ZZ Top

USA, 1969–now

Texas trio led by Billy Gibbons, playing blues-derived boogie. From Eliminator (1983) they added sequencers and synthesizers and reached a wide audience through MTV.

MusicRoots documents 7 artists who influenced ZZ Top and 0 artists ZZ Top influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced ZZ Top?

• Muddy Waters — Muddy Waters's electric Chicago blues is the bedrock of ZZ Top — the tradition Gibbons set out to carry on 'with a bit more dirt under their boots'.
• Howlin' Wolf — Howlin' Wolf's raw, gritty blues was a defining model for Gibbons's tone and ZZ Top's whole approach.
• B.B. King — B.B. King's phrasing and tone were among the blues legends Gibbons named as formative to his guitar style.
• T-Bone Walker — T-Bone Walker's Texas electric-blues guitar was a direct forebear of Gibbons's own gritty tone.
• Jimi Hendrix — Hendrix was at the top of ZZ Top's book — Gibbons's Moving Sidewalks opened for him, Hendrix praised him on TV, and emulating that sound helped form the band.
• Cream — Cream's power-trio blueprint directly shaped ZZ Top — Gibbons has said emulating Cream and Hendrix's sounds is what brought the band together as a trio.
• Elvis Presley — Elvis Presley's rock'n'roll was among the pioneers Gibbons grew up on — the rockabilly swagger under ZZ Top's blues.