With his signature beard and African headgear, Billy Gibbons is instantly recognizable. He’s best known as the centerpiece and one third of ZZ Top, the band that came together in 1969 and has stayed part of the American musical landscape ever since — the longest running major rock band still composed of its original members.
Gibbons and bandmates Dusty Hill and Frank Beard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, most appropriately by longtime friend Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
His singular look notwithstanding, Gibbons is even more notable for having been recognized as one of the most inventive and dexterous guitarists of the rock era. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s finest guitarists working in the blues-rock realm.
ZZ Top’s sound owes much to his uncanny knack to squeeze unheard of sounds out of the electric guitar that resonate with the blues, pop, R&B, country, gospel, western, hillbilly and West African influences that coalesced when rock and roll was born.
Gibbons’ almost subconscious awareness of this heritage makes his an approach that is, at once, innovative and authentic. As a vocalist, his down and dirty growl is unmistakable; he sounds ominous and mirthful at the same time, as in hits such as “La Grange,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Cheap Sunglasses.”
Gibbons, along with Matt Sorum, a drummer, percussionist and former member of Guns N’ Roses, and musician Austin Hanks, will take the stage at The Paramount on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m., with their “Big Bad Blues Tour.”
Fans can get tickets by going to www.paramountny.com.
The Paramount is located at 370 New York Ave. in Huntington.
