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A Lil’ Ol’ Z

Guitarist Billy Gibbons met his future manager, Waxahachie native Bill Mack Ham, backstage at a Doors concert in Houston in 1967. Gibbons’ band at the time, the Moving Sidewalks, had a local hit with the song “99th Floor.” They soon opened on the Doors’ Texas tour. After later opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hendrix named Gibbons his favorite guitar player during an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.” The Sidewalks broke up and Gibbons and Ham contracted to form a new band.

The trio spent its first few years playing mostly regional concerts. Ham’s bosses, Houston record producer Pappy Daily and family, cut a deal with him to finance “ZZ Top’s First Album” (1970). Five other records followed on the London Records label. The third album, “Tres Hombres” (1973), brought them national attention. Its hit song “La Grange,” about a whorehouse, was allegedly based on John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen.” It is still the band’s signature riff tune. Also included was “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers,” the would-be anthem.

Have mercy.

A haw, haw, haw, haw, a haw.
A haw, haw, haw.
Well, I hear it’s fine if you got the time
and the ten to get yourself in.
A hmm, hmm.
And I hear it’s tight most ev’ry night,
but now I might be mistaken.
hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.

Tres Hombres (1973), ZZ Top’s first gold album, featuring “La Grange,” a signature riff tune and their first Top 40 hit, as well as the twosome “Waitin’ For The Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago.” A review is available from Rolling Stone. D.S. writes, “Waitin’ on the Bus is a real favorite. So is Jesus. And ZZ’s signature song, La Grange (one of Billy’s hottest, but played on a Strat, not Pearly. Listen to it.) That whole album is hot, blue, and righteous. The tone is so incredible it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. This album is the ZZ centerpiece. All the previous cuts led to this, and this led to everything else. This is the one that established ZZ Top. No question about it. Don’t care which is your favorite, this is the one.”

“Eliminator,” featuring musically controversial electronic instruments, debuted ZZ Tops biggest hits, “Legs” and “Sharp-Dressed man.” The synthesizers and drum machines caused controversy in other ways as well. According to former roadie David Blayney in his book, “Sharp Dressed Men,” sound engineer Linden Hudson co-wrote much of the material on the album as a live-in high-tech music teacher to Beard and Gibbons. Hudson claims that in addition to not getting songwriting credit, Ham worked to cover up his contributions to the album. Despite continued denials by the band, it settled a five-year legal battle with Hudson, paying him $600,000 after he allegedly proved he held the copyright on the song “Thug.” Another copyright suit was brought by a co-writer of John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen,” the alleged basis of “La Grange.” That case was settled and sealed. The group’s eighth album, “Afterburner,” with its continued use of synthesizers, became a worldwide smash hit.

In 1994 ZZ went back to their roots, playing boogie without the electric drums and computers.. with some great tunes winning back a lot of the fans who loved the great old tunes by the ‘lil ol’ band from Texas’.