Gibbons, Billy

Billy Gibbons was born December 16, 1949 in Tanglewood, a western suburb of Houston in the family of Frederick Royal and Lorraine Gibbons. The father of the musician was an orchestra conductor and pianist. He worked with his cousin, art director and producer Cedric Gibbons, for Samuel Goldwin of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . Billy Gibbons from an early age tried himself in the orchestra, where he was a percussionist after studying in New York with Tito Puente . Then Billy Gibbons attended art school in Hollywood .

The world of blues , gospel and rock'n'roll for young Billy was discovered by his nanny, African-American Stella "Big" Matthews, as well as her eldest daughter Stella "Little" Matthews, who sometimes took Billy to clubs with her and listened to records of masters with him blues ^[1] . The next important step in the development of the musician was the 1962 Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker electric guitar donated to him for Christmas 1963. About an hour later, young Billy could brag about the performance of the song What I'd Say Ray Charles and a few things by James Reed . According to Gibbons himself, soon no one could tear him away from the constant playing of the “primitive” guitar connected to the Fender Champ amplifier.

The first group called Saints Gibbons, together with his friends David Crosswell and Philip Taft, gathered at the age of 14 in Hollywood , where he studied at the art school. It consisted of three guitarists, including Gibbons, and a drummer. Then Gibbons played in the bands Billy G & the Blueflames and The Coachmen , who performed in clubs. In 1967, Gibbons returned to Houston, where in the summer of 1967, inspired by the 13th Floor Elevators , he created The Moving Sidewalks , switching from rhythm and blues to psychedelic music. She already had some success, recording several singles and a full Flash album. The single of the 99th Floor group (the name is a kind of reference to the group The 13th Floor Elevators , and the name of the group is also a reference) even led the Houston hit parade and held on first place for 6 weeks. The band was spotted by Wand Records and released another hit hit Need Me . Soon, the group was renamed the 99th Floor . The group was often invited to open concerts by more famous artists, such as The Doors and Jimmy Hendrix (the opening song for Jimmy Hendrix's Experience , performed during the Texas stage of the first American concert tour of Hendrix, is even considered the most successful piece by The Moving Sidewalks / 99th Floor ). Then Hendricks made friends with Billy Gibbons, showed the young guitarist the original settings for the electric guitar and, in general, predicted Gibbons a great future. But basically the Gibbons group traveled with the 13th Floor Elevators in the south of the USA, performing as the opening act. In 1969, the group broke up.

In the summer of 1969, Gibbons organized the ZZ Top group. After several changes in the composition, a stable composition of the group appeared, which included the bassist / singer Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Bird (both are former members of the bands "American Blues", "The Warlocks", "The Cellar Dwellers"). The manager of the group was Bill Ham . The group has been working in this composition for almost 40 years (manager Bill Ham stopped working with the group in 2006).

About the further creative activity of Billy Gibbons:

In 2015, Billy Gibbons released his first solo album titled Perfectamundo , and in 2018 the guitarist released his next solo album, The Big Bad Blues .

Billy Gibbons named ten records that influenced him, his work and career:

• “The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators” - 13th Floor Elevators (1966);
• “ Fresh Cream ” - Cream (1966);
• “ Are You Experienced ” - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967);
• “ Master and Servant ” and “ People Are People ” - Depeche Mode (1984);
• “ Their Satanic Majesties Request ” - The Rolling Stones (1967);
• “ Hoochie Coochie Man ” and Got My Mojo Workin ' - Muddy Waters , recording songs from the album At Newport (1960);
• “ Live at the Regal ” - BB King (1965);
• Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul ” - Otis Redding (1966);
• “ The Land of Rape and Honey ” - Ministry (1988);
• "Truth" - Jeff Beck (1968) ^[2]

Moving Sidewalkes

• Flash (1968)

ZZ Top

• ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
• Rio Grande Mud (1972)
• Tres Hombres (1973)
• Fandango! (1975)
• Tejas (1977)
• Degüello (1979)
• El Loco (1981)
• Eliminator (1983)
• Afterburner (1985)
• Recycler (1990)
• Antenna (1994)
• Rhythmeen (1996)
• XXX (1999)
• Mescalero (2003)
• La Futura (2012)

Solo Work

• Perfectamundo (2015)
• The Big Bad Blues (2018)

In the television series "Bones" he played himself, although the name was not called. He played the role of father Angela Montenegro, an expert artist at the Jefferson Institute.

1. ↑ Billy F. Gibbons, Tom Vickers. Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead Google Books Date of appeal October 19, 2017.
2. ↑ ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons: The 10 Records That Changed My Life | Louder