back in the woods. The simplicity of that song was part of the magic � only two chords. And the break coming out of the solo � those notes are straight Robert Johnson. He did it as a shuffle. I just dissected the notes." (2016:Rolling Stone) KILL ME [I] The song refers to a brothel on the outskirts of La Grange, Texas (later called the "Chicken Ranch"). The brothel is also the subject of the Broadway play and film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the latter starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds. ..... The initial groove of the song is based on a traditional boogie blues rhythm used by John Lee Hooker in "Boogie Chillen'" and by Slim Harpo in "Shake Your Hips". A failed lawsuit by the copyright holder of "Boogie Chillen'" resulted in the court ruling that the rhythm was in the public domain. (Wikipedia) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass guitar, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums, percussion Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA KILL ME W S
SLEEPING BAG	Billy Gibbons	1985	8	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "Sleeping bags used to be a real drag to contend with, when you're in the Boy Scouts and the best you can do is one of those Army sleeping bags. The old-timey kind that were heavy. Then in the late '60s or '70s, they came out with those down-filled bags that roll up into the size of a cantaloupe. It's changed the whole idea of a sleeping bag. I had one of those that looks just like a mummy case. That's where the line in the song comes from: 'Sleep beside the pharoahs in the shifting sands.'" (1985:Spin) Dusty Hill: "I used to own a sleeping bag. I used to go camping. But I don't own a sleeping bag now. I own a sleeping bag in my mind." (1985:Spin) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass, keyboards Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Joe Hardy, Bob Ludwig Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1985 KILL ME W
I THANK YOU	Billy Gibbons	1980	34	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "I remember hearing the Sam and Dave single on the radio in Houston; I was turning the corner onto the Gulf Freeway, going to my grandmother's house. ..... That album was our first for Warner Bros., and they were doing such a good job. The song was our message - not only to the fans and friends but to the label guys." (2015:Rolling Stone) KILL ME [P] (Isaac Hayes, David Porter) Billy Gibbons � guitar, vocals, baritone saxophone Dusty Hill � bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, tenor saxophone Frank Beard � drums, percussion, alto saxophone Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Bob Ludwig, Terry Manning Recorded at: Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1979 KILL ME W
GIVE IT UP	Billy Gibbons	1991	79	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Recorded at: Memphis Sound Productions, Memphis, Tennessee, USA KILL ME W
STAGES	Billy Gibbons	1985	21	VIDEO	Billy Gibbons: "" () [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - keyboards, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums, backing vocals Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Joe Hardy, Bob Ludwig Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1985 KILL ME W
CHEAP SUNGLASSES	Billy Gibbons	1980	89	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, lead/rhythm guitar Dusty Hill � bass guitar Frank Beard � drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Bob Ludwig, Terry Manning Recorded at: Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1979 KILL ME W
VELCRO FLY	Billy Gibbons	1986	35	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "I love Velcro, I think it's the greatest stuff. I think it was invented in 1936 by a Swiss doctor who was curious why the nettles were sticking to his pants after walking through a field. We were going to have Velcro guitars and invite objects, hopefully not radical objects, to land on them. Maybe that's not such a great idea." (1985:Spin) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - keyboards Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Joe Hardy, Bob Ludwig Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1985 KILL ME W S
PINCUSHION	Billy Gibbons	1994	124	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums Produced: Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham Engineered: Joe Hardy, Tom Harding Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1993 KILL ME W
MY HEAD'S IN MISSISSIPPI	Billy Gibbons	1990	(1)	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: "My buddy Walter Baldwin spoke in the most poetic way. Every sentence was a visual awakening. His dad was the editor of the Houston Post. We grew up in a neighborhood where the last thing you would say is, "These teenagers know what blues is." But our appreciation dragged us in. ... Years later, we were sitting in a tavern in Memphis called Sleep Out Louie's � you could see the Mississippi River. Walter said, "We didn't grow up pickin' cotton. We weren't field hands in Mississippi. But my head's there." Our platform, in ZZ Top, was we'd be the Salvador Dal� of the Delta. It was a surrealist take. " (2015:Rolling Stone) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill � bass, keyboards, vocals Frank Beard � drums, percussion Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: Memphis Sound Productions, Memphis, Tennessee, USA KILL ME
ROUGH BOY	Billy Gibbons	1986	22	VIDEO	[Q] Billy Gibbons: ""He's this fictitious character who was the only way that ZZ Top was going to get to play another ballad. The way he came up was, 'How would a ZZ Top fan allow such a beautiful, lush bed of sound into their realm?' The pretty music had to have a rough boy in it. He's there. On El Loco we did 'Leila' which is ZZ Top-meets-the-Beach Boys. I don't think it worked as well as, say, a synth programmer meeting a rap guy in an alley in New York. The only thing is, how long is it going to be before somebody says, 'Hey, man! You the rough boy?' How are you going to answer that?"" (1985:Spin) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass, keyboards, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Bob Ludwig, Joe Hardy Recorded at: ?? KILL ME W S
ARRESTED WHILE DRIVING BLIND	Billy Gibbons	1977	91	VIDEO	[Q] Dusty Hill: (encouraging people to drive drunk) "That's not it at all. Billy introduces it: 'Don't get arrested for driving while blind.' We�re not saying, 'Don�t drink.' We're just doing a tune." (1985:Spin) KILL ME [I] The song ostensibly concerns the pleasures, and legal pitfalls, of driving under the influence, after dark, as an antidote to limited leisure opportunities. The song references a number of popular alcoholic beverage brands. In a 1985 interview with Spin magazine, however, bass player Dusty Hill said that the song was not meant to encourage people to drive drunk. (Wikipedia) KILL ME [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, fiddle Dusty Hill � bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Frank Beard � drums, percussion Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: 1976 KILL ME W S
WHAT'S UP WITH THAT	Billy Gibbons	1996	(5)	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Joe Hardy, Luther Ingram, Mack Rice) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill � bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Frank Beard � drums, percussion Produced: Billy Gibbons, Bill Ham Engineered: Joe Hardy Recorded at: Digital Services Recording, Tomball, Texas, USA KILL ME W
LEILA	Billy Gibbons	1981	77	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass guitar, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums, percussion Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: ?? KILL ME W
IT'S ONLY LOVE	Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill	1976	44	VIDEO	: "" () [P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons � lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, fiddle Dusty Hill � lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards Frank Beard � drums, percussion Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: 1976 KILL ME
DOUBLEBACK	Billy Gibbons	1990	50	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - bass, backing vocals Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Recorded at: Memphis Sound Productions, Memphis, Tennessee, USA KILL ME W
TV DINNERS	Billy Gibbons	1983	(38)	VIDEO	[P] (Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, Frank Beard) Billy Gibbons - lead vocals, guitar Dusty Hill - keyboards Frank Beard - drums Produced: Bill Ham Engineered: Terry Manning Recorded at: Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 1982 KILL ME W S

FIVE GREATEST ALBUMS

Eliminator 1983 Fandango! 1975 Afterburner 1985 Recycler 1990 Deg�ello 1979

STATE OF THE ARTIST

ACTIVE
ZZ Top continues to record and tour, with the classic members that it began with, for 50 years. That finally changed with the death of Dusty Hill. The band will continue as per Dusty's wishes. Billy Gibbons, who sang most of the well known songs, continues as lead singer.

SETLIST
Final Concert with Dusty Hill, Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, KY, USA, July 18, 2021

THE ARTIST

From: Houston, Texas, USA	Artist Website
Active: 1976 - Present	Wikipedia Bio
...	Wikipedia Discography
...	ZZ Top Documentary
Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: 2004
Pop Rock Bands

ZZ TOP 1976 - Present CLASSIC LINE-: Mark I
Mark I 1970 - 2021 Billy Gibbons - V,G Dusty Hill - B,K Frank Beard - D	Mark II 2021 - Pres Billy Gibbons - V,G Frank Beard - D
EARLY MEMBERS: Lanier Greig, Dan Mitchell, Billy Ethridge

RELATIONSHIPS

Billy Gibbons / Dusty Hill / Frank Beard
The three members have been together from the beginning. The are all equal in the band, sharing writing credits together. No sign of discord as seen in the majority of bands. This helps explain why the band was fully intact a half century later, until the death of Hill.

HIDDEN GEM
BEER DRINKERS & HELL RAISERS	Dusty Hill	1973	--	VIDEO	S

Mark I

Mark II