<![CDATA[ Latest from Guitar World in Billy-gibbons ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/tag/billy-gibbons Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:36 +0000 en <![CDATA[ “My dad said, ‘Take a seat – a band is coming in to make a record.’ I spotted a guitar case entering through the side door… carried by none other than B.B. King”: Billy Gibbons on how B.B. King changed his life ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/zz-top-billy-gibbons-on-bb-king EZQbSKQb2zHqByP9BWuaX3 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:36 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Jeff Beck arranged delivery with Marshall’s first factory arrival into the States, loading ZZ Top’s stage with stacks”: Billy Gibbons tells the tale of how an accident with a knife –and a British guitar great – set them up to conquer the ’80s ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/zz-top-billy-gibbons-el-loco dcrgS3zKNS5c7oFRpwqrdY Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:37:06 +0000 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:37:17 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I can't walk away, so I've come back to do the thing I know how to do best, which is play”: Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival announces 2026 lineup ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/concerts-gigs-tours/2026-eric-clapton-crossroads-festival-announced SuYnntMvQBPMB9uCMmtp4N Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:07:13 +0000 Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:32:17 +0000 <![CDATA[ “B.B. asked to try a few licks on my guitar. He smiled and asked, ‘Why you working so hard?’” How B.B. King changed Billy Gibbons’ approach to guitar strings ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/how-bb-king-changed-billy-gibbons-approach-to-strings 7EyetemvP7rdUgR2uEjqRK Sat, 07 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 <![CDATA[ “He came ripping into the hotel room and said, ‘Um, do you know this?’ He slapped down a lick that lasted 10 minutes”: When Jimi Hendrix gave Billy Gibbons a guitar lesson unlike any other ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/billy-gibbons-jimi-hendrix-hotel-story pG9kJKAf3x9EcBetkWJSF6 Sun, 18 Jan 2026 12:45:00 +0000 Mon, 19 Jan 2026 10:39:54 +0000 <![CDATA[ “My playing has always sucked, but it sells because I keep it simple”: Steve Cropper was one of guitar’s most modest yet influential figures. In one of his final interviews, he looked back at making Booker T & the MG’s classics and working with Jeff Beck ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/steve-cropper-final-interview n4KuLzDh9MNfdwGwCJKRmL Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:59:32 +0000 <![CDATA[ “If all you want to do is sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, you’re screwed. There was only one of him and he did it better than anyone else”: What Guthrie Trapp learned while escaping the country player label – and how the fretboard can change your life ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/the-guitar-styles-of-guthrie-trapp VCirstrhJutXMymwRFg4TR Mon, 24 Nov 2025 11:37:04 +0000 Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:41:42 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I’m a big Slash fan but ya gotta admit John stole the show”: Remembering the night tres hombres by the name of John Mayer, Slash and Billy Gibbons gave ZZ Top’s La Grange a triple-guitar glow-up ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/zz-top-john-mayer-slash-la-grange-live-video x2tdGRLW6mxykBXrsa9Qra Mon, 15 Sep 2025 16:36:29 +0000 Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:31:51 +0000 <![CDATA[ “My dad stepped in to greet the ensemble – and then in came The King”: Billy Gibbons shares the story of the “treasured moment” he sat in on a B.B. King session – as a child ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/billy-gibbons-watched-bb-king-record-aged-7 J2G72k8zfSf78dHmFHJA9Z Sat, 05 Jul 2025 09:23:00 +0000 Tue, 08 Jul 2025 12:15:16 +0000 <![CDATA[ “We haven’t broken a string on a Les Paul for more than three years”: Joe Bonamassa swears by this easy string-saving hack – which was inspired by Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/joe-bonamassa-les-paul-string-breakage-hack VoBKULvryyCZkpibztWJKZ Wed, 07 May 2025 09:35:52 +0000 Tue, 13 May 2025 14:15:11 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Who doesn't want to hear the recording of Ted Nugent and Eddie Van Halen jamming?” Ted Nugent's colossal archive includes sessions with EVH, Billy Gibbons and the Mothers of Invention ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/ted-nugent-nuge-vault 8UbLqZM5WQJaPzfFYCuWPi Wed, 02 Apr 2025 15:06:20 +0000 Mon, 07 Apr 2025 15:35:35 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I played Brian Setzer’s personal guitars – the pickups give you more dynamic control. I thought, ‘I have to recreate this!’” How TV Jones revived That Great Gretsch Sound – despite being an underdog in the pickup world ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/guitar-pickups/tv-jones-profile 6KgLrZ6zcgwdcRaGBZd9g5 Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:44:38 +0000 Thu, 27 Mar 2025 16:26:02 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I said, ‘The only way we can play 40 minutes is if we include Purple Haze.’ This guy grabbed me and said, ‘You got a lot of nerve!’” Billy Gibbons once covered Jimi Hendrix hits while supporting Hendrix on tour – and the guitar hero watched ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/billy-gibbons-covers-jimi-hendrix-in-front-of-hendrix rJcsvFNV7Q6QFEaCfndyKG Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:27:08 +0000 Tue, 25 Feb 2025 13:08:24 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Whenever I’d see him play live it was an off-the-rack Strat. He was never one to say, ‘I’ve got to play that’”: Joe Perry says he was planning to take Jeff Beck’s Strat on tour with Aerosmith –but its owner was the only special thing about it ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/joe-perry-jeff-beck-strat-aerosmith-tour eXDLVr8NNg8oirqFAuiUjU Mon, 20 Jan 2025 18:13:46 +0000 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:24:06 +0000 <![CDATA[ “It’s the old rockers’ guitar. You can wear it all night!” It weighs under 6lbs, has a honeycomb chambered body, you can swap out the pickups, and Billy Gibbons loves it – meet the Newman Honeycomb Junior GT-40 Guitar-X ‘Ultimate Billy’ ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/newman-honeycomb-gt40-guitar-x-ultimate-billy-edition x6HLdo4GzjycteA2nvQa4E Wed, 27 Nov 2024 10:52:02 +0000 Wed, 18 Dec 2024 11:31:06 +0000 <![CDATA[ “AC/DC signed my Strat. I had everybody sign it: Neil Young, Jeff Beck… When Angus saw Beck’s signature he said, ‘Oh, the bouffant!’” Jim Suhler on being married by Billy Gibbons, the advice SRV gave him and why he didn’t pay Joe Bonamassa for a sick solo ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/jim-suhler-george-thorogood-and-the-destroyers mzxffDScraVWFGa6sCgLWW Mon, 25 Nov 2024 11:37:23 +0000 Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:21:17 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I thought Billy was the coolest guitarist I’d ever heard, and that opinion hasn’t changed in 50 years”: Add some Texas blues sizzle to your lead playing with this lesson in Billy Gibbons' sweet soloing style ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/artist-lessons/billy-gibbons-zz-top-tasty-soloing ibTCAgCQTN7Ntumq9pHNha Mon, 11 Nov 2024 17:05:41 +0000 Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:51:40 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I took over where Billy Gibbons left off and did my half of the solo, and it was a very rare thing. My wife loves it. She doesn’t love anything I do...” Brian May, Billy Gibbons and Steve Cropper on how the three guitar icons learned to play together ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/steve-cropper-brian-may-billy-gibbons-friendlytown aLXABaNy7TsKzdeULfbZTk Thu, 07 Nov 2024 13:21:24 +0000 Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:00:07 +0000 <![CDATA[ “What we have in common is that we don’t shred for the sake of it. In my case, it’s because I can’t!” Brian May on his unlikely guitar kinsmanship with Steve Cropper and Billy Gibbons ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/brian-may-billy-gibbons-steve-cropper-not-shredding-for-shredding-sake TrwUJ8rVoMHm5xRRx3N8Ui Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:54:41 +0000 Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:26:01 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Billy had already played half a solo. The producer said, ‘Can you play the other half?’ I said, ‘Can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’” Brian May explains why he was reluctant to share a solo with Billy Gibbons – and what changed his mind ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/brian-may-reluctant-to-share-a-solo-with-billy-gibbons 936Su7ZvUTXRwcUGZzQ4P9 Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:34:41 +0000 Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:27:39 +0000 <![CDATA[ “It’s interesting how something so subtle can be so dramatic on the player’s end”: Seymour Duncan supercharges two classic Billy Gibbons guitar tones with new signature Tele and Les Paul pickups ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/billy-gibbons-seymour-duncan-red-devil-telecaster-hades-gates w9FGDbf9AJ3GJVEBJCsFN6 Tue, 03 Sep 2024 16:15:38 +0000 Mon, 16 Sep 2024 15:56:45 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Pearly Gates, our long-standing fave-rave six-string, entered the studio to do that righteous thing”: Billy Gibbons on bringing out his legendary Les Paul for Slash’s all-star blues album – and the liquor store run-in that sparked their friendship ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/features/billy-gibbons-slash-pearly-gates-orgy-of-the-damned SfCGtYznwSrUnznPCcdKrj Tue, 13 Aug 2024 10:02:08 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Billy Gibbons pulls out this big-ass yellow 17-string bass and he’s like, ‘Okay, we’ll play it for a song, right?’” ZZ Top’s Elwood Francis on teching for Joe Perry, lying to Steve Vai – and the curse of playing that viral 17-string bass ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/features/elwood-francis-aerosmith-vai-zz-top-guns-roses ZKUfxTWQLSbT6q3gw5XBEh Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:43:17 +0000 Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:58:59 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I said to Billy, ‘We should order one of these, and I’ll play it. It’ll be hilarious.’ Then it went viral. I hate playing that bass. Now I’ve got to play it every night”: Elwood Francis on why he regrets his 17-string bass becoming a ZZ Top staple ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/zz-top-bassist-elwood-francis-on-17-string-bass-origins i4UuNCfshfy6uZNYqDoqJW Thu, 18 Jul 2024 10:34:02 +0000 Tue, 30 Jul 2024 10:02:15 +0000 <![CDATA[ “A guitar from that dark period when the single-cut Les Paul was discontinued”: Is this oddball ’60s electric the weirdest custom model Gibson has ever created? Gibson’s archive curator sure thinks so ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson-weird-custom-models eRcSmSRhLiVr7aHZCHt56J Fri, 28 Jun 2024 10:24:55 +0000 Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:54:59 +0000 <![CDATA[ “There’s nowhere on the planet that these cats would be in the same room together for such a cool low key hang”: Fender just opened a mega new Nashville HQ – and Music City’s finest guitarists were all in attendance ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/fender-nashville-hq-opening uSP58wSjXUpeLFdioyH4LY Thu, 23 May 2024 11:49:30 +0000 <![CDATA[ “The bass has been given the nickname ‘Momoa’s Koa’”: Jason Momoa is auctioning off a collection of Gibson and Fender Custom Shop guitars and handmade bass builds, including signed Slash and Billy Gibbons Les Pauls ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/jason-momoa-guitar-auction NZmUGBvFyuJjemVWoBsaSP Fri, 10 May 2024 18:40:57 +0000 Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:20:42 +0000 <![CDATA[ “I can’t play without looking at the dots”: Soul guitar icon Steve Cropper explains why he still looks at the fretboard after nearly 70 years of playing – and reveals he’s tapped Brian May and Billy Gibbons for his new album ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/steve-cropper-looking-at-the-dots nrQUhMnXWCvp7aQZ9z6FhN Mon, 29 Apr 2024 14:23:58 +0000 Tue, 14 May 2024 16:01:52 +0000 <![CDATA[ “A rare opportunity to explore a unique side of his playing”: Slash hangs up his Les Paul for a 335 in the first taste of his solo blues album – a covers record featuring Brian Johnson, Billy Gibbons, Iggy Pop, Gary Clark Jr. and Demi Lovato ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/slash-orgy-of-the-damned-blues-album ac2wZj2QH78RZNbzk7CDk8 Fri, 08 Mar 2024 16:28:14 +0000 Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:20:19 +0000 <![CDATA[ “We had no idea it was going to perform the way it did – or if it was even going to be shown to anyone”: How Cardboard Sessions’ Dave Lee convinced Billy Gibbons, J Mascis and Keanu Reeves to slam on his Fender-approved cardboard guitars ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/features/cardboard-sessions-dave-lee YvHNJYnNLsVdThGt4LGtEL Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:06:06 +0000 Fri, 29 Dec 2023 13:08:13 +0000 <![CDATA[ “In keeping with Billy’s directive to ‘retain the gain or feel the pain’”: Billy Gibbons has helped Magnatone develop the Baby M-80 – its smallest and lightest tube amp yet ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/magnatone-baby-m-80-amp aaS7D7gyPesFTT3BLg3i3R Thu, 14 Dec 2023 12:08:22 +0000 <![CDATA[ “A traveling museum of rock music”: The Jim Irsay Band is playing a free show in LA next month featuring Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Kenny Wayne Shepherd – and some of the world’s most valuable guitars ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/free-jim-irsay-collection-exhibit-concert-la tCKJ6isjMRkeURP7pLZPon Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:26:22 +0000 Wed, 13 Dec 2023 15:48:57 +0000 <![CDATA[ 3 Les Pauls, 2 vocalists and 1 broken string: Slash, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes trade solos in a star-studded reprisal of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man at Haynes' Christmas Jam ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/slash-billy-gibbons-warren-haynes-lynyrd-skynyrd-simple-man UYMmAuNXHAXxhkLHrARAzg Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:28:50 +0000 Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:06:29 +0000 <![CDATA[ “Billy Gibbons brought some off-brand amp simulator to the studio. We heard him playing through this thing and it was like, ‘Wow! It sounds like f**kin’ Billy Gibbons!’” Troy Van Leeuwen might have just proven beyond doubt that tone truly is in the hands ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/troy-van-leeuwen-billy-gibbons-tone uda9ftCW6GfULkFMyHSjRm Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:57:48 +0000 <![CDATA[ "We were still gluing the fur on the tuning keys when the FedEx driver showed up to pick up the guitars": The iconic fur-covered spinning bass from ZZ Top's Legs video is going up for auction ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/zz-top-legs-spinning-fur-bass-dusty-hill-auction 9TnacyCNCjh6EiGLAcXdfm Tue, 24 Oct 2023 19:10:16 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:31:15 +0000 <![CDATA[ “It was considered a no-no to chain two Fuzz-Tones together. But I saw Hendrix chain five of them!” Billy Gibbons remembers opening for Jimi Hendrix with his pre-ZZ Top band the Moving Sidewalks ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/features/billy-gibbons-opening-for-jimi-hendrix xN6AgQHXKsKHybuwLK2kwB Fri, 22 Sep 2023 14:47:54 +0000 Fri, 30 Aug 2024 11:49:15 +0000 <![CDATA[ "Man, I like this thing!" Watch Billy Gibbons play the blues on a cardboard Strat ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/billy-gibbons-cardboard-strat-blues BC2gBwRjPpQv5bnzajpJCP Fri, 28 Jul 2023 21:35:55 +0000 Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:20:15 +0000 <![CDATA[ Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Kirk Hammett and more close out first Jeff Beck tribute concert with star-studded rendition of Going Down ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/jeff-beck-tribute-show-going-down-cover HvftHZqcV3oUqwif5WiGhX Tue, 23 May 2023 10:42:23 +0000 <![CDATA[ Billy Gibbons gets his pedals on Amazon – and his favorite brand starts at $15 ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/billy-gibbons-amazon-mini-pedals kxoaazwjuoBDEYBRf5y3eS Wed, 10 May 2023 10:09:09 +0000 Fri, 12 May 2023 14:19:18 +0000 <![CDATA[ Watch Slash, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes play an all-star medley of Lynyrd Skynyrd classics in tribute to Gary Rossington ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/slash-billy-gibbons-warren-haynes-gary-rossington-tribute-medley DEMXCtN6SK3t8nYDyXccjU Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:31:15 +0000 Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:34:02 +0000 <![CDATA[ Slash, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes to perform in all-star tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington at the CMT Awards ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/slash-billy-gibbons-warren-haynes-gary-rossington-tribute-cmt-awards otrdGGYS7WDZWnnJqmxPJF Fri, 31 Mar 2023 10:08:52 +0000 Fri, 31 Mar 2023 10:09:13 +0000 <![CDATA[ Hear Elvis Costello channel his inner blues-rocker in onstage jam with Billy Gibbons ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/elvis-costello-blues-rock-jam-billy-gibbons jnAeKjCeuYJdvN59wFHhvV Tue, 14 Mar 2023 21:36:20 +0000 <![CDATA[ Eric Clapton announces star-studded Jeff Beck tribute concerts with Gary Clark Jr., Billy Gibbons, John McLaughlin, Susan Tedeschi and Doyle Bramhall II ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/jeff-beck-tribute-concert StCGBCQ8Q6egvYig5RWVQg Fri, 10 Mar 2023 13:23:19 +0000 <![CDATA[ Want a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker for your Tele? That’s now an option ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/seymour-duncan-pearly-gates-telecaster-bg1400 zSFv783xNGVmYMFbBShnSR Wed, 18 Jan 2023 14:02:58 +0000 Tue, 30 May 2023 21:59:08 +0000 <![CDATA[ Watch Billy Gibbons perform with Joe Bonamassa and Robby Krieger at his recent birthday bash ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/billy-gibbons-birthday-joe-bonamassa-robby-krieger uijsPHV3uvkBosJwvpr5t8 Mon, 19 Dec 2022 15:59:09 +0000 <![CDATA[ Justin Hawkins: “What?! Split harmonics on the bass?” ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/justin-hawkins-what-split-harmonics-on-the-bass zHNeosJuDJwqn9G6BmAjxV Mon, 19 Dec 2022 14:04:48 +0000 Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:21:56 +0000 <![CDATA[ The 32 greatest Texas guitarists of all time ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-greatest-texas-guitarists-of-all-time TC8UmMchxqbsL4PwXxXQ3B Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:54:00 +0000 Tue, 10 Jan 2023 14:20:27 +0000 <![CDATA[ From hell-raising garage-punk to towering shred storms: here are this week's essential guitar tracks ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/essential-guitar-tracks-garage-punk-shred-storm yibJsAbpTGx6XmRArkL8dc Thu, 27 Oct 2022 16:02:16 +0000 <![CDATA[ 11 crazy guitarist signature products that have nothing to do with guitar ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/features/11-crazy-guitarist-signature-products mTdRata8HBBMangqiicZCJ Fri, 25 Mar 2022 11:14:20 +0000 Fri, 25 Mar 2022 11:18:10 +0000 <![CDATA[ ZZ Top announce new live album, Raw ]]> https://www.guitarworld.com/news/zz-top-live-album-raw 5de4Qcv8vacfpw8YcmvRvL Mon, 07 Mar 2022 20:59:15 +0000