Early years

The men who would form ZZ Top had played in several different Texas-based groups. Notable were Moving Sidewalks with Gibbons, and American Blues with Hill and Beard. They joined forces in late 1969: at first, Billy invited Frank for his project of a blues rock trio, and then, when they were looking for a new bassist, Beard proposed his former bandmate, Dusty.

The origin of the band's name was not officially known for many years. Some theories included: the two brands of rolling paper, Zig-Zag and Top; a tribute to blues legend Z.Z. Hill; Z-shaped barn-door braces Gibbons once saw at a farm; and/or Billy Gibbons seeing the two words running together on a dilapidated bill board. The real origin, as told by Billy Gibbons and also recorded in his book Rock + Roll Gearhead, is derived from the name of blues master B.B. King. They wanted to call themselves Z.Z. King but sounded too similar to their blues legend hero. They figured that King was at the top so thus settled on ZZ Top.

They played their first show in February, 1970 and toured almost continually for several years. Their first two albums were recorded at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas. In 1973, they started recording with Engineer Terry Manning at Ardent Studios in Memphis for their third album, Tres Hombres (1973). They first gained wide acclaim with it, released on London Records. It contained the classic song La Grange, referencing the bordello that is also the subject of the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

The band continued touring, recording, and releasing albums until 1977, when they took an extended hiatus. Their long-time manager/producer/image maker Bill Ham used this time to negotiate a deal that allowed the band to keep control of their previous recordings, which would be distributed by their new label, Warner Bros. Records. They reunited two and a half years later in order to start recording under the Warners contract. Unbeknownst to the other, Hill and Gibbons had both grown their now-famous beards. Ironically, the only beardless bandmember remained Frank Beard.