American rocker Gibbons Billy

Along with late Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, whose photo is known to any rock music fan, is undoubtedly considered one of the finest blues-rock guitarists that ever appeared in Texas.

Opening music

Born Billy December 16, 1950, and grew up in Houston, Texas. Gibbons grew up in a house that fostered the fact that the boy loved both classical and country music. However, later, when he accidentally saw Elvis Presley on the television show program of Ed Sullivan, Gibbons became ill with rock'n'roll. It was not long before he discovered another early rock & roll performed by Little Richard, the bluesman Jimmy Reed, whom the local radio station scrolled through.

The first groups

Soon Gibbons Billy was able to get an electric guitar Gibson Melody Maker and amplifier Fender Champ. It happened on Christmas Day in 1963. Gibbons began to imitate his heroes - he formed his first band when he was only 14 years old (The Saints).

A little later, around the mid-60's, the guitarist joined a band called Coachmen, which specialized in more psychedelic performances. Inspired by musicians such as Jefferson Airplane, Jimmy Hendrix, and a local team from Texas, 13th Floor Elevators (led by young Rocky Erickson), the Gibbons group eventually changed its name to Moving Sidewalks. The team produced the album in 1968 under the name Flash. Their original single 99th Floor received attention and recognition much later, when the musicians published a collection of their songs in a few years. At that time Moving Sidewalks were not known outside of Texas, so Gibbons Billy was very pleased when Jimmy Hendrix, with whom Moving Sidewalks toured around the same time, positively responded to the media about Gibbons as one of the best new guitarists.

ZZ Top

The formation and birth of the ZZ Top team occurred in 1969, then at the urging of Gibbons, Moving Sidewalks sought to form a more ambitious boogie / blues / rock band after the arrival of a couple of other Texian musicians - bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. The trio gained recognition slowly, but steadily. The guys created a solid team, thanks in large part to the "tasty" guitar playing of Gibbons and his mind-blowing riffs (especially well-known compositions such as La Grange and Tush).

For six years, the musicians released five classic albums (1970 - the debut album for the band's name, 1972 - Rio Grande Mud, 1973 - Tres Hombres, 1975 - Fandango, 1976 - Tejas). During this relatively short time ZZ Top became one of the best rock bands in the country, after which it took a three-year break. When she returned to the stage, the music climate changed significantly, and ZZ Top decided to keep up to date. She began to perform a more modern, electronic, sound, combining it with her favorite blues-rock compositions on such albums as Deguello (and in 1979) and (in 1981) El Loco.

New image and future activities

In 1983, when members of the band came together to create the new Eliminator album, they were surprised to find that Billy Gibbons and Hill, without a word, dropped their beards. This image has since been forever associated with the group: long and stiff beards.

Since then, rockers have begun to recruit a new round of recognition and success. Rockers became responsible for some of the most popular video clips of all time, shown on MTV. In these films, musicians made bets and focused not on themselves, but first of all on beautiful girls and the then attractive car of 1933 release three-door coupe "Ford". Among these songs: Give Me All Your Loving, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs. Hill and Billy Gibbons, whose biography interests many now, also became known as owners of a huge assortment of strange guitars, which they always showed in their videos.

By the mid-90s, the musicians were in crisis, the new albums could not be sold, although a large and loyal part of the fans still came to their shows.

After 2003, ZZ Top broke up with RCA, and it took them almost ten years to deliver the new album. In November 2015, Gibbons Billy published his solo project album Perfectamundo, where he was supported by a group called BFG-x.

Interesting facts about Gibbons

It's interesting that Gibbons owns some of the most coveted and rare guitars in the world, including the 1959 instrument of the Sunburst Les Paul Standard, which he named Pearly Gates. In addition to music, Gibbons allegedly (according to some sources) owns several car workshops, deals with customizing cars, is an avid artist and collects rare African art items and artifacts. During his life, he accumulated so many of them that he had to keep them in a warehouse in Houston.

In addition to recording with ZZ Top, Gibbons Billy was known under the pseudonym Justis Walkert, appeared on recordings with Jeff Healy (Feel This) and Rainer & Das Combo (The Texas Tapes). But it is obvious that he is best known as one of the participants of ZZ Top. At least practically all fans of rock music, his name is associated with this wonderful rock band. And it's not surprising - because all his biography, almost all of Billy's conscious personal life is connected with her.