ZZ Top formed in Houston in 1969, when guitarist Billy Gibbons of local psychedelic band Moving Sidewalks joined up with bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard. That trio went on to keep the same lineup for more than five decades, one of the longest unchanged runs in rock history, until Hill's death in 2021.
The band turned Texas blues into arena rock with songs like "La Grange" and "Tush," then conquered MTV in 1983 with Eliminator and its hits "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man." Their 1976 Worldwide Texas Tour famously brought a Texas-shaped stage complete with live buffalo and rattlesnakes on the road. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 by Keith Richards.
22 location references across 14 songs