ZZ Top
 This
sturdy American blues-rock trio from Texas were formed in 1970 in
and around Houston, from rival bands The Moving Sidewalks (Gibbons)
and The American Blues (Hill and Beard).
Their first two albums reflected the strong blues roots and Texas
humour of the band.
Their third album, Tres Hombres, gained
them national attention with their hit La Grange, a signature
riff tune to this day, based on John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillen.
Their success continued unabated throughout the 70s, culminating
with the year and a half-long Worldwide Texas Tour.
Exhausted from the overwhelming work load, they took a three-year
break (during which, completely independently of each other, Gibbons
and Hill grew their trademark beards), then switched labels and
returned to form with Deguello and El Loco, both
harbingers of what was to come.
By their next album, Eliminator, and its worldwide smash
follow-up Afterburner, they had successfully harnessed the
potential of synthesizers to their patented grungy blue-groove,
giving their material a more contemporary edge while retaining their
patented Texas style.
Now
sporting long beards (except, ironically, for Frank Beard), golf
hats and boiler suits, they met the emerging video age head-on,
reducing their message to simple iconography.
 Becoming even more popular in the long run, they moved with the
times while simultaneously bucking every trend that crossed their
path.
As genuine roots musicians they have few peers. Gibbons is one of
America's finest blues guitarists working in the rock arena, while
Hill and Beard provide the ultimate rhythm section support.
The only Rock & Roll group that is out there with all its
original members still aboard after 20 plus years, ZZ Top's music is
always instantly recognisable, eminently powerful and 100% American
in derivation and style.
They have continued to support the blues through various means,
perhaps the most visible when they were given a piece of wood from
Muddy Waters' shack. The group members had it made into a guitar,
dubbed the "Muddywood", then sent it out on tour to raise
money for the Delta Blues Museum.
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