They established a more mainstream sound and gained international favor with Eliminator (1983) and Afterburner (1985), which integrated influences from new wave, punk, and dance-rock. With the album El Loco (1981), the group began to experiment with synthesizers and drum machines. By the mid-1970s the band became renowned in North America for its live act, highlighted by its performances during the Worldwide Texas Tour from 1976 to 1977, which was a critical and commercial success.Īfter a hiatus, ZZ Top returned in 1979 with a new musical direction and image, with Gibbons and Hill wearing sunglasses and matching chest-length beards. Subsequent releases, such as Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975), and those albums’ singles, “La Grange” and “Tush”, gained extensive radio airplay. Within a year, the members signed with London Records and released ZZ Top’s First Album (1971). ZZ Top formed after the demise of Moving Sidewalks, Gibbons’ previous band. They are popular for their live performances, sly and humorous lyrics, and the similar appearances of Gibbons and Hill, who were rarely seen without their long beards, sunglasses, and hats. Rooted in blues, ZZ Top developed a signature sound based on Gibbons’ blues guitar style and Hill and Beard’s rhythm section. For 51 years, the band comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill’s death in 2021. ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas.

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