Li’l ole band from Texas ZZ Top brings Elevation Tour to Tifton

TIFTON — When you talk about legendary rockers ZZ Top, three B’s come to mind: Blues, beards and bad-ass guitar-driven rock and roll.

It was in Houston in the waning days of 1969 that ZZ Top coalesced from the core of two rival bands: Billy Gibbons’ Moving Sidewalks and Frank Beard and Dusty Hill’s American Blues. This hard-edged, hard-living Blues-enriched trio made an immediate impact, and by the time they released their third album, 1973’s “Tres Hombres,” the rest of the nation and the world had caught up with Texas music fans.

“La Grange,” which is still one of the band’s signature tunes, is just one of the classic songs that turned “Tres Hombres” into a smash and left the world wanting more.

The band’s 1983 album “Eliminator” was something of a paradigm shift for ZZ Top. Their Blues roots remained intact, but tech-age trappings were added to a mix that soon found a visual outlet with such tracks as “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” drawing heavy rotation on the nascent MTV. “Eliminator” was one of the music industry’s first albums to be certified Diamond, signifying sales of more than 10 million units.

The band’s lineup of the bearded Gibbons and Hill, along with, ironically, clean-shaved drummer Beard, remained intact for more than 50 years before Hill’s passing. Elwood Francis was selected to strap on the four-string, and the band hasn’t missed a beat.

Six String Southern Productions is bringing ZZ Top’s legendary sound to the John Hunt Auditorium on the University of Georgia Tifton campus March 26 at 7 p.m. as part of the band’s Elevation Tour. Derrick Dove & the Peacekeepers will open.

ZZ Top founder and legendary guitarist Gibbons took a few minutes out of the band’s busy touring schedule to answer a few questions for The Albany Herald.

ALBANY HERALD: There’s an old (Neil Sedaka) song with the line “I miss the hungry years.” Now that you guys have enjoyed amazing fame and success, is it still as much fun for you or do you miss those early “hungry” years?

BILLY GIBBONS: Whoa, yeah! Fine times on deck as it ever was, like a fine plate of barbecue. The thing we got behind in the beginning is still the thing we do now decades later: Get out there, turn it up and have a good time. It’s axiomatic that if we’re having a good time on stage, the friends, fans, and followers are having a good time rightly so. We dig the symmetry.

AH: It’s obvious there’s no slowing down for you personally, with the band’s Elevation Tour and new solo music. Are you experiencing a new burst of creative energy? Where does it come from?

BG: The energy level is definitely up, as there’s a boost in the creative — waiting to share. Not exactly sure where it comes from, yet as it’s said, “Once the art of the Blues takes hold, it never really leaves.” Without question, the attribute to all this is to all that.

AH: How did Dusty’s departure impact you and the band? How difficult has it been to carry on?

BG: When Dusty felt out of sorts, he imparted the wisdom of “The show must go on …” and the main man, Mr. Elwood Francis, received the designation to fall in, which carefully navigated in step with success. The good reality is that’s been it ever since. That ZZ platform stood solid.

AH: You guys have made a few changes over the years to meet changing times. But you’re still basically that “little ole band from Texas” playing the blues. Where does the deep-seated love for that music come from?

BG: It comes from the earth … both from around the planet and the dirt from which things emerge. Blues is the great American art form and one of the most human sounds around. To be alive is to be indebted to the Blues. We’ve just been paying it back for the past five or so decades.

AH: You’ve played with a lot of great musicians over the years. Who are some of the best, and why?

BG: Two spring immediately to mind: Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones. Hendrix was almost a shy guy but was able to breath fire when stepping onstage. He was generous with his time and talent, and the time he spent mentoring us early on was an experience (pun kind of intended) we’ll always respect. Of course, the Stones swashbuckled their way into our collective ethos. Their mystical and stylistic panache is a deep-diving source of inspiration. There’s a connected reason Keith (Richards) inducted us in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

AH: What’s the biggest difference in touring in 2025 as compared to say 1975?

BG: The internet. Pretty well can eliminate much of the unknowns out of the task at hand. I can’t tell how many times our tour bus ended up on a dark end of a street in a wayward town we’ve never been prior to the advent of that infamous “GPS.”  (Now), we move right along and rock.