The influence of Elvis and B.B. King on ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons‘ extraordinary approach to playing the blues guitar led ZZ Top to be considered one of the most influential blues-rock groups of the 1970s. Gibbons’ honed his talents through the 1950s and 1960s and once opened up on his early introduction to the blues.
Reflecting on his childhood, he once said: “Growing up, we had a housekeeper who listened to blues radio all day and all night. It didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. It was always around – at least around the house. Then when I was five years old, my mom took my little sister and me out to see Elvis Presley live. I said, ‘Man, that’s what I wanna do!'”
“My dad was an entertainer, “Gibbons added. “When I was seven years old, he said, ‘Listen, hop in the car. I wanna take you with me. I’ve got business to take care of at the recording studio.’ We went into the studio; he parked me in a chair and said, ‘You’ll probably like this; they’re recording a band. I’ll be in the office if you need me.’ It turned out to be a B.B. King recording session.”
What a treat that must have been for a young lover of the blues to see two of the all-time greats. The experiences of seeing King and Presley do what they do best will have, without doubt, inspired Gibbons to become the legends he is today.
Detailing further, Gibbons continued: “So, between seeing Elvis Presley and B.B. King, I thought, ‘Man, this is it. This is for me!’ B.B. King left me with probably the strongest statements you could ask for. Firstly, you should learn to play what you want to hear, not what someone is trying to teach you. Follow what’s in your head. I was about 22 and just starting out with ZZ Top. I was in the dressing room, and B.B. said to me, ‘Can I play your guitar?’ I said, ‘Sure man.’ He strummed it a few times and handed it back to me.”
He added, “He looked at me rather quizzically and said, ‘Why are you working so hard?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Those strings. You got real heavy, heavy strings.’ I said, ‘Well, isn’t that how to get the heavy, heavy sound?’ He said, ‘No! Don’t be working so hard!'”
Indeed, the beauty of blues music is in its simplicity; play the strings too hard or too many notes, and you lose the essence of the blues in the first place. Gibbons would eventually learn that less is more, as exemplified in his playing in ZZ Top.
“That was something new!” Gibbons added. “I was mistaken in thinking he was using these extra-heavy strings. I guess he was right there at the beginning when super-light strings were beginning to show up.”
