young Roky Erickson). Gibbons' band eventually changed their name to the Moving Sidewalks, issuing a lone album in 1968, Flash, although an early single, "99th Floor," would later receive attention when included years later on the Pebbles: Vol. 2 compilation. While the Moving Sidewalks never made a splash outside of Texas, Gibbons must have been pleased when Jimi Hendrix (with whom the Sidewalks toured with around this time) began endorsing the guitarist as one of his favorite new players to the media.
When the Moving Sidewalks folded in 1969, Gibbons sought to form a more straight ahead, boogie/blues rock-based band, and after hooking up with a pair of other fellow Texans, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, ZZ Top was born. The power trio slowly but steadily built up a solid following, largely due to Gibbons' tasty guitar playing and muscular riffs (especially evidenced on such renowned tracks as "La Grange" and "Tush"). Over the course of five classic albums over a six year span (1970's self-titled debut, 1972's Rio Grande Mud , 1973's Tres Hombres , 1975's Fandango, and 1976's Tejas, ZZ Top became one of the country's top rock bands, before taking a three year break. When they returned, the musical climate had changed considerably, and ZZ Top opted to change with the times - as a more modern, electronic sound was merged with their blues rock roots on such albums as 1979's Deguello and 1981's El Loco . But with the release of 1983's Eliminator, the new approach came together for the group, while both Gibbons and Hill happened to come across a gimmick that will be forever associated with the group - long and stringy beards that grew down to their chests. It didn't hurt that the group was responsible for some of MTV's most popular video clips of all time (which always seemed to primarily focus on good looking girls and a snazzy 1933 Ford three door coupe, rather than the bandmembers) - "Give Me All Your Loving," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs." Gibbons and Hill also became known for their assortment of matching and outlandish guitars, which were also always on display in their videos.
But the trio's newly acquired commercial direction caused some consternation amongst long-time fans, and by the mid-'90s, new ZZ Top's albums failed to sell as well as their earlier titles had, although a large and loyal following still flocked to their shows. A long-time vintage guitar collector, Gibbons owns some of the world's most cherished and rare guitars, including a particular instrument that he's become synonymous with, a 1959 Sunburst Les Paul Standard (which he dubbed 'Pearly Gates'). In addition to music, Gibbons supposedly owns several automotive-related patents in his name, is an avid painter, and collects rare African art and artifacts, amassing so many that he was forced to store them in a warehouse in Houston. Besides recording with ZZ Top , Gibbons has been known to go by the alias Justis Walkert - appearing on recordings by Jeff Healey (Feel This) and the Rainer & Das Combo ( the Texas Tapes ). But it's obviously Gibbons' exceptional playing with ZZ Top that he's best known most for, as the guitarist has influenced a wide variety of players over the years, including the Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood and Dimebag Darrell, to name but a few.
