ZZ Top

The band rose to regional fame throughout the early 1970s with blues-drenched albums rooted in the Texas tradition, drawing heavily from influences like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and John Lee Hooker. Their 1973 album Tres Hombres broke them nationally, powered by the hard-driving track La Grange — a song built on a John Lee Hooker boogie riff that became one of their defining live staples. Through the remainder of the decade they were relentless road warriors, building a devoted following through marathon tours across America.

ZZ Top reached a new commercial peak in the early 1980s with the Eliminator album (1983), which fused their bluesy rock with synthesizers and drum machines and produced massive MTV hits including Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, and Gimme All Your Lovin'. The album's iconic music videos — featuring the trio's long beards, matching outfits, and a candy-apple red 1933 Ford coupe — made them one of the most visually distinctive acts of the decade and brought the band to a global audience. Eliminator eventually sold over ten million copies in the United States alone.

Despite their commercial reinvention in the MTV era, ZZ Top never abandoned their blues roots, and later work returned to rawer territory. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Gibbons and Beard have continued performing as ZZ Top following Hill's death, honoring the band's legacy while carrying its music forward.