The World According to ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons

07/18/2011
. (Gibson) No one can say Billy Gibbons doesn't have a way with words. Ask him about the key to ZZ Top's staying power, and you're as likely to get an analysis of hot rod maintenance as you are to hear music-related thoughts about long-term success. Fact is, however, ZZ Top's run of four decades with the same lineup is the rock and roll equivalent of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak � a record that will likely never be broken. In the choice quotes gathered below, Gibbons addresses that issue, as well as such topics as his love of the blues, his beloved Pearly Gates and some early advice he received from both Alice Cooper and Ike Turner.

On getting his very first guitar, as told to Gibson.com in 2009: "On Christmas Eve in '63, Santa stopped by with a Gibson Melody Maker. While the kids from my neighborhood were into The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, I was trying to learn licks from Little Richard, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed records."

On playing with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard for the 1st time, as told to BMG Discovery in 1997: "We wanted to see how our talents mingled. A little 30-minute thing turned into a three-hour jam. When we wrapped it up, we said, 'Well, that felt pretty good. I think we've got ourselves a band!'" more on this story

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