Z.Z. Top's Legacy Is Bigger Than You Think

I'd like to share a few thoughts on ZZ Top and what they have meant to us over the years. Pardon me if you heard the tribute on air, because I'll be repeating myself a bit.

When I was a kid we had a neighbor we called "Fat Bill". He wasn't really fat and I kind of feel bad about the nickname now even though I didn't come up with it. For whatever reason, even though Bill was the same age as us, he was a little more advanced musically. He was a huge fan of Jethro Tull and later was the first kid on the block with that classic KISS poster.

One day we say Bill racing down the street with an album under his arm. We stopped him and took a look and we thought the crazy cowboys on the cover looked cool. The album was ZZ Tops "Fandango" and that was a jumping-off point for us.

It may seem weird to you now, but ZZ Top was really wild for the time. Think about that raunchy guitar playing next to Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, and Elton John. It's safe to say that ZZ brought the thunder at the time.

Now let's jump forward to me relocating from Orange County California to Brownfield, Texas. I was like an alien next to the country kids that had all grown up together. I felt like I was an alien until I saw one kid give another a ZZ Top album. At that point, we all had something in common and it helped.

That's the thing about ZZ Top. Not only did they help me through a rough patch, but ZZ Top also brought us all together. Think about this, what other band is loved by the rock crowd and the country crowd? Let's take it further, how amazing that ZZ managed to wedge themselves as a "thing" during the MTV/new wave era? ZZ brought a lot of us together and we shared many moments and many concerts with this band. They are a cultural touchstone for all us and we've lost a very important part of that.

R.I.P. Dusty Hill.

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