ZZ Top (Above Now)
(Below Pre-Beards)
(Below Pre-Beards)
ZZ Top is a rock and blues band hailing from the Houston, Texas area. The band today consists of Billy Gibbons, vocalist and lead guitar, Dusty Hill, co-lead vocalist and bassist, and Frank Beard on the drums. Each of the members of the group was part of another Texas based band before they compiled their talents to make ZZ Top. The name ZZ Top comes from a tribute to their idol B.B. King without having a name that is too similar. The original line up of the band was Billy Gibbons, Dan Mitchell and Lanier Greig but that changed throughout the process of becoming famous, which has all been part of ZZ Top's journey to success. Billy Gibbons is said to have received a guitar from Jimi Hendrix as a gift because of his talent on the guitar and Jimi's belief that Gibbons was the next big guitarist. ZZ Top became popular in 1971 after the release of their debut album and they have found success throughout their long career as a band. One of their most famous songs is "La Grange", which is actually about a brothel in Texas.
The band is actually known for their appearance and for two of their members deciding to grow phenomenal beards. It is said that Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons were both on extended vacations when they came back to find that each of them had been letting their beards grow long. Instead of shaving the beards, the two members decided to continue to let the hair grow from 1979 to the present day! What started as an accident then turned out to be one of the defining features of the band to this day. The drummer is the only clean shaven member of the group even though his last name is actually Beard. Billy and Dusty have had their beards since the 70's and Billy even once received an offer of $1,000,000 just to cut the beard!
ZZ Top released a song called "Black Fly" on their album Rhythmeen in 1996. The lyrics of the song are:
Ah, yea
Black fly, buzzin', buzzin' around
Black fly, flyin' from town to town
Black fly, lookin' around and around
What's he gonna do when he finds her?
Your share
He got the mojo workin' overtime
Makin' it, layin' it on the line
Chasin' his honey with a honeysuckle vine
Who's so lucky and gets to kiss her?
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
That's right
Flyin' around lookin' for a black cat bone
Flyin' with John, the conquerer showin'
Messin' around with a honeybee
Will she kiss him or sting him, what's gonna be?
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
But that's right
Black fly, buzzin, buzzin' around
Black fly, flyin' from town to town
Black fly, zuzzin' all around
Fly gonna fly when he find her
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
Ah that's alright
Songwriters
BILLY F GIBBONS
It appears as if Billy does not mind the bite of the gnat enough to put a warning in his song, instead he makes them seem more like a fruit fly that just buzzes around doing no harm. The song does not even reference anything in particular about a black fly or its behavior besides the fact that it makes a buzzing sound when flying around. Although the bands history does not illustrate any events that would have lead to the song "Black Fly", there are some events in Texas that are connected to the black fly. Cattlemen along certain rivers in Northern and Eastern Texas have experienced the battle with black flies for a long time now because the rivers are where the larvae grow. The larvae will grow into adult flies and the populations will be significantly larger by bodies of running water since that is where the larvae are, which leads to a large problem for cattlemen along rivers. The cattlemen consistently lose livestock and other backyard animals to the bites of these black flies and this has been going on since ZZ Top came together as a band.
The band is actually known for their appearance and for two of their members deciding to grow phenomenal beards. It is said that Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons were both on extended vacations when they came back to find that each of them had been letting their beards grow long. Instead of shaving the beards, the two members decided to continue to let the hair grow from 1979 to the present day! What started as an accident then turned out to be one of the defining features of the band to this day. The drummer is the only clean shaven member of the group even though his last name is actually Beard. Billy and Dusty have had their beards since the 70's and Billy even once received an offer of $1,000,000 just to cut the beard!
ZZ Top released a song called "Black Fly" on their album Rhythmeen in 1996. The lyrics of the song are:
Ah, yea
Black fly, buzzin', buzzin' around
Black fly, flyin' from town to town
Black fly, lookin' around and around
What's he gonna do when he finds her?
Your share
He got the mojo workin' overtime
Makin' it, layin' it on the line
Chasin' his honey with a honeysuckle vine
Who's so lucky and gets to kiss her?
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
That's right
Flyin' around lookin' for a black cat bone
Flyin' with John, the conquerer showin'
Messin' around with a honeybee
Will she kiss him or sting him, what's gonna be?
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
But that's right
Black fly, buzzin, buzzin' around
Black fly, flyin' from town to town
Black fly, zuzzin' all around
Fly gonna fly when he find her
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
That's right
Black fly
Ah that's alright
Songwriters
BILLY F GIBBONS
It appears as if Billy does not mind the bite of the gnat enough to put a warning in his song, instead he makes them seem more like a fruit fly that just buzzes around doing no harm. The song does not even reference anything in particular about a black fly or its behavior besides the fact that it makes a buzzing sound when flying around. Although the bands history does not illustrate any events that would have lead to the song "Black Fly", there are some events in Texas that are connected to the black fly. Cattlemen along certain rivers in Northern and Eastern Texas have experienced the battle with black flies for a long time now because the rivers are where the larvae grow. The larvae will grow into adult flies and the populations will be significantly larger by bodies of running water since that is where the larvae are, which leads to a large problem for cattlemen along rivers. The cattlemen consistently lose livestock and other backyard animals to the bites of these black flies and this has been going on since ZZ Top came together as a band.
Album Cover For Rhythmeen