ZZ Top
![ZZ Top performing in at Tons of Rock 2024. From left: Elwood Francis, [[Frank Beard (musician)|Frank Beard]], [[Billy Gibbons]]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/ZZ_Top%2C_Tons_of_Rock%2C_Oslo_Norway_%2853851276584%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
ZZ Top formed after Gibbons' previous band, Moving Sidewalks, disbanded in 1969. Within a year, they signed with London Records and released ''ZZ Top's First Album'' in 1971. Subsequent releases, such as ''Tres Hombres'' (1973) and ''Fandango!'' (1975), and the singles "La Grange" and "Tush", gained extensive radio airplay. By the mid-1970s, ZZ Top had become renowned in North America for their live act, including the Worldwide Texas Tour (1976–1977), which was a critical and commercial success.
After a brief hiatus, ZZ Top returned in 1979 with a new musical direction and image, with Gibbons and Hill wearing sunglasses and matching chest-length beards. With the album ''El Loco'' (1981), they began to experiment with synthesizers and drum machines. They established a more mainstream sound and rose to international stardom with ''Eliminator'' (1983) and ''Afterburner'' (1985), which integrated influences from new wave, punk, and dance-rock. The popularity of these albums' music videos, including those for "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man", and "Legs", gave them mass exposure on television channel MTV and made them prominent artists in 1980s pop culture. The ''Afterburner'' tour set records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour of 1986.
After gaining additional acclaim with the release of their tenth album, ''Recycler'' (1990), and its accompanying tour, the group's experimentation continued with mixed success on the albums ''Antenna'' (1994), ''Rhythmeen'' (1996), ''XXX'' (1999), and ''Mescalero'' (2003). They most recently released ''La Futura'' (2012) and ''Goin' 50'' (2019), a compilation album commemorating the band's 50th anniversary. By the time of Hill's death in 2021, ZZ Top had become the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music. Per Hill's wishes, he was replaced by their longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, on bass.
ZZ Top has released 15 studio albums and sold an estimated 50 million records worldwide. They have won three MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2004, the members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2015, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Gibbons the 32nd-greatest guitarist of all time. The band members have supported campaigns and charities including Childline, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and a fundraiser for the Delta Blues Museum. Provided by Wikipedia
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1by Top, Z., Clarke, W.B., Jenkins, W.J.Get access
Published in Deep Sea Research Part A. Oceanographic Research Papers (1987)
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