’TOP TRACKS
BILLY GIBBONS CAN EASILY REMEMBER THE FIRST SONG HE EVER WROTE AND RECORDED THAT MADE HIM SAY TO HIMSELF, “I’VE GOT SOMETHING HERE.”
“IT GOES BACK to the Moving Sidewalks,” the ZZ Top singer and guitarist says, referring to the psychedelic rock act he founded in Texas in the mid 1960s. “Our first single, ‘99th Floor,’ was such a rewarding experience. Back in the ’60s, before you went into the studio to tackle the challenge of recording, you did a demo, which was a demonstration of the product. So we had a nice little demo for that song, and after going back into the woodshed and chopping wood until we had it really together, I felt quite confident about it. And then we landed on a pretty special moment when we went in the studio and laid it down.”
Between then and now, of course, Gibbons has experienced plenty more special moments in his musical life. And most of those have come courtesy of the group he formed after the Moving Sidewalks — a little ol’ band from Texas named ZZ Top. The trio — Gibbons, bassist and singer Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard — are currently celebrating a half century as one of the most beloved and successful rock outfits in history with a career-spanning 50th anniversary tour. It seemed as apt a time as any to have Gibbons sit down with Guitar Player and look back at five classic tracks from the band’s catalog to delve deep into the writing processes, recording techniques and, of course, the wide array of classic and oddball gear that have helped create the ZZ Top legend.
As for what has kept that legend going all these years?
“We’ve never done anything
