Billy Gibbons

Latest about Billy Gibbons

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons [left] performs in front of some Magnatone amplifiers; a classic shot of Prince performing live, bathed in purple light.
Billy Gibbons on his epic late-night guitar summit with Prince

By Jonathan Horsley Published

The ZZ Top frontman admits he only recognized just how gifted Prince was as a player when he saw him bring the house down at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Awards

Guitarists
Bobby Rush, from left, Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales and John Mayer perform at Buddy's Got the Blues: A 90th Birthday Concert Celebration at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026.
Buddy Guy still stuns at 90 during star-studded, curfew-breaking birthday concert – live review

By Jackson Maxwell Published

A cavalcade of guitar heroes, including John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Gales and Billy Gibbons were on the bill, but there was no question that this show was all about Guy, one of the last original bluesmen

8 Comments
Concert, Gigs & Tours
Musicians Elwood Francis, Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top performs onstage during Day 1 of the 2023 Stagecoach Festival on April 28, 2023 in Indio, California.
Elwood Francis on the origins of his 17-string bass – and why he regrets it becoming a ZZ Top staple

By Michael Astley-Brown Published

Elwood Francis reveals the origins of his preposterous 17-string bass – and why he’s disappointed it went viral

Bassists
Micki Free plays his Strat behind his head
Micki Free on the time he made a guitar out of a detergent box and the advice Billy Gibbons gave him

By Joe Matera Published

From “annoying” first riffs and teenage stage-fails to the boutique electric he’d save from a fire, the Grammy-winning veteran opens his heart and gigbag

Guitarists
Tim Montana
Tim Montana grew up with no electricity and running water. Now he’s collaborating with Jerry Cantrell, Slash and Billy Gibbons

By Jim Beaugez Published

The hard-rocking country riffer didn’t intend Entire State of Tim Montana to feature his childhood heroes – it just sort of happened, he explains

Guitarists
DeArmond Tremolo Control
“Gibbons has used his frequently on ZZ Top albums – he often plays through two at once”: Meet the world’s first ‘pedal’ – a steampunk wonderland you need Windex to use

By Chris Gill Published

Introduced in 1946, produced through the mid–1960s, the DeArmond Tremolo Control is the O.G. guitar effect and was used by Muddy Waters, Billy Gibbons and Canned Heat

Guitar Pedals
Billy Gibbons in full flow onstage with ZZ Top
Why Billy Gibbons started using a peso as a guitar pick

By Jonathan Horsley Published

From the Archive It pays to keep some change in your pocket. You never know when your tone will need it

3 Comments
From the Archive
Billy Gibbons
Gibson recreates Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates Les Paul – and you’ll have to meet the ZZ Top legend in person if you want one

By Phil Weller Published

30 painstaking replicas are being sold exclusively through a private event at Gibson Garage Nashville

Electric Guitars
(L-R) Frank Beard, Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons of ZZ TOP perform in concert at The Forum on June 19, 1975 in Inglewood, California
Billy Gibbons vows ZZ Top will continue performing, following drummer Frank Beard's death

By Janelle Borg Published

Gibbons confirmed that, as per Beard's wishes, the band is going to “keep on keeping on”, with a Texas show scheduled for this weekend

15 Comments
Bands
Jeff Tweed plays his SG live onstage
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy on his greatest gear bargains – and why Billy Gibbons now owns his two of them

By Andrew Daly Published

The Wilco guitarist discusses his best gear finds and why he has his mom to thank for some of them

Guitarists
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