Why is Billy Gibbons So Cool?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ค. 2024
- With one of the best beards in all of rock and roll. Baxter and Jonathan talk about the history of ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons, and the how they got so many hot girls in the MTV Videos. Plus Billys Magnatone amps and how awesome they are!
He is as cool as everyone thinks he is, and he is as kind as a guy could be.
We met him and the band through a mutual friend we made on my son's Make-A-Wish trip, and we got to be guests of the band the next time they came through our area.
The band hung out with my kids (5 and 3 at the time) before and after the show, and autographed two guitars for us to donate to a charity auction benefitting my son's hospital. We were treated like loved family members by both band and crew, and Billy & Dusty treated my kids (and my wife & me) like WE were the rock stars in the room. It was an unforgettable experience.
As for how I got into them? I knew the radio hits from the Eliminator era, but it was Rhythmeen that melted my face. Still my favorite album.
What I love about BFG is that his playing comes across like he’s kickin the guitars ass yet when you see his playing it’s effortless. He makes playing look so freaking easy.
I have met Billy twice. The first time I was 16 and with my girlfriend whose days was an airbrush shirt artist at car shows. Billy was at the show and mew my girlfriend. He was a total gentleman and gave us two ZZ key chains. The car from the video was there also. The second time was in Palm Desert Ca. He was at the table next to us eating lunch and my daughter Sophi was about three and totally intrigued with his beard. She went over to his table and played with him for awhile. He was jovial and was not bothered at all. What impressed me the most was the attention he paid to the restaurant musician. He totally struck up conversation with the guy and was genuinely interested about the guys gear and set. Billy is the real deal!
The best part about ZZ Top is that you can never mistake their sound, unlike a lot of bands of the same era.
I'm 48, born and raised in Houston, TX - Billy's hometown - and I grew up listening to ZZ Top. They're Gods in Texas and when their Recycler Tour came through Houston in '91 and they sold out 4 nights at The Summit, I was fortunate enough to receive for my 19th birthday a pair of tickets which turned out to be some fantastic seats. It was my first time to see them live and I've seen them in concert 5 times since. ZZ Top was and remains till this day, my favorite band. My only 2 regrets are that I haven't seen them live more often and I waited until I was 45 to begin learning how to play playing guitar. The first song I learned? Waitin For The Bus :) The fact that Billy is so beloved by fans, media and peers just tells you how cool he really is.
I was 17 yrs old when Eliminator came out. They were going to be playing at the now torn down Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX. I had never been to a concert before. I asked my dad if I could go see them with a buddy of mine. He told me no. Well, of course that didn't stop me. My buddy and I bought the tickets. I told my dad the day before the concert that I was going to go to Six Flags in Arlington, TX with my buddy the next day. I drove my dad's car to the concert. It was an unbelievable show! The next morning, my dad comes in my room, wakes me up and asks, "Charles, when was the last time you were at Reunion Arena?" I got busted because I forgot to take the parking receipt off of the dashboard when I got home! lol He grounded me for about 2 weeks but it was worth it! \m/
Tres hombres is an amazing work of Americana blues... best ZZ Top album by far
Rio Grande mud is badass, too.
th-cam.com/video/eY9wnQtpQtw/w-d-xo.html
All about the music for me,especially the 1971 to 1981 years.I ve seen them live seven times.Always wonderful.Billy`s guitar playing...
All those 70s albums are unbelievable I love them best guitar playing and songwriting ever for me my favourite the right mix of everything. The year Eliminator came out I was 16 years old I went to my first camping trip with my mates and my girlfriend. Every tent and caravan had eliminator on high rotate. The music of ZZ Top has enhanced my life thank you Billy Dusty and Frank. Those clips of ZZ Top playing live in the 70s when Billy was wearing his bowler hat playing Pearly Gates he owned the stage yeah coolest cat ever to play music.
My dad turned me on to ZZ Top when I was a kid and loved them ever since. Saw them last summer here in Houston, and it was amazing.
One of Hendrix’s favourite players. That in itself is the Golden Passport. A soulful Blues guitar player, killer phrasing, volcanic tone. The whole enchilada
Billy and Johnny Winter are two guitar players he gave a shout out to. Both are among my favorites, Jimi included, of course.
ZZ Top will always be a top band for me. The Rev is a big part of that but as a 3 piece band, they're amazing. The heavy/melodic bluesy style will always sound good.
ramus1369 we agree and would say they might be the coolest American band period.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts here!
I live in Houston and met Billy while he was walking out of a diner in the late 70's. I was so amazed and wanted an autograph but didn't have paper or pencil. Not an issue for Billy. He had a note pad and scribbled Billy Gibbons - ZZ Top! I still have it today
I met my wife over a picture I was drawing of Billy Gibbsons in 2007 we've been together 13 years... it's the MOJO
Chris Munson Music that perhaps the best story I have heard on this! Thank you for sharing:)
Billy Gibbons is such a Rock Star he even got you laid! 😉
@@rockrollmusicman1107 lol
Billy Gibbons is the Gilmour of America with all that great phrasing. When I think of players with incredible phrasing he almost always comes right to mind.
He is awsome human being. Decent man all around. Humble, giving, talented, staple of rock and roll and blues and what it should continue to be.
I met Billy Gibbons in 1987 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was touring with ZZ Top and played a massive concert (over 60,000 fans) at Western Springs, the speedway park which doubled as a venue for mega rock concerts. I was working in the hotel the band stayed in when a request came through from the man himself, I lent him my camera. I was a naive kid in those days, I wasn't really a ZZ fan but I remember the Rev as a really cool dude, who put you at ease and made you feel like you were a somebody. I love them now! Thanks Billy, Frank and dear Dusty RIP.
Met Mr.Gibbons and Mr.Hill at LAX in 1984. What is my favorite about ZZTop is the fact that Hendrix complimented Mr. Gibbons as his favorite guitarist. And the fact that the band's favorite food is Mexican.
Great video guys, I can remember the first time I heard Tush and thinking that it was the greatest song in the history of songs 😎. Many years later when I played in different bar bands we always played Tush and I always got to play the slide part. Thanks for taking me back guys!
The ZZ Top documentary is one of the best music docs... Brilliant!
Band I was in opened for them and Lightning Hopkins back when they were regional. First album had been out about six months. Outdoor concert at a college football stadium in East Texas. Three thousand in attendance. One of their roadies kept trying to buy my backup guitar, a ‘57 Strat. It wasn’t a special vintage guitar to me, just an old Strat. Top opened with a rendition of Little Queenie and tore the place down. Just a trio, but they knew where the holes in the music went and how to build the sound to its peak, and their energy and interplay both instrumentally and vocally was incredible. I wasn’t a big fan going in, but left the gig worshipping them. And Brown Sugar live- whew!
It’s not just Billy’s playing and the iconic sound, it’s his arrangements for the trio. Best ever - “Waiting for the Bus”...
He plays 7.5s which puts the whole SRV 10s argument to rest. Always thought his "why work so hard" approach was so cool.
I've been a ZZ Top ~ Billy F Gibbons fan since 1973. I was nine years old and my neighbor introduced me to ZZ Top's Fandango Album. He was always playing the stereo in his garage as loud as it would go. I'd hangout there with the old guys listening to not only Billy but also the Alman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, Otis Reading, Muddy Waters.
So as I got older all my friends were into FM radio , Top 40 stuff. They thought I was strange because of my eclectic taste in music. I worked as an apprentice machinist and fabricator. Me and 3 Guys 30 yrs older than me. So all day the radio at the shop pumped out Country & Western music. I got into Willy Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson a little. But when I worked alone I turned my area into a music library Blues Rock Punk Classical even. One day my Boss brought in a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop that he had owned since he bought it new. He was remodeling part of his house and the guitar had been damaged some how. The headstock was broken completely off. He had it sitting in the case for a year at the shop so one day I asked him why he hadn't taken it to be repaired? He told me that he was told that there was no way to repair it by several guitar shops. I decided my Epiphone Explorer that I bought at pawn shop needed a brother. I bought the Les Paul for $375, then I set about calling and talking to every guitar luthier and famous player I could reach about getting it fixed. This is about 1982 and I got VIP Backstage Access Passes to ZZ Top's Concert in Omaha Nb. A gentleman that I had been building a custom motorcycle for had a connection with the promoter and hooked me up. I took my GF and we rode my motorcycle from Des Moines, Iowa to Omaha. NB.
That might was the first time she had been to a concert. When we were taken to meet ZZ Top in there dressing a room area, everyone in the band and their crew were just so cool and really down to earth. I waited quietly watching Billy warm up a bit. When he turned to me and asked if I played guitar? I froze for a split second then said yeah I had been learning for a few years. He asked me what I liked to listen to and what I liked to play. The whole time right next to me was resting comfortably in its guitar stand was Pearly Gates. I told him about my 60 Goldtop that needed repaired, he said to hold on and got a pen and wrote down my info and then gave me the number to John Bolin and said that it wouldn't be cheap but he was one of the best guitar guys. We took pictures and got autographs. Great Concert I was floating about a foot of the ground the whole night. One Week Later I get a phone call from Terry Manning who said he was ZZ Top's Recording Engineer and that Billy called Mr. Bolin and to expect a call from him in the coming days. John Bolin called me the next morning and told me to send him my Goldtop and he would repair it. One month later UPS drops off a big box with my newly repaired 1960 Les Paul, First of all you couldn't tell that it had ever been broken and second it was no longer a Goldtop. I had talked to John about how the Gold finish had cracked all over and was starting to chip off. He sanded it down and gave it a beautiful Light Tea Burst Finish. The Guitar Plays and sounds amazing. When I opened the paper work there was a three page letter describing everything that had been done to it signed by John Bolin and Receipt stamped PAID IN FULL... I didn't know what to say so I called him Thanking Him for the Awesome Job he did and when I asked how much I owed him he said that it was already paid for???
I never learned who my secret benefactor was but I could guess.
16 years later I was serving in the Marine Corps stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico,VA. and ZZ Top and several other bands were playing a Celebration to the Troops. I got backstage again this time I used my Security Clearance to gain full access. Billy Gibbons came up to several of us and after a few minutes he turned to me and asked how my Les Paul was doing and had I been practicing? We talked after their set for about an hour about everything and he asked if I would take a picture with him and he had me autograph it for him to keep, then my whole Sniper Platoon were invited to the after party and we were treated like rockstars for the evening. That's My Billy Gibbons Story.
Man, Brown Sugar is one of the coolest songs of all time! It just makes you want to put on sun glasses and chill.
Just Got Paid is the absolute pinnacle of blues rock riffs. Literally the coolest shit on earth.
Don't sleep on I'm Bad I'm Nationwide. Unreal cool playing there!
Fandango was everywhere when I was in high school.
Fantastix.
Saw rhen in Houston 1976.
Three show!
6pm
8 pm
10pm
I was there at 10.
Fan fucking tastic
I went to the ZZ Top Eliminator and Recycler tours!! And had the Key chain!
When ZZ was on the Howard Stern show. Billy said " same 3 guys, same 2 chords " . LOVE that man !
thank you recommending the doc "that l'il ol' band from texas". just watched it and it was AMAZING !!!
even if you're not necessarily zz fans but just appreciate good music and a good tale - watch this doc you will not be disappointed.
Oh the power of The Mighty Bearded Blues Master!!! Beyond influential in both music and being cool.
I played the fandango album for my dad and he became a fan of ZZ TOP.
As a guitarist, I am awed by how many notes he can play with virtually no movement of his left hand
ZZ TOP is unlike anything else, just awesome!
Tres Hombres and Fandango was my high school soundtrack
There is a clip on TH-cam showing Billy Gibbons meeting Les Paul. Billy is so star struck and humble in that meeting. I think that was so cool
Back when I was around 10 years old, I was sitting in the back of my sisters Camaro while she was in a convenient store. There was a ton of eight track tapes on the floor in the back of the Camaro.Most of them pink.Then I saw a blue 8 track tape, so I put it in the Player. Tush then Heard it on the X was the first songs I heard that day. WOW it changed my life. I wanted to learn how to play guitar so bad after hearing ZZ Top fandango!!!!! That was 1978 , I’ve been a huge fan ever since.
Billy and Gilligan have a place down in the desert, Palm Springs way. I had a great talk with him on the radio.
We talked about Mexican pesos, pinched harmonics and Les Pauls. He's very humble and interesting, which
makes him very likable.
First recollection was Francine on the FM radio growing up in central Texas, then La Grange a bit later. Been a fan ever since throughout their evolution.
Vernon Walker awesome story and sincere thanks for sharing that!
I think my first exposure to zz top was back to the future 3. Then just learning about blues and classic rock.
I witnessed The Rev and Company in 1973 at the Kellogg Auditorium in Battle Creek Michigan . Pre suits , still in jeans , boots and cowboy hats .Rio Grande Mud era .
Very cool So how does that old Bassman sound thru the PV classic 4/10 that's sitting behind you guy's ? I run the same cab w my old Tonemaster Blonde on Tweed Love it Good stuff guys ☺️
Ive been 10 ft. in front of Billy when ZZT was playin, Hes is SO great!!!
Charlie Gregory that is awesome! Thank you for sharing:)
Saw ZZ TOP when I started playing guitar and I when was doing my early solos they would be very busy and noodely. Anyway that night at the ZZ Top show during Tube Snake Boogie solo I saw Billy Gibbons play a 2 note riff through a whole 12 bars and it was like a lightning bolt hit me. It not how much you play, its what you play that matters. It was over 35 years ago and I still remember it as clearly as if it happened 5 minutes ago.
ZZ is my hometown band! Ain’t no one cooler! My step dad had the LP of Degüello, and I thought it was so cool, the cover and the songs are awesome! Then in 83’ Eliminator happened; mind blown! Still have my cassette! You don’t grow up in Texas without ZZTop, especially in Houston. The only time I ever saw of them in the wild was around the time Rough Boy came out and Frank Beard (no joke) drove past us on 610 in an old ford coupe similar to the eliminator car. He looked just like he did on MTV. Everyone on the car was shocked! Also, my grandmother lived in small town near La Grange and hated hearing me sing that song about the chicken ranch that was there. It offended her heavenly beliefs..
I heard ZZ Top the first time in high school 75/76 and it was part of the soundtrack of our lives at the time. I think when I heard La Grange the first time I think I "got" the blues ...delta blues. Just with more wattage!
If youre an ordained reverend and Jimi Hendrix's favorite guitarist, youre beyond cool!
Agreed!
I been heavy in the first album.
They had balls to put their shit out there.
It is gritty and basic blues.
Billy sounded like an old man then
I came into my teens in the 80s, and Eliminator was amazing, as was Afterburner. Despite its pop/synth sound, it's what planted the seed of blues rock in my head. As well as Chevy coupes and leggy Playmates. What's NOT to like?
I was living in Oberlin Ohio 1973 to 74 the trays hombres album was being played on WMMS I remember hearing that on my brothers Heathkit amplified radio also that’s where I first heard Rush’s debut album “RUSH”
Some one owed me some money and I always played a Duncan PAF bridge PU so he said he would give me the PU instead of the money. I did not have guitar for it but when I did a year later I opened the box and it had a Pearly Gates in it. I was totally P. off. I put it in anyway. I hit one chord thru me Plexi and my jaw hit the floor! Now fast forward. I have the PU in ALL my guitars. I scooped up an unusual guitar. A Lace Cybercaster. Single PU. maple neck and one piece ash body with killer sustain BUT it needed a Pearly. I approached Duncan for a Custom shop one done in red because they would not do a standard one in red. I was told no they could not do it. I kept on their case for 4 months. In the end they said I could not have a Pearly with colored bobbins because they were only for Billie. W.T.F. So I still did not give up. Bottom line Billies Pearlys are the same spec but are hand wound. They keep a few on hand for when he calls and wants one. Billie not only intervened but felt I had waited too long and they could send one of his. What a F.ing great guy!!! The PU sounds basically the same but the overtones and harmonics are just tad richer.I can hear it every time I play and it is so inspiring.
Paul Ewing of STOMP BOX STEALS I use an early Custom Shop LP Burst reissue when I’m at Sonic Ranch. It has the Pearly PAFS. And was configured by Billy’s suggestion. He’s a good friend of the studio owner and turns up, sometimes unannounced. He sends his salsas and tamales! There’s a Futura prototype and a couple amps and art that he gave to the studio.
@@roymoderatto The guy is so considerate.No one has the grasp ofa great tone than him
I have a picture from the late 80s of me sitting on billy Gibbons lap when i was like 2, he is one of my uncles friends my uncle has painted a bunch of his cars motorcycles and guitars
Might as well ask why does the sun shine, or why is water wet... He just is... Cooool!!!! Love ya, Rev!
Scott Uher that does sum it up:)
I do like the their psychedelia roots too! I think in the ZZ Top Documentary Gibbons said the psychedelic rock scene had already started in Austin, and the most locally popular band of that genre was The 13th Floor Elevators. Just listen to You're Gonna Miss Me. It was their only billboard hit and it is AMAZING
He made Jesus leave Chicago! You gotta be the coolest to have Jesus leave Chicago. Cause Lord knows he needs to be in Chicago these days! Lol
Have Mercy!!!!!
That documentary on zz top credited the austin psych scene to the 13th floor elevators.
Im a big zz top fan. 71-79 are my favorite album years. I love tres hombres, but i feel people go over the top about that album. Tejas, rio Grande mud, and zz tops first are just as good if not better since they're not "mainstream". If your in a cover band i would be blown away hearing 10 dollar man, pan ham blues, mushmouth shouting, or anything over Lagrange or waiting on the bus. Still love those songs. But you need to dive into the other riffs.
the Texas Blues you can not go wrong! B G is a smooth operator!
I was a freshman in high school and it was the year I was introduced to the Allman Brothers to deep purple and Muddy Waters my older brothers friend Ross peacock who is quite a guitaristIn his own right at a music room with a ping pong table and a shit load of albums it was truly life changing
My favorite those dam pinch harmonics
You could have stopped the video at 20 seconds, because you answered the question emphatically ;) ... Great video guys!
Eliminator 1983 I was going to the hospital I was in the hospital and they blew me away with a sharp dressed man oh yeah that a fan ever cents. Now I’m 56 two times I saw Billy Gibbons industrial alive oh yeah that was a sight to behold oh yeah Billy Gibbons Dusty Hill and Frank Beard awesome😎😎😎
Some people are just cool people and Billy is no exception, to me people that are themselves and not trying to be the way society expects them to be are usually really cool people and Billy is his own person 👍.
The first album!!!
Yesssssssss!
Everyone knows that. Because he defines his own persona. He is a natural phenomenon of nature. His cool is a reaction to hot sauce and Texas weather.
The 1st song I played in a rock and roll band (at age 14) was "La Grange". I got a new Silvertone guitar for Christmas, 1973 and my cousin got a bass. (his sister played piano and drums) I went to their house and we worked up La Grange, which had come out that Summer. If that's not the coolest rock and roll song ever, it's in the Top 5. It probably goes without saying, but our version was not as cool as the original.....
People fail to realize ZZ Top have been the same core 3 members dating back to 1969!!.. And still ACTIVE !! ?? No other Rock band can say that.. CCR ?.. nope.. STONES ?.. nope... The WHO ?.. nope.. CREAM ?... nope.. DOORS ?.. nope... ZZ Top are truly phenomenal. Love ZZ Tops early stuff so much.. Hombres, Rio Grande.. Deguello.. such great examples of American style blues rock. I hope they never stop. 🤘
I met the man where I work. He shook my hand and was a gent. His gal and "big friend / body guard" were cool but watching over him. When you already have a high opinion of a guy like this based on their body of work and then they turn out to be chill, it just bumps them up to Coolest dude ever. Was weird that these guys didn't touch on his playing though. Beers drinkers and hell raisers was always on my car tape deck from 16 on.
Love this. Same story. The music Americana but it's more than that,.
6 years old. MTV. Sexy chicks, weird beards, car, that guitar. The beat. I was mesmerized and it hasn't stopped. When I turned `16 I got the key chain for my first car. Still have one. Billy Gibbons is the nicest, coolest, It's all there. I was obsessed with band. Still am but it's not unhealthy haha like it used to be. Most important.... do not under estimate the how progressive they are. XXX super under rated. Not to mention Sharp Dressed man had a black chick as the non ZZ girl as the star. For a white band in 1983.....They wrote a song about a sexual transition called Zipper Job. 20 years before Kaitlin Jenner was a household name. They are always a step ahead. Most people don't really get them. I don't really get them. Exactly why I love them.
James Lescott great thoughts there and thank you so much for sharing! Love those points and good pull on the zipper song!
Xxx is totally underrated, I agree.
I met Billy gibbons he went fishing on my dads charter boat i was 8 years old when I met him he was very nice he made fresh sivichi on the boat
I've been a fan since 8th grade... listening to their new album at the time, Tres Hombres... the Mexican food in the photo in the album came from Leo's Mexican Restaurant on South Shepard Street, which I passed by every day on my way home from high school.
Billy's "beanie" is an "ashetu," a symbol of status within the Bamileke people of Cameroon, Africa. Billy acquired it in a trade with a tribal leader he met in Europe. The leader saw Billy's Stetson and wanted it, and Billy wanted to do some horse-trading, so he ended up with the ashetu. Others call this style of hat a "nudu," but I think "ashetu" is the more appropriate term.
Finally, one story that isn't often told is when the band (allegedly) applied to NASA to be the "lounge act" on the space shuttle. NASA politely declined.
For me as a player, Tres Hombres for Hot Blue and Righteous. yes I dug 'the hit' (CDB's Funky Junky slays it for me).
Fandango....Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings...
jeez, were you guys even born yet ???
Its all good :)
The swag
Billy F Gibbons and Lenny Kilmister are Cool. That’s just the way it is.
You mean Lemmy Kilmeister ?
loved poor man's Billy Gibbons...
The King of Cool
Billy is also great as the father of Angela Montenegro in the tv series Bones
1:28 Awesome pic!
The best guitar tone is on Brown Sugar from the first record. It is the pinnacle of Les Paul into a Marshall tone. Very low gain and woody unlike the 80’s saturated tone.
you guys are funny!!
BIlly is the coolest guy on earth
Gibbons is cool because he can draw on a Gold top and the value goes up.
Everyone wishes they had Billy Gibbons as their grandpa (facts)
Because hes BILLY F GIBBONS!
Cause he is billy gibbons, dude got mojo
Billy gibbons bought me a guitar once.
I mean just look at him!
🧙♂️🎸
Oh, Frederick. I figures he was just Billy F-in Giddins. Jk lol
Everyone know Billy Gibbons only uses premiumTexas Salsa with Queso chaser on his beard. That’s just about standards.
Does anybody NOT love ZZ Top?
Nothing rocks like LaGrange
They're not blues, they're not rock, they're the big block on top,
They're electric cruise through a cool machine, They're ZZ TOP they're ahead of the scene,
There'll never be another like this band from the south, Nothin but gold flows from Sir Billy's mouth,
All the women love ZZ, They're never gonna stop, Giants never see the bottom, Cause their heads' always on top.
Cars & Girls
cause he's from TEXAS YALL!
Bush too...
That's like asking why is the sun burning in space for 15 billion years? He just is cool!
I use Honest Amish beard products
He has his own tamales & salsa company... he’s a great pin stripping artist... hot rod & bike collector... and as wise as a million year old mountain...
They didn't start the texas psych you forgot about the 13 floor Elevators