ZZ Top Set Out on Tour with 3 Doors Down, Gretchen Wilson : March 28, 2012

“The little ol’ band from Texas is gearin’ up to hit the road again and this time, they’re bringing friends!” That’s how ZZ Top’s website announces the b [...]

ZZ Top, Gretchen Wilson, 3 Doors Down Kick Off Tampa Bay Rays’ Concert Series : March 07, 2012

In recent years, many major league baseball teams have been including post game concerts by notable artists in the price of admission for certain games. The Tampa Bay Ray [...]

ZZ Top Teams with Lynyrd Skynyrd for Spring Tour : March 29, 2011

The month of May is for southern rock and Texas-style boogie, as Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top kick off their headlining tour in Kansas. The year 1974 was the very first t [...]

zz top Biography

The American rock band ZZ Top was established in 1969 in Houston, Texas. Drummer Dan Mitchell and musician Billy Gibbons, who were originally with the group Moving Sidewalks, formed the band along with bassist Lanier Greig. Mitchell and Greig were replaced in 1969 by Frank Beard and Dusty Hill from the group American Blues. The current band members are Frank Beard, Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons.

The band's musical style has its roots in boogie rock with a blues base and has evolved to incorporate elements from boogie rock, Southern rock and arena rock. In 1970, ZZ Top signed with London Records. They released several albums starting with their debut album in 1971 and “Rio Grande Mud” in 1972. With their 1973 release “Tres Hombres,” the band made it to the mainstream. Their follow up set “Fandango!,” released in 1975, expanded their sense of humor and sound. By the middle 1970s, ZZ Top was one of more popular U.S. touring acts. They broke several concert attendance records. In 1977, the band, after being on tour for years, took a break of two years. During that time Hill and Gibbons grew chest length beards.

In 1979, the band returned and signed with Warner Bros. Records. After releasing “Eliminator” in 1983, ZZ Top reached a new level of popularity. They sold 10 million copies of the set. The band throughout the latter part of the 1980s had several hit songs and won several music video awards for their videos “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.” ZZ Top has performed with the same band members now for more than 40 years, and continues to record music and tour.

The band has sold over 50 million worldwide albums, including 25 million in the US. ZZ Top has had eight Top 40 hit songs on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, six No. 1 hits on the Mainstream Rock charts and won MTV Video Music Awards three times. In 2004 ZZ Top became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.