Gibson Mojo Maker ex-Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)

Billy F Gibbons
(1949)

Band: ZZ Top
Main Guitar: 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard
Must-listen track: Just Got Paid

Billy Gibbons is the boss. The boss of guitarists with his sensual vibrato and the thick, burrito-like tone he pulls from his Les Paul. The boss of singers with his rough and twangy voice. The boss of bandleaders with ZZ Top, his trio whose lineup has remained unchanged since 1969. The boss of style, with impeccable fashion stage presence. And finally, the boss of collectors, with several warehouses filled with thousands of guitars he has acquired over the years. Legend has it he owns one of every year of every model from the major brands, and it might just not be a legend... In any case, the guitars known to belong to him are dizzying, from “Mistress Pearly Gates,” the famous ’59 Les Paul that has always accompanied him, to his ’54 hardtail Strat that is often heard complementing Pearly Gates, along with numerous custom hotrod-style guitars.

His career began in 1967 with The Moving Sidewalks, one of the few Texas psychedelic rock bands inspired by the 13th Floor Elevators. They even opened for Jimi Hendrix before breaking up in 1969, the year Gibbons founded ZZ Top.

The trio started with thick, traditional blues rock before evolving toward a more electronic direction, beginning with Degüello in 1979. This approach was confirmed with the trilogy Eliminator / Afterburner / Recycler, three albums where Gibbons’ blues merged with the synthesizers and drum machines of the era, producing a result that convinced many fans, whether introduced to the trio’s music through singles like Gimme All Your Loving and Rough Boy or through the band’s excellent music videos that played repeatedly on MTV. Since then, ZZ Top has reinvented their music once again with a thicker, more organic sound drenched in fuzz. Gibbons has made numerous guest appearances on other musicians’ albums, and especially released two albums under his own name: Perfectamundo, exploring Cuban music, and Big Bad Blues, returning to his first loves, between Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. The circle is complete.