Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:01,328 --> 00:00:06,328
OCR'd and corrected by explosiveskull
www.OpenSubtitles.org
2
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:14,074
OpenSubtitles recommends using Nord VPN
from 3.49 USD/month ----> osdb.link/vpn
3
00:00:15,557 --> 00:00:17,594
This is your good neighbour
along the way,
4
00:00:17,768 --> 00:00:20,226
broadcasting across the land
from XERF
5
00:00:20,395 --> 00:00:23,137
in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila,
Mexico.
6
00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:12,687
I've known these guys
for a long time.
7
00:01:14,241 --> 00:01:15,731
If you look around
8
00:01:15,909 --> 00:01:19,743
the whole spectrum
of the rock 'n' roll world,
9
00:01:19,913 --> 00:01:21,449
there's only one of them.
10
00:01:22,124 --> 00:01:24,035
They're unique,
they're eccentric.
11
00:01:24,209 --> 00:01:26,075
Okay, guys, tell me.
12
00:01:26,253 --> 00:01:28,119
ZZ Top, how did you come up
with a name like that?
13
00:01:28,297 --> 00:01:31,164
We will tell three stories
about it.
14
00:01:31,341 --> 00:01:32,923
But none of them
will be true.
15
00:01:34,344 --> 00:01:36,711
When you'd see them onstage,
it was like,
16
00:01:36,888 --> 00:01:38,174
"Wow, there they are."
17
00:01:38,932 --> 00:01:44,348
It was like seeing Bugs Bunny
in person.
18
00:02:12,132 --> 00:02:14,339
I think the mystique
of the band
19
00:02:14,509 --> 00:02:16,375
is what brought me
to them.
20
00:02:17,804 --> 00:02:19,636
The look of a beard
like that.
21
00:02:19,806 --> 00:02:21,262
What's the rest
of your face like?
22
00:02:27,022 --> 00:02:28,387
All these videos,
all the stuff,
23
00:02:28,565 --> 00:02:29,805
it only added to the mystery.
24
00:02:29,983 --> 00:02:31,974
'Eliminator', where the car
is everywhere.
25
00:02:32,527 --> 00:02:34,188
You don't see who's inside.
26
00:02:35,197 --> 00:02:37,234
These choreographed moves,
27
00:02:37,449 --> 00:02:40,737
it all keeps you from really
knowing who they really are.
28
00:02:48,752 --> 00:02:53,212
Even their sound
had a mysterious quality to it.
29
00:02:53,632 --> 00:02:56,624
I don't think you can put your
finger on what it is.
30
00:02:57,177 --> 00:02:59,760
It's easy to say
it's based on the blues
31
00:02:59,930 --> 00:03:02,137
and all that kind of thing,
32
00:03:02,307 --> 00:03:05,049
but I think it's got something
else in it.
33
00:03:05,686 --> 00:03:09,725
But they may not even have
an explanation for it.
34
00:05:06,515 --> 00:05:10,258
Really if you wanna know
where everything came from,
35
00:05:10,435 --> 00:05:12,051
you have to go back
to the beginning.
36
00:05:13,688 --> 00:05:15,804
I'm a huge Elvis fan,
always have been.
37
00:05:15,982 --> 00:05:18,974
This is actually like
a blanket-type thing.
38
00:05:19,152 --> 00:05:23,316
So, I have Elvis things
all over the house and all over.
39
00:05:23,490 --> 00:05:25,401
I used to carry so much
on the road
40
00:05:25,575 --> 00:05:27,566
that I started getting
a separate dressing room
41
00:05:27,744 --> 00:05:29,951
and it started becoming
a little strange.
42
00:05:32,582 --> 00:05:34,869
When I was a kid,
my mother was a waitress.
43
00:05:35,043 --> 00:05:37,410
And Elvis used to come into
where she worked.
44
00:05:37,587 --> 00:05:40,625
He was not that well known
outside of Memphis at that time.
45
00:05:40,799 --> 00:05:42,881
Anyway, he had a record
that was on the jukebox.
46
00:05:43,051 --> 00:05:45,543
She brought it back with her
when we moved back to Dallas.
47
00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:47,427
And I used to sing to it.
48
00:05:51,852 --> 00:05:54,344
The first time I got money for
singing a song, I was 8.
49
00:05:54,521 --> 00:05:56,728
My brother, Rocky,
two and a half years older,
50
00:05:57,315 --> 00:05:59,022
he and I sang a song
one time
51
00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:01,900
and there was a table
right here beside me
52
00:06:02,529 --> 00:06:04,987
and people started throwing
change on that table,
53
00:06:05,156 --> 00:06:06,396
at least quarters.
54
00:06:06,575 --> 00:06:07,781
So, we were singing,
55
00:06:07,951 --> 00:06:10,033
the guitar player was playing
the guitar lead.
56
00:06:10,203 --> 00:06:11,910
I leaned down to my mother,
I said, "What is that?"
57
00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:13,286
She went, "That's for you."
58
00:06:13,456 --> 00:06:15,572
So, I stopped singing
and started raking the money in.
59
00:06:26,595 --> 00:06:27,960
I don't know what
Compton's like,
60
00:06:28,138 --> 00:06:30,470
I don't know what Harlem's
like, I've never lived there.
61
00:06:30,682 --> 00:06:33,014
But I can remember
walking down the street
62
00:06:33,184 --> 00:06:35,676
where I lived in Dallas,
63
00:06:35,854 --> 00:06:41,065
I was singing cos I didn't wanna
really look at the surroundings
64
00:06:41,234 --> 00:06:43,771
and I didn't want to
smell the air.
65
00:06:43,945 --> 00:06:47,233
I didn't want to hear what was
going on, so I would sing.
66
00:06:47,616 --> 00:06:50,358
You had to know how to work your
way around that neighbourhood.
67
00:06:50,577 --> 00:06:52,909
You did and didn't do
certain things,
68
00:06:53,079 --> 00:06:55,366
so you don't walk around
singing or dancing.
69
00:06:55,790 --> 00:06:58,407
You're liable to limp out,
70
00:06:58,585 --> 00:07:02,499
and playing in a rock band
gives you instant cred.
71
00:07:12,891 --> 00:07:15,508
Anyway, I don't really remember
how exactly it happened,
72
00:07:15,685 --> 00:07:17,426
we were still playing
this one beer joint,
73
00:07:17,604 --> 00:07:20,016
and my brother played guitar
and I sang.
74
00:07:20,357 --> 00:07:23,566
We decided, "We need a bass,
this is stupid."
75
00:07:23,735 --> 00:07:24,975
I went, "OK, well..."
76
00:07:25,153 --> 00:07:26,643
I thought he was talking about
hiring somebody
77
00:07:26,821 --> 00:07:27,982
but he went,
"No, you're it."
78
00:07:40,794 --> 00:07:43,126
This is a group called
Lady Wilde and the Warlocks.
79
00:07:43,296 --> 00:07:46,630
This is about '64,
so I guess I was about 15.
80
00:07:47,050 --> 00:07:49,212
That's my brother, Rocky.
That's me.
81
00:07:49,719 --> 00:07:52,211
The girl was actually
from England.
82
00:07:52,389 --> 00:07:53,925
She'd married a soldier.
83
00:07:54,099 --> 00:07:55,305
And that was Lady Wilde.
84
00:07:56,267 --> 00:07:58,008
And in '64 in Dallas,
85
00:07:58,186 --> 00:08:00,723
if you had someone from England
in your band,
86
00:08:00,897 --> 00:08:02,638
that was it,
you got bookings.
87
00:08:03,316 --> 00:08:05,683
But this was a club,
the Disc a Gogo
88
00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:07,817
and we were
the entertainment,
89
00:08:07,988 --> 00:08:11,071
but our drummer, at the time,
was quitting the business.
90
00:08:11,241 --> 00:08:13,824
So, my brother came up to me
and pointed at Frank
91
00:08:13,994 --> 00:08:16,531
who was playing with another
group, they were onstage.
92
00:08:16,705 --> 00:08:18,912
He went, "He's going to be
our new drummer."
93
00:08:19,124 --> 00:08:20,080
And I went...
94
00:08:20,250 --> 00:08:22,833
I looked at him, he had on
loafers and white socks
95
00:08:23,003 --> 00:08:25,119
and I went,
"I don't think so."
96
00:08:25,296 --> 00:08:27,708
He went, "No, you don't
understand. I'm not asking you.
97
00:08:27,882 --> 00:08:29,043
That's going to be
our drummer."
98
00:08:35,515 --> 00:08:38,633
I was 15,
and had a high school band,
99
00:08:38,810 --> 00:08:42,098
played some frat parties,
did this, that, and the other.
100
00:08:42,272 --> 00:08:44,684
And finally, we got a job
101
00:08:44,858 --> 00:08:48,192
playing at The Cellar club on
Friday night and Saturday night,
102
00:08:48,361 --> 00:08:49,851
in Fort Worth, Texas.
103
00:08:50,071 --> 00:08:52,403
We were going to play
from 8 till 12,
104
00:08:52,574 --> 00:08:55,942
and then, the headline act
was going to come in at 12.
105
00:08:56,870 --> 00:09:00,738
So, we went out, and we played
and when we were through,
106
00:09:01,541 --> 00:09:03,407
The Warlocks came in.
107
00:09:12,761 --> 00:09:17,551
Dusty and Rocky had on
matching blue sharkskin suits,
108
00:09:18,058 --> 00:09:21,722
and Banlon socks
like the blues players wear,
109
00:09:21,895 --> 00:09:25,684
and I noticed that Dusty's
fingernails were manicured.
110
00:09:25,940 --> 00:09:30,400
My God, these guys are right one
step below the Beatles.
111
00:09:30,570 --> 00:09:31,856
I mean, they were just...
112
00:09:32,030 --> 00:09:34,442
I only owned white socks
at the time,
113
00:09:34,616 --> 00:09:37,449
I was a complete rube.
114
00:09:38,745 --> 00:09:41,828
Anyway, I watched
The Warlocks that night,
115
00:09:41,998 --> 00:09:44,035
came back for the
Saturday night show,
116
00:09:44,209 --> 00:09:46,792
and they walked up and offered
me a job, playing with them.
117
00:09:48,713 --> 00:09:51,626
That's when I met Dusty.
118
00:10:02,852 --> 00:10:06,937
I enjoyed playing with Frank
the second we hit a note,
119
00:10:07,107 --> 00:10:08,643
it was just really cool.
120
00:10:08,942 --> 00:10:12,355
When we played together,
we had a way of interacting
121
00:10:12,529 --> 00:10:15,191
that had an identifiable
sound to it.
122
00:10:15,657 --> 00:10:18,820
And him and I,
we locked so in on that
123
00:10:18,993 --> 00:10:21,155
and that was a great step
forward for us.
124
00:10:30,839 --> 00:10:34,457
When Frank joined the band,
all this music was going on.
125
00:10:34,634 --> 00:10:36,545
And now there's a lot of bands
circulating,
126
00:10:36,719 --> 00:10:38,130
so a lot of competition.
127
00:10:38,596 --> 00:10:41,008
So, we wanted to come up with
something different.
128
00:10:41,266 --> 00:10:43,007
People started to get
long hair,
129
00:10:43,184 --> 00:10:46,097
which was dangerous in Texas
at the time, but still...
130
00:10:46,729 --> 00:10:48,219
So we went, "You know,
131
00:10:50,024 --> 00:10:53,187
let's dye it blue and call
ourselves American Blues.
132
00:10:54,404 --> 00:10:58,113
So, I not only have long hair,
in the 603 in Texas,
133
00:10:58,283 --> 00:10:59,648
I've got long blue hair.
134
00:10:59,826 --> 00:11:01,692
I think people thought
I was nuts.
135
00:11:02,537 --> 00:11:05,620
Anyway, the American Blues
lasted quite a while
136
00:11:05,790 --> 00:11:07,747
but, eventually, it was like
137
00:11:07,917 --> 00:11:09,658
we played ourselves
out of the market.
138
00:11:09,836 --> 00:11:12,168
Everybody in town
had heard us.
139
00:11:12,338 --> 00:11:15,706
And I thought, "I can't just
keep just doing this.
140
00:11:15,925 --> 00:11:18,383
I'm just going round and round
and round."
141
00:11:18,553 --> 00:11:21,090
And I just went, "You know what?
I've had enough."
142
00:11:22,849 --> 00:11:24,260
I lost track of Dusty,
143
00:11:24,434 --> 00:11:26,846
and then my girlfriend
got pregnant
144
00:11:27,020 --> 00:11:28,886
and I had to get married.
145
00:11:29,230 --> 00:11:33,394
So I'm married and got a baby
and living in my parents' house.
146
00:11:33,568 --> 00:11:37,277
I was selling a little pot, too,
to make ends meet.
147
00:11:37,447 --> 00:11:39,358
Plus, I started taking acid.
148
00:11:39,908 --> 00:11:42,115
So, my life was changing.
149
00:11:47,248 --> 00:11:52,664
I packed up my drums, my wife
and my baby, and left home.
150
00:11:52,837 --> 00:11:57,081
It was 3 Norman Rockwell
scene.
151
00:11:57,258 --> 00:12:00,000
I mean, Mum's crying,
Dad's pissed off,
152
00:12:00,178 --> 00:12:02,465
and I'm loading shit in the car,
you know.
153
00:12:02,639 --> 00:12:05,427
I mean,
it was a sitcom.
154
00:12:12,106 --> 00:12:13,972
Anyway,
we drove down to Houston.
155
00:12:21,324 --> 00:12:24,658
They had an entirely different
scene in Houston
156
00:12:24,827 --> 00:12:26,488
than they did in Dallas.
157
00:12:26,663 --> 00:12:31,373
One of the big bands of Houston
were Moving Sidewalks.
158
00:12:31,542 --> 00:12:33,078
And when we came down,
159
00:12:33,253 --> 00:12:36,621
that's when I started hearing
about a guy named Billy Gibbons.
160
00:12:44,764 --> 00:12:47,381
I'd also heard his song
on the radio,
161
00:12:47,558 --> 00:12:49,469
so I knew who he was.
162
00:12:49,644 --> 00:12:52,432
And I just had to meet
this guy
163
00:12:52,605 --> 00:12:54,642
because,
man, what a guitar player.
164
00:12:54,816 --> 00:12:57,274
I mean, he tore up
guitar strings.
165
00:12:57,443 --> 00:12:59,650
He was wonderful.
166
00:12:59,821 --> 00:13:01,858
I mean, he could really,
really play.
167
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:24,467
I grew up in Houston,
168
00:13:24,637 --> 00:13:28,471
and Houston was always a hotbed
of musical talent
169
00:13:28,850 --> 00:13:30,682
from the blues perspective.
170
00:13:31,811 --> 00:13:33,802
But, by the mid-605,
171
00:13:33,980 --> 00:13:36,893
as the times began to change,
so did the music.
172
00:13:39,485 --> 00:13:43,479
All of a sudden, there was
a group that showed up
173
00:13:43,656 --> 00:13:45,863
called The 13th Floor Elevators.
174
00:13:59,172 --> 00:14:04,258
The 13th Floor Elevators
embraced the term psychedelic
175
00:14:04,427 --> 00:14:06,134
to describe
what they were doing.
176
00:14:07,138 --> 00:14:09,846
They had a message,
they had a mission,
177
00:14:10,224 --> 00:14:12,841
and it was runaway insane.
178
00:14:13,311 --> 00:14:15,097
No one had seen
anything like it.
179
00:14:22,195 --> 00:14:25,108
This one guy even played
this crock jug
180
00:14:25,281 --> 00:14:27,739
which made this gurgling,
bubbling sound.
181
00:14:28,201 --> 00:14:30,408
They called it the electric jug.
182
00:14:35,166 --> 00:14:37,908
So, The 13th Floor Elevators
were having an impact
183
00:14:38,086 --> 00:14:39,747
on the whole Texas
music scene.
184
00:14:40,630 --> 00:14:43,543
And as our way of acknowledging
the impact,
185
00:14:43,716 --> 00:14:45,548
I said, "Gee whiz, let's see.
186
00:14:45,718 --> 00:14:50,303
Elevators go up, we should be
the Moving Sidewalks
187
00:14:50,473 --> 00:14:51,804
'cause that goes forward."
188
00:14:51,974 --> 00:14:54,011
So, it was forward and up.
189
00:15:07,365 --> 00:15:10,073
We'd written this song,
the '99th Floor'
190
00:15:10,701 --> 00:15:13,033
which became
a well-received single
191
00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:15,445
and it put us on the map.
192
00:15:15,623 --> 00:15:19,708
We got signed, we toured with
Eric Burdon and the Animals,
193
00:15:19,877 --> 00:15:21,493
The Jeff Beck Group.
194
00:15:22,088 --> 00:15:23,749
And we even landed
some dates
195
00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:26,130
with Jim Morrison
and the Doors.
196
00:15:27,427 --> 00:15:31,091
And there was this promoter
at the time, who said,
197
00:15:31,305 --> 00:15:34,843
"There's this act
that wants you to join the tour.
198
00:15:35,017 --> 00:15:37,099
It's a guy by the name
of Jimi Hendrix,
199
00:15:37,270 --> 00:15:39,807
he's got this band,
The Jimi Hendrix Experience."
200
00:15:39,981 --> 00:15:42,939
And I said, "Yeah, Jimi Hendrix,
that's crazy."
201
00:15:48,781 --> 00:15:52,274
They wanted us to play
40 minutes of material,
202
00:15:52,452 --> 00:15:54,113
and the only way
we could do 40 minutes
203
00:15:54,287 --> 00:15:56,904
was to include two songs
204
00:15:57,081 --> 00:15:59,493
that we had learned
from the Jimi Hendrix record.
205
00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:01,533
'Foxy Lady' and 'Purple Haze'.
206
00:16:01,752 --> 00:16:04,995
I'll never forget the opening
night, we played 'Foxy Lady'
207
00:16:05,173 --> 00:16:07,210
and we were going into
the intro to 'Purple Haze'
208
00:16:07,383 --> 00:16:09,795
and I happened to look over
on the side of the stage,
209
00:16:09,969 --> 00:16:11,926
and there in the shadows
was Jimi Hendrix
210
00:16:12,096 --> 00:16:13,882
with his arms folded,
grinning.
211
00:16:14,765 --> 00:16:16,972
And we came offstage
and he said,
212
00:16:17,143 --> 00:16:19,350
"I like you, you've got a lot
of nerve."
213
00:16:34,660 --> 00:16:36,446
This was 1968,
214
00:16:36,621 --> 00:16:42,037
and at the conclusion of the
Jimi Hendrix Experience tour,
215
00:16:42,210 --> 00:16:45,748
two members of The Sidewalks
were drafted.
216
00:16:47,340 --> 00:16:49,957
However, we still wanted
to carry on.
217
00:16:50,134 --> 00:16:53,172
So, having learned the power
of the trio
218
00:16:53,346 --> 00:16:56,088
from working with
The Jimi Hendrix Experience,
219
00:16:56,265 --> 00:16:59,929
we decided that we could
probably do it as a trio.
220
00:17:00,937 --> 00:17:04,146
Then we decided
to rename it.
221
00:17:08,569 --> 00:17:09,809
We had an apartment,
222
00:17:09,987 --> 00:17:12,069
and across the wall
we had collected
223
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:14,447
all the posters of blues
players.
224
00:17:14,617 --> 00:17:19,953
We noticed there was this
recurrence of a BB. King,
225
00:17:20,456 --> 00:17:23,790
D.C. Bender, ZZ. Hill.
226
00:17:24,627 --> 00:17:27,745
And we said, "Yeah, let's take
the 'Z.Z.' from this end,
227
00:17:27,922 --> 00:17:31,290
and let's take 'King'
down at this end."
228
00:17:31,509 --> 00:17:34,718
So, initially it was ZZ King.
229
00:17:35,555 --> 00:17:38,673
I said, "No, the 'King'
is at the top."
230
00:17:38,849 --> 00:17:40,931
I said,
"How about ZZ Top?"
231
00:17:50,361 --> 00:17:53,899
Shortly after, we cut a single,
but we needed a manager.
232
00:17:56,033 --> 00:17:58,741
I remember playing a show
233
00:17:58,953 --> 00:18:01,695
and Bill Ham showed up
backstage
234
00:18:01,872 --> 00:18:04,990
with a good friend of ours
and he introduced us,
235
00:18:05,167 --> 00:18:07,078
he said, "This is my buddie,
Bill Ham."
236
00:18:07,253 --> 00:18:11,417
Bill Ham said, "Gee whiz,
I like what you guys do,
237
00:18:11,882 --> 00:18:14,169
I'm getting into the management
business.
238
00:18:14,343 --> 00:18:16,004
Would you guys have
an interest
239
00:18:16,178 --> 00:18:19,387
in considering talking
about management?"
240
00:18:20,057 --> 00:18:21,673
Well, little-known fact,
241
00:18:21,851 --> 00:18:24,764
Bill Ham had been a recording
artist back in the 503.
242
00:18:24,937 --> 00:18:28,100
He had several singles
that became quite popular
243
00:18:28,274 --> 00:18:29,309
way, way back.
244
00:18:29,483 --> 00:18:32,350
So, he knew music,
he knew songwriting.
245
00:18:32,528 --> 00:18:36,271
This was not some guy
that was just good at sales.
246
00:18:36,449 --> 00:18:38,941
This was a guy that knew
creativity.
247
00:18:39,243 --> 00:18:43,328
So, we connected,
and he seemed to believe in us.
248
00:18:43,497 --> 00:18:44,908
So, we said, "Let's try."
249
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,459
The next thing you know, the
cigars were being passed out,
250
00:18:49,879 --> 00:18:51,620
in fine rock 'n' roll fashion.
251
00:18:51,797 --> 00:18:53,379
"Boy, I'm gonna make you
a star."
252
00:19:02,183 --> 00:19:05,676
So, ZZ Top is up and running
as an organ trio,
253
00:19:06,103 --> 00:19:08,720
and that lasted for a while.
254
00:19:08,898 --> 00:19:13,187
But our fair organists wound
up auditioning to take the part
255
00:19:13,361 --> 00:19:17,446
for a new TV show that was being
pitched called Mork & Mindy.
256
00:19:18,157 --> 00:19:22,276
He had other aspirations,
as did our drummer.
257
00:19:23,287 --> 00:19:25,528
I didn't wanna be a solo act,
258
00:19:25,706 --> 00:19:29,165
and that's when,
lo and behold,
259
00:19:31,671 --> 00:19:33,958
Frank Beard showed up.
260
00:19:39,929 --> 00:19:41,636
When I drove down
to Houston,
261
00:19:41,806 --> 00:19:43,171
I hunted all over the place,
262
00:19:43,349 --> 00:19:45,181
found Billy Gibbons,
made him go...
263
00:19:45,351 --> 00:19:46,807
I mean,
just threatened him,
264
00:19:46,977 --> 00:19:50,015
made him go to the rehearsal
studio and we jammed.
265
00:19:50,189 --> 00:19:52,100
I was jacked up on speed.
266
00:19:52,274 --> 00:19:54,481
I made him jam for about
eight hours
267
00:19:54,652 --> 00:19:56,313
until his tongue just fell out.
268
00:20:04,412 --> 00:20:07,905
It didn't take 30 minutes,
it didn't take 30 seconds.
269
00:20:08,082 --> 00:20:12,667
I knew that Frank Beard had the
kind of chops I was looking for.
270
00:20:13,546 --> 00:20:17,710
He played fiercely,
he played with determination,
271
00:20:18,551 --> 00:20:20,542
and I decided...
272
00:20:22,179 --> 00:20:27,595
enter Frank Beard as the new
drummer for ZZ Top.
273
00:20:33,357 --> 00:20:38,943
At the conclusion of this jam
session with Frank on drums,
274
00:20:39,113 --> 00:20:41,195
he said, "By the way,
I know a bass player
275
00:20:41,365 --> 00:20:43,026
that would really
round this out.
276
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:44,656
I've got a guy named Dusty."
277
00:20:44,827 --> 00:20:48,912
Next thing you know,
we're in another jam session.
278
00:20:49,081 --> 00:20:54,747
Now the new face is Dusty Hill,
playing the four-string bass.
279
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,038
We started it off, I said "Well,
let's do a shuffle in C."
280
00:20:58,215 --> 00:21:01,833
That's about as straight ahead
as it goes.
281
00:21:02,303 --> 00:21:03,418
I'll join you here.
282
00:21:34,460 --> 00:21:35,916
'Shuffle in C',
283
00:21:36,670 --> 00:21:39,378
yeah, it wasn't a real song,
it was just shuffle in C.
284
00:21:40,466 --> 00:21:43,800
And I'm serious, that song
lasted for a long time.
285
00:21:44,011 --> 00:21:47,049
And it was just really cool.
286
00:21:47,264 --> 00:21:50,382
Everybody was just like,
"Whoa."
287
00:21:51,602 --> 00:21:53,593
Once Dusty took the stage,
288
00:21:53,813 --> 00:21:55,645
something magical occurred,
289
00:21:56,357 --> 00:21:59,691
and that first shuffle in C
290
00:21:59,860 --> 00:22:04,024
lasted for three solid,
uninterrupted hours.
291
00:22:05,699 --> 00:22:09,067
At the end, we pulled it to
the curb, and I said,
292
00:22:09,245 --> 00:22:11,612
"You know what?
I think this is going to work."
293
00:22:12,248 --> 00:22:14,831
And that's really the genesis
which led up
294
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,413
to the trio that you now know
today as ZZ Top.
295
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,442
The first order of business
for us
296
00:23:28,657 --> 00:23:31,445
was getting ten great songs
together.
297
00:23:32,369 --> 00:23:36,738
And at that time, I guess
we had been in the woodshed
298
00:23:36,916 --> 00:23:40,454
for maybe,
four or five months' time,
299
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,912
working it out, getting the
arrangements built up.
300
00:23:44,131 --> 00:23:47,465
And then, taking off
for the recording studio.
301
00:23:52,514 --> 00:23:55,006
When we first went
to record our first album,
302
00:23:55,476 --> 00:23:57,717
we probably had been
together six months.
303
00:23:58,604 --> 00:24:02,097
We were ready to do a rock 'n'
roll album, go in the studio.
304
00:24:02,608 --> 00:24:05,316
Next thing I know,
we're driving to Tyler, Texas.
305
00:24:20,125 --> 00:24:23,663
Tyler is just supposed to be
the Rose Capital of Texas.
306
00:24:24,421 --> 00:24:26,128
Well-deserved,
beautiful flowers.
307
00:24:26,298 --> 00:24:28,289
But anyway, we pull up,
308
00:24:28,467 --> 00:24:30,458
and I didn't know
what the deal was
309
00:24:30,636 --> 00:24:33,219
because the studio
was a house.
310
00:24:36,016 --> 00:24:37,757
I don't know if it used to be
a garage,
311
00:24:37,935 --> 00:24:40,302
or if it was just built on
the side of house.
312
00:24:40,813 --> 00:24:43,271
But in the back of the control
room there was a door
313
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,147
that led into the house.
314
00:24:45,693 --> 00:24:49,311
Everything was nice and neat,
doilies on the chairs,
315
00:24:49,571 --> 00:24:51,482
it reminded me
of my grandmother's house.
316
00:24:52,074 --> 00:24:55,317
But Robin Hood Brians
knew what he was doing.
317
00:24:55,494 --> 00:24:56,734
I got a call from Bill Ham.
318
00:24:57,413 --> 00:24:59,996
He said, "I've got a group,
I want to bring them up,
319
00:25:00,165 --> 00:25:01,701
they're called ZZ Top."
320
00:25:01,875 --> 00:25:05,163
I said, "OK."
So, he booked about three days.
321
00:25:05,337 --> 00:25:09,581
And we set up and did two days,
maybe three, of recording.
322
00:25:10,217 --> 00:25:14,882
Bill Ham, I will say, was
smart and really knew music,
323
00:25:15,055 --> 00:25:18,264
and he wanted a bigger sound,
something different.
324
00:25:18,434 --> 00:25:21,677
"Well, only one set of drums,
one bass and one guitar.
325
00:25:21,854 --> 00:25:22,844
What can you do?"
326
00:25:23,230 --> 00:25:24,686
We were a three-piece band.
327
00:25:25,107 --> 00:25:28,441
Our favourite bands were Cream
and Jimi Hendrix Experience,
328
00:25:28,610 --> 00:25:31,022
so we were going to be
in that vein.
329
00:25:31,196 --> 00:25:33,312
Although Billy and Dusty
do sing harmony,
330
00:25:33,490 --> 00:25:36,778
we weren't The Hollies
by any means, or The Beatles.
331
00:25:36,952 --> 00:25:38,442
We didn't sound like that.
332
00:25:38,620 --> 00:25:40,110
We kept looking
for a sound.
333
00:25:40,289 --> 00:25:41,905
I mean, I tried everything
I could do.
334
00:25:42,166 --> 00:25:44,203
I put microphones all over
the studio,
335
00:25:44,376 --> 00:25:47,585
I had one right on the amp,
I put one behind an amp.
336
00:25:47,755 --> 00:25:50,668
I put one in the hallway,
I put one up in the ceiling,
337
00:25:50,841 --> 00:25:52,502
I put one out of phase.
338
00:25:52,718 --> 00:25:57,303
So, we kept looking for this
bigger, better, different sound.
339
00:25:57,473 --> 00:25:59,214
It was a grand challenge,
340
00:25:59,725 --> 00:26:03,514
but Robin Hood could relate to
the music we were delivering.
341
00:26:03,854 --> 00:26:05,811
And he had state-of-the-art
equipment,
342
00:26:05,981 --> 00:26:08,894
but most importantly,
Robin Hood knew how to use it.
343
00:26:09,610 --> 00:26:14,070
And he was hell-bent
on getting a good capture.
344
00:26:14,239 --> 00:26:15,274
I kept telling Billy,
345
00:26:15,449 --> 00:26:18,032
"Billy, I did a little trick
on a record.
346
00:26:18,619 --> 00:26:21,236
Double the guitar,
but sort of screw up the tuning
347
00:26:21,413 --> 00:26:22,824
on the strings a little bit
348
00:26:22,998 --> 00:26:25,160
and it gives it
that 12-string flow."
349
00:26:25,375 --> 00:26:27,662
He said, "No, no,
we can't overdub."
350
00:26:28,378 --> 00:26:32,588
Bill Ham made a hard fast rule,
"There will be no overdubbing."
351
00:26:33,467 --> 00:26:36,960
I said, "Billy, you pick up the
ball when I throw it to you."
352
00:26:37,596 --> 00:26:39,758
So, we worked on sounds
and everything
353
00:26:39,932 --> 00:26:41,013
until about 1 o'clock.
354
00:26:41,183 --> 00:26:42,389
I turned to Bill Ham
and I said,
355
00:26:42,559 --> 00:26:44,300
"Bill, you've been promising
these guys
356
00:26:44,478 --> 00:26:46,810
you're going to get them some
ribs from the Country Tavern."
357
00:26:46,980 --> 00:26:49,722
I went over and I winked at
Billy, and Billy picked it up.
358
00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:51,732
He says, "Yeah, my man,
I can't play me no blues
359
00:26:51,902 --> 00:26:53,893
'til I get me some barbecue."
360
00:26:54,321 --> 00:26:56,403
Bill said, "OK,
where is this place?"
361
00:26:56,615 --> 00:26:59,733
The Country Tavern is about
25 miles over there.
362
00:27:00,077 --> 00:27:01,784
It's over across
the county line.
363
00:27:02,412 --> 00:27:03,994
So, when Bill Ham left,
I said,
364
00:27:04,164 --> 00:27:06,952
"Billy, we've got about an hour
and 15-20 minutes."
365
00:27:07,543 --> 00:27:09,750
I said, "Record one song,
366
00:27:09,962 --> 00:27:12,624
and play the rhythm simple
enough that you can double it."
367
00:27:13,006 --> 00:27:13,962
And he did.
368
00:27:14,383 --> 00:27:16,875
So, then I came out
and just messed with the strings
369
00:27:17,052 --> 00:27:19,464
and pulled them, just to
get them a little out of tune.
370
00:27:20,013 --> 00:27:22,755
And he doubled it,
panned that 45 degrees,
371
00:27:23,684 --> 00:27:24,719
voila!
372
00:27:38,532 --> 00:27:40,148
So, that was the sound,
373
00:27:40,325 --> 00:27:43,067
and when Bill came in
with all these ribs, he said,
374
00:27:43,287 --> 00:27:45,619
"Damn, you didn't tell me that
place was in the next county!"
375
00:27:45,789 --> 00:27:47,780
And I said, "You know, Bill,
we go there so much,
376
00:27:47,958 --> 00:27:50,245
it just seems like
across the street to us."
377
00:27:50,878 --> 00:27:53,370
Billy said,
"Bill, we've found a sound.
378
00:27:54,298 --> 00:27:55,880
See what you think
about this."
379
00:27:56,049 --> 00:27:57,881
He reached over
and pushed play.
380
00:27:59,344 --> 00:28:03,212
Boy, Bill listened to that
and he said, "Yeah, that's it!
381
00:28:04,141 --> 00:28:05,597
That's the sound I want."
382
00:28:54,316 --> 00:28:56,432
How the song 'Brown Sugar'
starts, you know.
383
00:28:56,652 --> 00:28:58,142
Man, they told me
384
00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,028
It starts out
with such a tip of...
385
00:29:01,198 --> 00:29:04,316
It's blues, in a
traditional sense.
386
00:29:04,743 --> 00:29:06,780
And then, all of a sudden,
it turns into ZZ Top.
387
00:29:17,297 --> 00:29:19,959
It starts here, but it ends
somewhere completely different,
388
00:29:20,133 --> 00:29:23,296
and that journey with ZZ Top
is what's really fascinating.
389
00:29:35,941 --> 00:29:38,182
One of the threads
that go through all three of us,
390
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,068
we all listened
to these same stations,
391
00:29:41,863 --> 00:29:44,230
those X stations out of Mexico,
392
00:29:44,408 --> 00:29:46,740
which were illegal
in the States.
393
00:29:46,910 --> 00:29:49,777
But they had a lot of
blues programmes:
394
00:29:50,580 --> 00:29:57,247
Freddie King, BB. King,
Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf.
395
00:29:57,754 --> 00:30:01,213
And all three of us, not knowing
each other growing up,
396
00:30:01,383 --> 00:30:03,465
had listened
to the same shows,
397
00:30:03,885 --> 00:30:05,876
and were heavily influenced
by them.
398
00:30:06,054 --> 00:30:10,764
Yeah, we loved this stuff,
but we also loved rock 'n' roll.
399
00:30:11,351 --> 00:30:15,515
We never said we were a blues
band, we've never said that.
400
00:30:15,897 --> 00:30:18,389
We're interpreters
of the blues.
401
00:30:31,538 --> 00:30:33,700
They took the licks
from the blues,
402
00:30:33,874 --> 00:30:35,615
and then they played them
rock 'n' roll.
403
00:30:35,959 --> 00:30:39,042
They played them with the big
amps and the loud drums.
404
00:30:40,756 --> 00:30:43,919
It was the combination
of the blues licks,
405
00:30:44,092 --> 00:30:47,505
that unique, overdriven sound
from the amps,
406
00:30:48,347 --> 00:30:49,929
and the lyric content.
407
00:30:50,515 --> 00:30:56,227
So, ZZ Top plays the blues,
but they don't sing the blues.
408
00:30:56,938 --> 00:30:59,475
They turn blues
into party music.
409
00:32:10,429 --> 00:32:12,511
Word had gotten out that
410
00:32:12,681 --> 00:32:16,015
there was this loud rockin' trio
from Houston.
411
00:32:17,018 --> 00:32:21,103
And true enough, we did make
for a gangly group of renegades.
412
00:32:21,273 --> 00:32:22,684
It was craziness,
413
00:32:22,858 --> 00:32:25,600
but it was all because
of the incessant touring.
414
00:32:25,777 --> 00:32:27,393
I mean,
we never stopped.
415
00:32:36,913 --> 00:32:38,278
We were working
all we could.
416
00:32:38,457 --> 00:32:40,744
We would play
at a roller-skating rink,
417
00:32:40,917 --> 00:32:42,783
and then we would play
the next night,
418
00:32:42,961 --> 00:32:45,703
say, at a National Guard Armory
or something like that.
419
00:32:45,881 --> 00:32:48,168
So, it was like throwing
a stone into the water
420
00:32:48,341 --> 00:32:51,208
and where we could go,
it would grow and grow.
421
00:32:51,386 --> 00:32:54,344
We were playing, frankly,
wherever we could,
422
00:32:54,556 --> 00:32:56,638
but we weren't playing
the big places.
423
00:32:57,100 --> 00:33:00,718
I mean, we weren't playing in
Dallas, we were playing in Waco,
424
00:33:01,354 --> 00:33:03,561
before the church thing.
425
00:33:03,940 --> 00:33:08,025
We weren't really playing even
in Austin or San Antonio,
426
00:33:08,236 --> 00:33:10,603
we were playing New Braunfels
or something.
427
00:33:20,540 --> 00:33:24,204
The early days of ZZ Top
were really strange days.
428
00:33:25,420 --> 00:33:29,789
One of the first gigs was
rather unusual.
429
00:33:30,300 --> 00:33:32,541
We came down to this place
in Alvin, Texas.
430
00:33:32,719 --> 00:33:36,508
We were expecting whatever,
hoping for a sell-out.
431
00:33:36,681 --> 00:33:38,388
We'd be happy if it's half full.
432
00:33:38,892 --> 00:33:41,634
This place had a stage
and it had curtains,
433
00:33:41,853 --> 00:33:43,343
and we're behind the curtain.
434
00:33:43,522 --> 00:33:46,640
And when the curtains
opened there was one guy.
435
00:33:47,442 --> 00:33:49,149
And he's looking around like,
436
00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:51,151
"Hey, I'm in the wrong place."
437
00:33:51,321 --> 00:33:53,312
He turned around
and started to leave,
438
00:33:53,490 --> 00:33:56,152
and we're on the microphone,
we go, "Wait, wait a minute.
439
00:33:56,326 --> 00:33:58,863
Stick around, we're gonna play
the whole show for you."
440
00:34:00,830 --> 00:34:02,946
He didn't know what to do,
he just stood out there.
441
00:34:03,124 --> 00:34:04,956
We played about an hour.
442
00:34:05,585 --> 00:34:06,746
We took a break,
443
00:34:06,962 --> 00:34:11,251
went out and motioned to
the guy and bought him a Coke.
444
00:34:11,633 --> 00:34:13,544
Yeah, we bought him a Coke
445
00:34:14,135 --> 00:34:16,422
because we were thankful
he stuck around.
446
00:34:16,596 --> 00:34:19,679
Then we played an encore.
447
00:34:19,891 --> 00:34:23,759
An encore is supposed to be when
they demand to have you back.
448
00:34:24,187 --> 00:34:27,396
Well, we thought,
"The kid deserves some more."
449
00:34:27,774 --> 00:34:31,438
That guy still comes around
to this day,
450
00:34:31,611 --> 00:34:34,273
and he won't tell us
his name.
451
00:34:34,447 --> 00:34:37,781
He just says, "Remember me?
I'm the guy."
452
00:34:38,577 --> 00:34:40,614
I said, "Of course
we remember you."
453
00:34:50,422 --> 00:34:51,412
In those early days,
454
00:34:51,590 --> 00:34:54,878
even though we were touring
around like crazy,
455
00:34:55,051 --> 00:34:57,713
we didn't do interviews,
we didn't do TV.
456
00:34:57,887 --> 00:34:59,844
Bill Ham wouldn't let us.
457
00:35:00,390 --> 00:35:02,631
If you didn't see us onstage,
or hear us on record,
458
00:35:02,809 --> 00:35:04,675
you didn't hear or see us.
459
00:35:05,228 --> 00:35:08,141
We were not to play on
anybody else's record,
460
00:35:08,565 --> 00:35:10,272
we were not to do
TV shows,
461
00:35:10,442 --> 00:35:13,184
we were not to do interviews
that weren't approved,
462
00:35:13,361 --> 00:35:16,274
we were not allowed to do
anything like that.
463
00:35:16,781 --> 00:35:20,115
Bill Ham, I think he was
very traditionally old school.
464
00:35:20,285 --> 00:35:23,903
He was following the
Colonel Tom Parker model,
465
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,822
that was just
the accepted thing.
466
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,411
I had to ask
every once in a while,
467
00:35:28,585 --> 00:35:30,417
"Hey man,
why aren't we doing
468
00:35:30,587 --> 00:35:33,079
Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson
or something?"
469
00:35:33,465 --> 00:35:36,253
And he'd go, "Boys, the least
they know about you the better."
470
00:35:36,426 --> 00:35:37,666
And I went,
"How can that be?"
471
00:35:37,844 --> 00:35:40,506
And he goes, "Well, the word
will get around."
472
00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:42,216
I said,
"What if it doesn't?"
473
00:35:49,564 --> 00:35:53,683
But the thing is,
when we did play a place,
474
00:35:53,860 --> 00:35:55,316
nobody had seen us.
475
00:35:55,487 --> 00:35:57,819
People were very intrigued
by who we were,
476
00:35:57,989 --> 00:35:58,979
'cause they had no idea.
477
00:35:59,157 --> 00:36:01,239
There was at least
one show
478
00:36:01,409 --> 00:36:03,696
where the mystique thing
really paid off,
479
00:36:03,870 --> 00:36:06,111
and that was
the Memphis Blues Festival.
480
00:36:09,209 --> 00:36:10,791
Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.
481
00:36:11,127 --> 00:36:12,959
Memphis is a magical place,
482
00:36:13,463 --> 00:36:15,955
it gave the world
a new kind of music.
483
00:36:16,132 --> 00:36:18,715
The Beale Street blues,
the Memphis blues,
484
00:36:19,052 --> 00:36:21,089
songs that were to be translated
and sung
485
00:36:21,262 --> 00:36:23,173
in every language
known to man.
486
00:36:25,308 --> 00:36:29,552
So, this promoter from Memphis,
Tennessee called us up
487
00:36:29,729 --> 00:36:31,595
to take part in a blues festival
488
00:36:31,773 --> 00:36:34,561
at the Overton Park bandshell
there in Memphis,
489
00:36:34,734 --> 00:36:37,522
which was a miniature version
of the Hollywood Bowl.
490
00:36:37,696 --> 00:36:42,031
And that was really our first
big jump out of the region.
491
00:36:42,325 --> 00:36:45,784
It was full of great
blues guys.
492
00:36:46,496 --> 00:36:48,612
Muddy Waters, Freddie King,
493
00:36:48,790 --> 00:36:52,328
Albert King,
I think, Lightnin' Hopkins,
494
00:36:52,544 --> 00:36:58,916
just a whole slew of really
great blues guys and us!
495
00:36:59,217 --> 00:37:01,003
The main thing I remember is,
496
00:37:01,177 --> 00:37:05,171
downstairs in the basement,
there was a poker game going on.
497
00:37:05,890 --> 00:37:08,882
At that time, we hadn't met
Muddy Waters,
498
00:37:09,060 --> 00:37:10,971
so, I said to the promoter,
499
00:37:11,146 --> 00:37:14,059
"Man, me and Billy would really
love to meet Muddy Waters."
500
00:37:14,274 --> 00:37:16,481
Me and Billy were
standing there awkwardly,
501
00:37:16,651 --> 00:37:18,187
over watching the game,
502
00:37:18,528 --> 00:37:20,144
but at one point,
he goes,
503
00:37:20,321 --> 00:37:22,312
"Hey, Muddy, I want you to meet
two friends of mine.
504
00:37:22,490 --> 00:37:24,481
This is Dusty and Billy."
505
00:37:24,993 --> 00:37:27,109
And he goes,
"Nice to meet ya."
506
00:37:28,371 --> 00:37:31,454
And that's it, man.
I mean, that was it.
507
00:37:31,624 --> 00:37:35,913
So, rule of thumb: don't get
introduced during a poker game.
508
00:37:36,087 --> 00:37:38,124
Nobody has the time
for you.
509
00:37:45,388 --> 00:37:47,504
The blues festival
was in full swing,
510
00:37:47,682 --> 00:37:51,391
but the weird thing was
that the promoter
511
00:37:51,561 --> 00:37:54,724
had only gotten familiar with
ZZ Top having heard the record.
512
00:37:54,898 --> 00:37:57,185
He never bothered to look at
the watercolour drawing
513
00:37:57,358 --> 00:38:00,726
on the back of the album cover
to realise we were white guys.
514
00:38:01,488 --> 00:38:03,729
So, he shoved us all the way
to the end of the show,
515
00:38:03,907 --> 00:38:06,569
thinking everybody would be gone
and these white guys
516
00:38:06,743 --> 00:38:09,110
wouldn't interrupt
his blues presentation.
517
00:38:16,628 --> 00:38:18,995
But sure enough, by the time
we hit the stage,
518
00:38:19,172 --> 00:38:21,539
no one had left,
it was still packed.
519
00:38:21,716 --> 00:38:23,332
Everyone was so into it.
520
00:38:25,637 --> 00:38:27,878
In fact, halfway through
our set,
521
00:38:28,056 --> 00:38:32,471
way in the wee hours of the
morning, far after midnight,
522
00:38:33,144 --> 00:38:35,602
I'll never forget seeing
Furry Lewis
523
00:38:35,772 --> 00:38:38,309
walking onstage,
waving a handkerchief
524
00:38:38,483 --> 00:38:40,815
egging us on,
"Go on, go on!
525
00:38:40,985 --> 00:38:42,976
Play that stuff,
play that stuff!"
526
00:38:50,829 --> 00:38:54,072
So, it was quite a
reward to be part of that scene.
527
00:38:54,833 --> 00:38:57,951
And that's what really started
the connection
528
00:38:58,461 --> 00:39:00,668
with Texas meets Tennessee.
529
00:39:16,938 --> 00:39:20,556
The next thing that unfolded
in Memphis was we learned
530
00:39:20,733 --> 00:39:23,600
that Led Zeppelin was cutting
their third album out there
531
00:39:23,778 --> 00:39:27,066
under the auspices of
the great engineering staff
532
00:39:27,532 --> 00:39:30,991
at Ardent Recording Studios,
right there on Madison Avenue.
533
00:39:31,452 --> 00:39:33,318
I thought, "Gee whiz,
534
00:39:33,496 --> 00:39:35,783
Led Zeppelin here in Memphis,
Tennessee?"
535
00:39:36,291 --> 00:39:37,747
That got my attention.
536
00:39:37,959 --> 00:39:41,042
Billy was actually looking
for me
537
00:39:41,212 --> 00:39:43,328
because I'd just recently
before that,
538
00:39:43,506 --> 00:39:47,465
engineered the Led Zeppelin III
album, mixed it and mastered it.
539
00:39:47,635 --> 00:39:49,217
And he was saying,
"I want to go to Memphis
540
00:39:49,387 --> 00:39:51,094
and I want to work
with Terry."
541
00:39:51,264 --> 00:39:54,131
The new album
had been partly recorded
542
00:39:54,309 --> 00:39:56,471
at Robin Hood Brians' place
in Tyler,
543
00:39:56,895 --> 00:39:59,762
and they wanted to finish it
at Ardent Studios,
544
00:39:59,981 --> 00:40:02,518
and get that Zeppelin type
of mix sound.
545
00:40:03,318 --> 00:40:06,652
We found ourselves
entering Ardent Studios
546
00:40:06,821 --> 00:40:10,439
and those guys created
such a powerhouse team.
547
00:40:10,617 --> 00:40:13,826
I mean, they pulled out
all the stops, no holds barred.
548
00:40:14,287 --> 00:40:15,118
We dug it.
549
00:40:48,488 --> 00:40:49,523
Those early sessions,
550
00:40:49,697 --> 00:40:52,189
Billy was going for
some extra overdrive.
551
00:41:05,213 --> 00:41:08,501
With 'La Grange',
he tried to sing distorted.
552
00:41:10,551 --> 00:41:12,212
I remember Billy came in,
553
00:41:12,387 --> 00:41:15,049
he said, "I just don't have it
today, I can't do that thing,
554
00:41:15,223 --> 00:41:17,510
we can't do the vocals yet,
but give me a few minutes."
555
00:41:17,684 --> 00:41:18,970
I said,
"What are you gonna do?"
556
00:41:19,143 --> 00:41:22,807
He strips down to everything
but his pants,
557
00:41:22,981 --> 00:41:24,221
his trousers and shoes.
558
00:41:24,399 --> 00:41:28,267
This is wintertime, and he
runs around this huge block
559
00:41:28,444 --> 00:41:30,105
three or four times, just...
560
00:41:31,406 --> 00:41:34,489
He came back in the studio
and goes, "There it is."
561
00:41:34,659 --> 00:41:36,525
It's just, whatever it took.
562
00:41:47,630 --> 00:41:50,964
'Tres Hombres' had
so many elements going for it.
563
00:41:51,134 --> 00:41:55,628
It was crisp, it was the first
record that was big and bold.
564
00:41:57,682 --> 00:42:01,425
We were enjoying the benefit
of that level of talent
565
00:42:01,644 --> 00:42:07,014
that lifted ZZ into a great
sounding group on record.
566
00:42:18,202 --> 00:42:22,412
I was 13, rifling through
my mum's disco records.
567
00:42:22,623 --> 00:42:25,206
I found this green record
568
00:42:25,376 --> 00:42:29,665
with three faded photographs
of hairy cowboys.
569
00:42:29,839 --> 00:42:32,376
I put it on and it completely
floored me.
570
00:42:36,012 --> 00:42:39,130
It painted this picture of
Texas, which was totally exotic.
571
00:42:39,307 --> 00:42:43,426
It was an unimaginable world,
it was totally alien
572
00:42:43,603 --> 00:42:45,185
from where I was from
in London.
573
00:42:45,354 --> 00:42:47,061
'Waitin' For The Bus'
is probably the only lyric
574
00:42:47,231 --> 00:42:48,562
I could have related to
at the time.
575
00:42:53,821 --> 00:42:57,234
You'd heard Cream
and you'd heard Led Zeppelin,
576
00:42:57,658 --> 00:43:00,275
and you'd heard this kind of
English version of blues,
577
00:43:00,453 --> 00:43:01,943
and it was kind of pop.
578
00:43:02,413 --> 00:43:05,201
But when ZZ Top hit,
it was like,
579
00:43:05,374 --> 00:43:08,583
the curtain was removed and
it was put back on the ground,
580
00:43:08,753 --> 00:43:10,414
for what it really was.
581
00:43:11,923 --> 00:43:15,041
You don't expect to hear a John
Lee Hooker-type boogie song
582
00:43:15,218 --> 00:43:16,674
on pop radio.
583
00:43:16,844 --> 00:43:18,084
But there it was.
584
00:43:19,347 --> 00:43:21,588
That music
came out of nowhere,
585
00:43:21,766 --> 00:43:24,303
Texas blues music
with a rock edge
586
00:43:24,477 --> 00:43:27,060
just shot onto the charts
and onto the radio.
587
00:43:28,773 --> 00:43:31,640
It was kind of a turning point.
588
00:43:32,276 --> 00:43:34,017
Things began to percolate.
589
00:43:34,195 --> 00:43:37,654
It resulted in ZZ Top's
first big hit record,
590
00:43:37,824 --> 00:43:39,110
which was 'La Grange'.
591
00:44:08,146 --> 00:44:11,013
And then came
an interesting turn,
592
00:44:11,649 --> 00:44:13,435
this explosive announcement.
593
00:44:13,609 --> 00:44:15,771
We got the word
from Bill Ham,
594
00:44:15,945 --> 00:44:19,404
"The Rolling Stones want you
guys to come over and play
595
00:44:19,574 --> 00:44:20,564
in Honolulu."
596
00:44:21,284 --> 00:44:24,948
The word was that Jagger
had heard our stuff,
597
00:44:25,163 --> 00:44:26,369
and he liked it.
598
00:44:28,124 --> 00:44:30,661
And he asked if we wanted to
play with the Stones,
599
00:44:30,835 --> 00:44:33,122
open for them in Hawaii.
600
00:44:33,337 --> 00:44:34,748
You've got to understand,
601
00:44:34,922 --> 00:44:38,506
I love, and always have,
The Rolling Stones.
602
00:44:38,676 --> 00:44:39,882
I mean, I just...
603
00:44:40,052 --> 00:44:44,637
It was just great
'cause we weren't anybody.
604
00:44:45,474 --> 00:44:47,636
You know, you get to go
to Hawaii, for one thing,
605
00:44:47,810 --> 00:44:49,847
and open for the Stones
for three shows.
606
00:44:50,021 --> 00:44:51,603
That was amazing.
607
00:44:53,149 --> 00:44:56,437
We decided we were gonna go over
two weeks in advance,
608
00:44:56,944 --> 00:45:00,062
and it was all under the guise
of, "We're gonna warm up."
609
00:45:00,281 --> 00:45:04,775
Well, the only warming up we did
was walking on Waikiki Beach
610
00:45:04,952 --> 00:45:06,408
and getting some suntan.
611
00:45:08,706 --> 00:45:11,323
Charlie Watts sat at the
poolside bar
612
00:45:12,043 --> 00:45:14,125
probably about 12 hours a day.
613
00:45:14,670 --> 00:45:17,503
He was a fixture
at that bar.
614
00:45:17,673 --> 00:45:19,630
Keith Richards
wore white pants
615
00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:22,667
that were as dirty as you can
possibly get them.
616
00:45:22,845 --> 00:45:25,177
He wore the same pants
all three nights.
617
00:45:25,348 --> 00:45:26,463
I remember the hotel,
618
00:45:26,641 --> 00:45:28,131
hanging out
with The Rolling Stones guys.
619
00:45:28,351 --> 00:45:32,390
After the first night, Bill Ham
came to me and Frank and said,
620
00:45:32,563 --> 00:45:37,899
"Well, you've already run up
this bar tab pretty high.
621
00:45:38,486 --> 00:45:40,773
- You guys have got to cut back."
- "Oh, man."
622
00:45:40,947 --> 00:45:42,813
He went,
"Two drinks a night."
623
00:45:43,115 --> 00:45:45,277
He had us on a two-drink limit.
624
00:45:45,451 --> 00:45:48,864
So, Dusty and I found that
they made a drink
625
00:45:49,038 --> 00:45:50,870
called the 'Chimp in Orbit',
626
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:53,748
which came in a glass
that was about this tall
627
00:45:53,918 --> 00:45:55,249
and about that big around.
628
00:45:55,419 --> 00:45:57,877
It sat on the ground
and had a giant straw.
629
00:45:58,422 --> 00:46:02,256
He came in and he saw that,
saw me and Dusty sitting there.
630
00:46:02,593 --> 00:46:05,005
And I go,
"This is only my second one."
631
00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:08,092
He just turned around
and walked out.
632
00:46:08,266 --> 00:46:09,222
He didn't say a word.
633
00:46:10,393 --> 00:46:12,384
We did three shows
in two days.
634
00:46:12,561 --> 00:46:16,429
And I had heard
that on the same tour,
635
00:46:16,899 --> 00:46:18,640
Stevie Wonder was
on one of their shows
636
00:46:18,818 --> 00:46:20,183
and actually got booed.
637
00:46:21,279 --> 00:46:22,565
Stevie Wonder!
638
00:46:22,738 --> 00:46:25,355
So I was scared shitless,
I really was.
639
00:46:26,951 --> 00:46:29,409
We walked onstage
the first show,
640
00:46:29,578 --> 00:46:31,945
we had cowboy hats on,
boots and jeans.
641
00:46:33,207 --> 00:46:35,323
And you could hear a pin drop.
642
00:46:35,501 --> 00:46:38,539
When the curtains opened and
they looked at Billy and Dusty,
643
00:46:38,713 --> 00:46:40,499
you know, and they had
the cowboy hats on,
644
00:46:40,673 --> 00:46:45,839
there was just a veil of horror
fell over this entire arena.
645
00:46:46,470 --> 00:46:49,053
It was like,
"Oh, fuck. Country band."
646
00:46:50,057 --> 00:46:52,389
I turned to Frank and Dusty,
I said, "All right, fellows.
647
00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:53,641
We've got to hit it."
648
00:47:21,047 --> 00:47:22,162
Mick watched us.
649
00:47:22,340 --> 00:47:29,053
He put on a hat
and some coveralls,
650
00:47:29,221 --> 00:47:31,804
and stood on the side
of the stage with a broom,
651
00:47:31,974 --> 00:47:34,056
like a janitor,
and watched us play.
652
00:47:34,226 --> 00:47:36,513
I looked over the side,
and I see Jagger looking at us
653
00:47:36,687 --> 00:47:40,055
but he's got a broom turned
upside down like a beard.
654
00:47:40,232 --> 00:47:41,222
Standing.
655
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,232
So, he's got a pretty good
sense of humour.
656
00:47:45,780 --> 00:47:49,193
It was so much fun,
I can't tell you.
657
00:47:49,367 --> 00:47:51,404
We got an encore
each show.
658
00:47:51,577 --> 00:47:52,738
An encore!
659
00:47:52,912 --> 00:47:56,155
I was just on cloud 29.
660
00:47:56,749 --> 00:47:59,912
Those three performances
were just electric.
661
00:48:00,086 --> 00:48:02,874
We did our job,
same bluesy thing
662
00:48:03,047 --> 00:48:05,163
that got us together
in the first place.
663
00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:07,290
It settled the score.
664
00:48:07,468 --> 00:48:10,381
And this wave of enjoyment
665
00:48:10,554 --> 00:48:13,091
permeated through
that whole arena.
666
00:48:27,405 --> 00:48:29,646
The next day,
I was sitting at the airport,
667
00:48:29,824 --> 00:48:31,406
and I was reading
the paper.
668
00:48:32,868 --> 00:48:36,111
They didn't mentioned us,
absolutely nothing.
669
00:48:36,789 --> 00:48:40,783
Almost worse than saying you're
crappy, or they don't like you,
670
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:43,076
is just dismiss you.
671
00:48:43,254 --> 00:48:44,415
That happened a lot to us.
672
00:48:44,588 --> 00:48:50,675
As far as the journalist and the
press in general was concerned,
673
00:48:50,845 --> 00:48:53,086
they couldn't understand us.
674
00:48:53,431 --> 00:48:55,798
First of all,
Texas was an oddball place,
675
00:48:55,975 --> 00:48:57,465
and here is this oddball band
676
00:48:57,643 --> 00:48:59,509
playing this oddball
kind of music.
677
00:48:59,687 --> 00:49:02,395
And there was a great amount
of confusion.
678
00:49:02,565 --> 00:49:05,853
We were functioning
far outside the pale
679
00:49:06,026 --> 00:49:10,315
of what journalism
was trying to embrace.
680
00:49:10,698 --> 00:49:13,406
That was back to that thing of,
"You've gotta go to California,
681
00:49:13,576 --> 00:49:14,941
you've gotta go to New York."
682
00:49:16,036 --> 00:49:18,323
And we refused to do that.
683
00:49:18,497 --> 00:49:21,330
I think we were just provincials
over there.
684
00:49:21,625 --> 00:49:24,333
They lumped us off with all
the Southern rock bands.
685
00:49:24,503 --> 00:49:26,119
They called us
a 'Southern' rock band.
686
00:49:26,297 --> 00:49:27,787
They didn't know
what to call us.
687
00:49:29,049 --> 00:49:31,131
You see, "That little ol' band
from Texas",
688
00:49:31,302 --> 00:49:33,760
I don't think it was meant
so much as a compliment,
689
00:49:33,929 --> 00:49:35,511
when it first was said.
690
00:49:35,681 --> 00:49:38,423
We grabbed a hold of it,
we thought it was a cool line,
691
00:49:39,059 --> 00:49:43,303
but I think it was actually
supposed to be a cut.
692
00:49:44,607 --> 00:49:46,097
The Village Voice said,
693
00:49:46,275 --> 00:49:49,984
"ZZ Top has a sound like
hammered shit."
694
00:49:50,571 --> 00:49:52,562
So, I had been hired
by Bill Ham
695
00:49:52,740 --> 00:49:56,779
to wrestle this opinion to
the floor and turn it positive.
696
00:49:56,952 --> 00:50:00,570
I had worked with
Michael Jackson, Bob Marley,
697
00:50:00,748 --> 00:50:03,957
AC/DC, Aerosmith, Kiss, Queen,
Billy Joel, Paul Simon,
698
00:50:04,126 --> 00:50:05,912
Peter Gabriel and people
like that.
699
00:50:06,295 --> 00:50:09,413
So, I thought I could handle
ZZ Top.
700
00:50:09,965 --> 00:50:12,707
I went down to Texas,
I interviewed them
701
00:50:12,885 --> 00:50:14,796
in a hotel room in Houston.
702
00:50:14,970 --> 00:50:18,964
I got all the background I could
but I didn't feel I had a handle
703
00:50:19,141 --> 00:50:21,508
on the fucking,
goddamn soul of the band,
704
00:50:22,228 --> 00:50:24,595
what it was
that made them tick.
705
00:50:26,232 --> 00:50:29,475
And something started to come
out of these guys.
706
00:50:30,277 --> 00:50:32,314
The rest of us in
the United States of America,
707
00:50:32,488 --> 00:50:35,480
we have 50 states, and we all
think that kids in all 50 states
708
00:50:35,658 --> 00:50:39,071
grow up with the same version
of the history of our country.
709
00:50:39,245 --> 00:50:40,076
No.
710
00:50:40,246 --> 00:50:42,362
What the guys were
revealing to me
711
00:50:42,540 --> 00:50:44,577
was that they grew up
in a foreign country.
712
00:50:45,167 --> 00:50:48,376
They grew up in a country
with its own founding fathers,
713
00:50:48,546 --> 00:50:51,208
and they were not George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
714
00:50:51,757 --> 00:50:54,249
Their founding father was
Sam Houston.
715
00:50:54,426 --> 00:50:55,757
When I was a kid,
716
00:50:55,928 --> 00:50:58,761
you took Texas history
before American history.
717
00:50:59,974 --> 00:51:02,090
See, that right there
tells you something.
718
00:51:02,851 --> 00:51:05,092
I'm told I had an ancestor
in the Alamo.
719
00:51:06,230 --> 00:51:08,972
The pride in Texas
is a real thing,
720
00:51:09,525 --> 00:51:11,892
I take it with me
everywhere I go.
721
00:51:12,695 --> 00:51:14,561
I'm a 7th generation Texan.
722
00:51:14,738 --> 00:51:20,233
I know that my father's family
came into to Texas in 1836,
723
00:51:20,411 --> 00:51:22,948
I know that my grandmother,
Bessie Dawson,
724
00:51:23,122 --> 00:51:27,707
walked behind a covered wagon
in 1899 from Louisiana.
725
00:51:27,876 --> 00:51:30,288
We like Texas,
and we like being Texans.
726
00:51:30,671 --> 00:51:34,039
So, we started bringing that
to the fore.
727
00:51:34,592 --> 00:51:37,630
Obviously we took it
much further
728
00:51:37,803 --> 00:51:40,420
when we did
the Worldwide Texas Tour,
729
00:51:40,639 --> 00:51:44,257
which was just one giant piece
of craziness.
730
00:51:44,435 --> 00:51:45,846
I mean, wow.
731
00:51:52,693 --> 00:51:55,856
I guess probably about '74,
732
00:51:56,030 --> 00:51:58,397
a friend of mine approached me
in my dressing room.
733
00:51:58,574 --> 00:51:59,939
I was clowning a rodeo.
734
00:52:00,492 --> 00:52:03,325
He said, "My boss wants
to meet you.
735
00:52:04,204 --> 00:52:06,241
He's the manager
of ZZ Top."
736
00:52:06,874 --> 00:52:08,205
I said, "ZZ who?"
737
00:52:10,002 --> 00:52:11,538
Because I was into Country.
738
00:52:14,798 --> 00:52:17,586
So, I met with Bill Ham
in my dressing room.
739
00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:19,967
He asked me a lot of questions
about training,
740
00:52:20,137 --> 00:52:22,128
and how much experience I'd had
and stuff.
741
00:52:22,306 --> 00:52:26,300
I said, "Well, yes,
I've trained a lot of animals."
742
00:52:26,477 --> 00:52:28,468
And he said, "Can you train
a buffalo?"
743
00:52:29,563 --> 00:52:31,770
I said, "I can train anything
with hair."
744
00:52:31,940 --> 00:52:33,146
He said,
"OK, you're hired."
745
00:52:36,779 --> 00:52:38,315
This is Texas,
746
00:52:38,489 --> 00:52:42,778
and this is 'that little ol'
band from Texas', ZZ Top.
747
00:52:43,911 --> 00:52:48,075
ZZ Top's Worldwide Texas Tour
is coming!
748
00:52:48,832 --> 00:52:51,415
Bill Ham was the most
sophisticated strategist
749
00:52:51,585 --> 00:52:53,701
of touring that I've ever seen
in my life.
750
00:52:53,879 --> 00:52:56,291
Bill wanted to create
a mystique,
751
00:52:56,465 --> 00:53:01,175
so they put together a tour
called the Worldwide Texas Tour.
752
00:53:01,512 --> 00:53:04,220
They put together
a 75-foot wide stage
753
00:53:04,390 --> 00:53:06,381
in the shape of the state
of Texas.
754
00:53:06,558 --> 00:53:08,765
They had four trucks painted
755
00:53:08,936 --> 00:53:13,521
with a continuous diorama
of Texas landscapes,
756
00:53:13,691 --> 00:53:16,149
just rolling down the highways
of America.
757
00:53:16,318 --> 00:53:19,606
At that point, Texas was
considered unsophisticated
758
00:53:19,780 --> 00:53:21,987
by New York people,
Hollywood people,
759
00:53:22,282 --> 00:53:24,523
and as a result,
people like Janis Joplin,
760
00:53:24,702 --> 00:53:26,238
who grew up
in Port Arthur, Texas,
761
00:53:26,412 --> 00:53:28,198
pretended she was from
San Francisco.
762
00:53:28,372 --> 00:53:32,787
Well, gradually it dawned on
ZZ Top and Bill Ham.
763
00:53:33,168 --> 00:53:35,751
It was time for a movement
for Texas pride.
764
00:53:35,921 --> 00:53:39,630
It was time for them to take
Texas culture to the world.
765
00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:43,088
Ladies and gentlemen, that
'little ol' band from Texas',
766
00:53:43,262 --> 00:53:44,593
ZZ Top!
767
00:54:15,711 --> 00:54:19,204
We finally had a little money
to make a production.
768
00:54:19,381 --> 00:54:21,918
We'd never made
a production before.
769
00:54:22,092 --> 00:54:24,003
We didn't know how to make
a production.
770
00:54:24,344 --> 00:54:29,930
And then, some idiot, I don't
know which one of us it was,
771
00:54:30,100 --> 00:54:33,388
I can't remember, but it's like,
"Let's take a buffalo."
772
00:54:34,605 --> 00:54:36,937
"Yeah, well let's take a
Longhorn steer."
773
00:54:37,107 --> 00:54:38,848
"Well, let's take some
rattlesnakes."
774
00:54:39,026 --> 00:54:40,767
"Let's take a javelina pig.
775
00:54:41,195 --> 00:54:42,560
And let's take some buzzards."
776
00:54:42,738 --> 00:54:46,402
So, all of a sudden,
we've got this theme.
777
00:54:46,575 --> 00:54:52,161
Seven trucks' worth of theme
to go out and do concerts with.
778
00:54:52,414 --> 00:54:55,122
- Which one's that, two?
- Two.
779
00:54:57,252 --> 00:54:58,834
He was with us last year.
780
00:54:59,087 --> 00:55:00,669
This buzzard was
781
00:55:00,839 --> 00:55:03,251
with my rodeo clown career
for 42 years,
782
00:55:03,425 --> 00:55:05,336
and then with ZZ
for several years.
783
00:55:05,594 --> 00:55:09,212
I think we figured she's 49,
784
00:55:09,681 --> 00:55:12,343
almost in six more months
she'll be 50 years old.
785
00:55:13,227 --> 00:55:15,764
When ZZ asked me
to come along with them,
786
00:55:15,938 --> 00:55:18,350
then I suggested the buzzard.
787
00:55:18,524 --> 00:55:23,769
She was staged behind
Frank Beard.
788
00:55:23,946 --> 00:55:25,186
Frank used to tease them.
789
00:55:25,364 --> 00:55:27,571
He used to kind of tease
with them and stuff,
790
00:55:27,741 --> 00:55:30,824
but the buzzards didn't want
anybody messing with them.
791
00:55:31,328 --> 00:55:33,410
The buzzards were right
behind me.
792
00:55:34,373 --> 00:55:37,286
If I was playing a slow blues,
793
00:55:37,459 --> 00:55:39,496
they would get very interested
in me,
794
00:55:39,670 --> 00:55:41,877
like, "Is he dead?",
you know.
795
00:55:42,047 --> 00:55:44,539
So, I'd start moving the arms
a lot more.
796
00:56:03,777 --> 00:56:08,817
The Worldwide Texas Tour
was a huge tour.
797
00:56:09,074 --> 00:56:11,190
It was elaborate,
even for the time,
798
00:56:11,368 --> 00:56:13,359
and it was extremely
expensive.
799
00:56:13,537 --> 00:56:15,778
And we weren't big enough
to do that,
800
00:56:16,540 --> 00:56:18,076
and everybody told us,
801
00:56:18,917 --> 00:56:19,952
but we did it.
802
00:56:23,672 --> 00:56:26,289
It was audacious,
and we liked that.
803
00:56:26,466 --> 00:56:30,835
That very idea of doing that,
is what it means to be Texan.
804
00:56:36,393 --> 00:56:40,933
It was like a circus.
805
00:56:41,565 --> 00:56:43,306
It was like a Texas circus.
806
00:56:43,483 --> 00:56:45,815
You had livestock onstage,
for Christ's sake.
807
00:56:45,986 --> 00:56:47,067
Who'd ever done that?
808
00:56:47,237 --> 00:56:50,855
Who'd ever seen animals
onstage with you?
809
00:56:51,533 --> 00:56:54,616
It was like a rodeo,
a circus, and a rock show
810
00:56:54,786 --> 00:56:55,867
all wrapped into one.
811
00:57:03,211 --> 00:57:06,169
For the band, the Worldwide
Texas Tour finally,
812
00:57:06,340 --> 00:57:08,547
once and for all,
had placed ZZ Top as,
813
00:57:08,717 --> 00:57:11,584
"Oh, those three guys from this
weird place called Texas.
814
00:57:11,762 --> 00:57:15,380
Did you see them with
the travelling zoo?"
815
00:57:15,974 --> 00:57:19,763
80, Texas, at that time, was
starting to become discoverable.
816
00:57:20,479 --> 00:57:23,221
Cowboy hat sales,
which had been relegated
817
00:57:23,398 --> 00:57:25,981
to the borders of the great
Lone Star State,
818
00:57:26,777 --> 00:57:31,317
was now up in New York City
at a western wear shop.
819
00:57:32,282 --> 00:57:34,774
And all due,
in no small part,
820
00:57:34,952 --> 00:57:38,411
to this mythical trio
called ZZ Top.
821
00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:57,263
They've come a long way
from the one-night stands
822
00:57:57,432 --> 00:57:59,093
in beer halls that gave them
their nickname
823
00:57:59,267 --> 00:58:01,053
of That little ol' band
from Texas'.
824
00:58:01,645 --> 00:58:04,854
But the down-home Texas approach
looks like a solid hit
825
00:58:05,023 --> 00:58:07,355
with the teenagers
in grassroots America.
826
00:58:24,668 --> 00:58:25,703
Good night, everybody.
827
00:58:25,877 --> 00:58:28,460
Thank you so much!
Glad to be back at home.
828
00:58:28,630 --> 00:58:32,589
The Worldwide Texas Tour
was a grandiose outing
829
00:58:32,759 --> 00:58:35,296
from the beginning
to the closing.
830
00:58:35,470 --> 00:58:38,963
We had made the rounds coast to
coast and border to border.
831
00:58:39,349 --> 00:58:41,966
The band worked seven days
a week,
832
00:58:42,144 --> 00:58:45,728
and by the time
we pulled it to the curb,
833
00:58:45,897 --> 00:58:48,639
it's safe to say that all three
band members,
834
00:58:49,109 --> 00:58:51,191
we wanted to take
a step back.
835
00:58:52,654 --> 00:58:56,443
When that was over,
we were just exhausted.
836
00:58:56,616 --> 00:59:00,905
We'd literally been on the road
since we formed in late '69.
837
00:59:01,079 --> 00:59:04,492
I kept thinking, "Surely,
we keep going at this pace,
838
00:59:04,666 --> 00:59:05,906
we're gonna burn out."
839
00:59:06,877 --> 00:59:10,541
Everybody just wanted to go
do a little something.
840
00:59:10,714 --> 00:59:14,002
I mean, you know,
get off the road.
841
00:59:15,552 --> 00:59:19,591
At the end of the Worldwide
Texas Tour, with the animals
842
00:59:19,765 --> 00:59:23,975
and the insanity that brought,
there was a definite tiredness.
843
00:59:24,144 --> 00:59:26,977
I think creatively,
everybody was a bit down,
844
00:59:27,147 --> 00:59:28,228
especially Frank.
845
00:59:28,398 --> 00:59:30,059
He was really burnt out
at that point.
846
00:59:31,151 --> 00:59:33,108
I think it was a little bit
of a drudge.
847
00:59:33,278 --> 00:59:37,522
It was hard, but somewhere
in there, I got $72,000.
848
00:59:37,699 --> 00:59:39,986
I remember, that was the first
big money I ever got.
849
00:59:40,160 --> 00:59:43,698
I got a cheque for $72,000,
somewhere in there.
850
00:59:44,956 --> 00:59:46,037
What did you do with it?
851
00:59:47,042 --> 00:59:49,579
I spent it on drugs.
852
00:59:50,504 --> 00:59:51,744
Every bit of it.
853
01:00:06,228 --> 01:00:09,311
I never had enough money
to become a proper addict
854
01:00:10,023 --> 01:00:15,939
until '77,
and then I accomplished that.
855
01:00:20,367 --> 01:00:25,453
The first time I ever did any
drug at all, was I injected LSD,
856
01:00:26,832 --> 01:00:28,823
and boy, I liked it,
you know.
857
01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:33,244
I mean, it was looking for God
and that whole thing.
858
01:00:33,421 --> 01:00:39,133
I really became a seeker
of truth, you know, all of that.
859
01:00:39,344 --> 01:00:44,635
And then, the pills thing came
about just from the workload.
860
01:00:45,016 --> 01:00:48,850
And the heroin thing came
about because I just liked it.
861
01:00:49,020 --> 01:00:52,058
I mean, if you've never done
heroin, you know...
862
01:00:52,232 --> 01:00:58,353
It's great,
it's a vacation for the mind.
863
01:00:58,905 --> 01:01:00,145
And I liked it.
864
01:01:00,323 --> 01:01:01,438
I liked it a lot.
865
01:01:02,534 --> 01:01:04,696
Clapton only snorted heroin,
866
01:01:04,870 --> 01:01:10,161
which is like so fucking
not cost-efficient.
867
01:01:10,625 --> 01:01:16,416
You have to do five times as
much to get the same buzz.
868
01:01:16,590 --> 01:01:18,046
But he was making
more money.
869
01:01:19,843 --> 01:01:21,550
But it's not cost-efficient.
870
01:01:24,973 --> 01:01:28,716
All the money
I pissed off, that's a regret.
871
01:01:29,477 --> 01:01:33,562
I sold my original Ludwig kit
872
01:01:36,234 --> 01:01:37,850
to buy drugs with it.
873
01:01:39,487 --> 01:01:41,148
Relationships I fucked up.
874
01:01:41,323 --> 01:01:45,692
Debbie and I, that was the
reason we broke up.
875
01:01:47,162 --> 01:01:50,200
In the back of my mind,
I knew I needed to kick heroin,
876
01:01:51,791 --> 01:01:53,623
I needed to stop
doing cocaine.
877
01:01:55,253 --> 01:01:58,541
I had done it all,
and I couldn't go any further.
878
01:01:59,299 --> 01:02:00,960
So, I called and told Ham,
879
01:02:01,134 --> 01:02:04,843
I said "Look, I'm going in
to a 30-day programme."
880
01:02:05,055 --> 01:02:08,764
And Bill Ham said, "All right,
take as long as you need."
881
01:02:09,267 --> 01:02:12,350
So, I went to a 12-step
programme.
882
01:02:12,520 --> 01:02:14,727
I just wanted to get sober.
883
01:02:14,898 --> 01:02:18,357
I wanted to be like people
I admired that could sit home,
884
01:02:18,526 --> 01:02:21,894
watch TV and go to bed,
885
01:02:22,656 --> 01:02:25,114
and that was OK.
886
01:02:28,703 --> 01:02:30,614
Frank goes all out
at what he does,
887
01:02:30,789 --> 01:02:32,405
and that includes
the bad things.
888
01:02:32,874 --> 01:02:34,080
He was sick.
889
01:02:35,085 --> 01:02:37,827
If you're a very good friend,
you love a guy,
890
01:02:39,047 --> 01:02:41,414
you don't want to see him die.
891
01:02:41,591 --> 01:02:43,298
You just want to see
your brother get well.
892
01:02:47,055 --> 01:02:50,138
For me,
success is a great thing.
893
01:02:51,309 --> 01:02:53,926
It can also really screw
with you.
894
01:02:54,312 --> 01:02:57,805
Not really sure who you are,
895
01:02:57,983 --> 01:03:01,601
or if people around you
treat you badly,
896
01:03:01,778 --> 01:03:03,314
or treat you really nice,
897
01:03:03,488 --> 01:03:05,024
according to who they think
you are.
898
01:03:05,323 --> 01:03:08,236
I just wanted to feel normal.
899
01:03:09,494 --> 01:03:11,610
So, I got a job at the airport.
900
01:03:11,788 --> 01:03:14,621
I got a work shirt that said
"Joe" on it.
901
01:03:14,791 --> 01:03:19,035
I cut my hair and I worked there
for a couple of months.
902
01:03:19,212 --> 01:03:20,577
I was really happy.
903
01:03:21,172 --> 01:03:23,129
You know, Friday night,
go to the beer joint,
904
01:03:23,300 --> 01:03:26,463
dance, drink and flirt
with the girls.
905
01:03:26,928 --> 01:03:29,090
And everybody knew me as Joe.
906
01:03:29,264 --> 01:03:31,221
It gave me a sense of being
grounded, I guess.
907
01:03:32,475 --> 01:03:34,682
Billy, I think, spent
a lot of time in Europe.
908
01:03:34,853 --> 01:03:36,935
Lord knows what he was
doing then.
909
01:03:40,984 --> 01:03:43,225
We were gonna take
three months
910
01:03:44,154 --> 01:03:48,899
just to kind of reorganise,
relax a bit, chill out,
911
01:03:49,075 --> 01:03:52,943
which turned into six months,
which then turned into a year,
912
01:03:53,872 --> 01:03:55,579
which became two years.
913
01:03:56,666 --> 01:04:00,250
So, I took off to see what was
happening out there.
914
01:04:01,963 --> 01:04:04,125
I was pogoing with punks
in England,
915
01:04:04,299 --> 01:04:08,088
and then dipping into
916
01:04:08,803 --> 01:04:11,420
learning the ways of the gurus
from India.
917
01:04:11,931 --> 01:04:16,516
It was a pretty wide-ranging set
of unusual experiences.
918
01:04:16,728 --> 01:04:19,561
I think it was
a big growth period.
919
01:04:21,024 --> 01:04:23,561
I think all of us
decompressed.
920
01:04:24,944 --> 01:04:30,860
The break that we took, even
though it was my initiative,
921
01:04:32,202 --> 01:04:33,909
worked out for everybody.
922
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:40,332
Billy and Dusty cleared their
heads and I got sober.
923
01:04:41,961 --> 01:04:43,543
During that period,
924
01:04:43,713 --> 01:04:46,580
the record label put out
a greatest hits album.
925
01:04:46,841 --> 01:04:50,175
And Bill Ham sued them
about it,
926
01:04:50,345 --> 01:04:53,178
he said, "Hey, you didn't have
the right to do that."
927
01:04:53,348 --> 01:04:55,806
He got us out of that contract,
928
01:04:55,975 --> 01:04:58,808
and we were free
and we moved to Warner Bros.
929
01:04:59,354 --> 01:05:01,265
It turned out to be a big move.
930
01:05:02,107 --> 01:05:04,439
Warner Bros,
at that time, ruled.
931
01:05:04,609 --> 01:05:07,192
They owned the record
business.
932
01:05:07,404 --> 01:05:08,894
And they were waving
a contract,
933
01:05:09,072 --> 01:05:11,063
they said,
"We want ZZ Top."
934
01:05:12,033 --> 01:05:14,274
They wanted us to get the gang
back together
935
01:05:14,452 --> 01:05:15,567
and that's what we did.
936
01:05:15,787 --> 01:05:17,573
We all came back together
937
01:05:18,456 --> 01:05:23,496
with a renewed and really
a fresh sense of enthusiasm.
938
01:05:23,962 --> 01:05:27,421
And also, a willingness
to experiment.
939
01:05:28,633 --> 01:05:30,715
Let's get crazy with it
right now!
940
01:05:44,691 --> 01:05:46,898
During that extended
hiatus,
941
01:05:47,068 --> 01:05:49,810
there was this growing
punk scene
942
01:05:49,988 --> 01:05:53,731
that was really explosive
and robust,
943
01:05:53,908 --> 01:05:56,696
and it had such energy
and force.
944
01:05:57,370 --> 01:06:01,455
There was something rebellious
underneath it all,
945
01:06:01,791 --> 01:06:02,781
which we liked.
946
01:06:03,334 --> 01:06:06,702
Those influences certainly
steered us
947
01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:08,416
in a different direction.
948
01:06:19,684 --> 01:06:20,890
We were changed.
949
01:06:21,060 --> 01:06:24,769
I mean, it wasn't quite so
organic bluesy.
950
01:06:24,939 --> 01:06:27,021
It still had a lot of that,
951
01:06:27,192 --> 01:06:29,809
but there had been a lot of
influences
952
01:06:29,986 --> 01:06:34,230
that each of us had been through
during this time off.
953
01:06:34,407 --> 01:06:37,240
So, we were willing to go down
different roads
954
01:06:37,410 --> 01:06:39,196
to find new music.
955
01:06:56,721 --> 01:06:59,429
We did so many
crazy experimenting things,
956
01:06:59,599 --> 01:07:01,055
including on the vocals.
957
01:07:01,392 --> 01:07:04,100
I remember Billy called me up
and said,
958
01:07:04,270 --> 01:07:07,137
"Oh, I've just been watching
the Phil Donahue Show.
959
01:07:07,398 --> 01:07:11,437
They had a guy there who didn't
want to reveal who he was,
960
01:07:11,611 --> 01:07:14,820
so they had him blacked out and
you could only see his shadow,
961
01:07:14,989 --> 01:07:16,900
and they had his voice
all changed.
962
01:07:17,075 --> 01:07:19,658
You've got to see this show,
cos his voice sounds awesome."
963
01:07:20,620 --> 01:07:23,237
So I called up Phil Donahue's
office, and said,
964
01:07:23,414 --> 01:07:25,781
"What did you use to distort
that voice?"
965
01:07:25,959 --> 01:07:27,666
The guy said, "Well, I don't
want to reveal it."
966
01:07:27,835 --> 01:07:30,793
So, I finally begged
and he told me what it was.
967
01:07:30,964 --> 01:07:32,705
So, I got one of those boxes,
968
01:07:32,882 --> 01:07:36,841
that's one of the things we used
to disguise guitars and voices.
969
01:07:38,429 --> 01:07:41,171
So, yes, we went for
a different feeling, sonically,
970
01:07:41,349 --> 01:07:44,307
and we were consciously trying
to get more eclectic.
971
01:07:47,188 --> 01:07:48,098
Yeah!
972
01:07:50,525 --> 01:07:52,812
When you're running around town
in your gold Cadillac
973
01:07:52,986 --> 01:07:54,522
or your tailored Cadillac,
974
01:07:54,696 --> 01:07:57,358
just let 'em know that you're
bad and nationwide.
975
01:08:10,044 --> 01:08:13,412
The other thing is, when we
reconvened after the hiatus,
976
01:08:13,631 --> 01:08:16,714
it was discovered that we'd all
gotten rather lazy.
977
01:08:16,884 --> 01:08:19,922
None of us had shaved
for three years,
978
01:08:20,722 --> 01:08:24,010
and this new version of ZZ Top
appeared.
979
01:08:41,534 --> 01:08:43,195
They take off a little time,
980
01:08:43,369 --> 01:08:45,736
they come back, and they've
got these long beards,
981
01:08:45,913 --> 01:08:48,120
except for Frank, obviously,
whose name is Beard.
982
01:08:48,958 --> 01:08:53,122
I had a beard, but it wasn't
near the beard they had.
983
01:08:53,296 --> 01:08:57,381
So I shaved it pretty much right
after we got back together,
984
01:08:57,550 --> 01:09:02,761
when I saw they had this much,
and I had this much.
985
01:09:08,478 --> 01:09:10,765
Frank didn't mind being
beardless.
986
01:09:11,606 --> 01:09:13,096
After all,
he had the name,
987
01:09:13,274 --> 01:09:16,483
and he could go to the shopping
mall without being interrupted.
988
01:09:17,445 --> 01:09:20,187
He wouldn't go to the mall
with me or anything,
989
01:09:20,365 --> 01:09:22,652
he just went, "I'm not going
out in public with you
990
01:09:22,825 --> 01:09:24,941
because you get
recognised now.
991
01:09:26,162 --> 01:09:27,948
We can't go anywhere
in peace."
992
01:09:28,122 --> 01:09:29,908
I went,
"Well, thanks, buddy."
993
01:09:30,917 --> 01:09:32,999
So, I would hang around
with him anyway.
994
01:09:33,336 --> 01:09:35,202
"This is the drummer
right here."
995
01:09:52,021 --> 01:09:54,809
What started out as a disguise,
996
01:09:56,609 --> 01:09:59,192
over time became a trademark,
I guess you'd say.
997
01:09:59,404 --> 01:10:01,145
It goes where we go.
998
01:10:02,448 --> 01:10:04,155
We're still trying to
figure out,
999
01:10:05,618 --> 01:10:09,031
"Is it better to have the beards
over the covers
1000
01:10:09,205 --> 01:10:10,741
or under the covers?"
1001
01:10:11,374 --> 01:10:13,160
The everlasting question.
1002
01:10:25,888 --> 01:10:28,721
I'm not a big fan of beards.
I thought it looked awful.
1003
01:10:30,059 --> 01:10:32,517
I know these guys
and they don't look like that.
1004
01:10:32,729 --> 01:10:33,764
Is that fake?
1005
01:10:34,105 --> 01:10:37,894
It was kind of a shock,
but it hid their faces.
1006
01:10:38,443 --> 01:10:41,777
It kept the mystery, but it let
them come out to the world.
1007
01:10:42,029 --> 01:10:44,236
It started another
kind of mystique.
1008
01:10:44,407 --> 01:10:47,365
It started the cartoon
characters, ZZ Top people,
1009
01:10:47,952 --> 01:10:52,196
which it turned out,
hit at the exact right moment.
1010
01:11:03,843 --> 01:11:07,882
I remember, Debbie and I were
lying in bed one night,
1011
01:11:08,055 --> 01:11:12,344
flipping TV channels,
and I saw this music thing.
1012
01:11:12,518 --> 01:11:14,634
They showed a music clip,
and then another one,
1013
01:11:14,812 --> 01:11:18,851
and then another one, and we
watched and we were enjoying it.
1014
01:11:19,400 --> 01:11:21,391
About an hour later,
I called Dusty and said,
1015
01:11:21,569 --> 01:11:23,435
"Hey, man, there's this special
on TV.
1016
01:11:23,613 --> 01:11:25,354
It's all about music,
you need to watch it."
1017
01:11:25,531 --> 01:11:28,694
Frank called me, he said he
stumbled across this station,
1018
01:11:28,868 --> 01:11:30,825
and he thought it was a special.
1019
01:11:31,621 --> 01:11:34,739
He went, "Man, this is a great
show. You've got to tune in."
1020
01:11:34,916 --> 01:11:38,159
I tuned in,
and then I called Billy.
1021
01:11:38,336 --> 01:11:40,077
He said, "It's on this weird
channel,
1022
01:11:40,254 --> 01:11:41,665
it's way down at the bottom."
1023
01:11:43,132 --> 01:11:46,295
After about four hours,
I called and said,
1024
01:11:46,469 --> 01:11:49,962
"Hey, Frank, when does this come
to a conclusion?
1025
01:11:50,139 --> 01:11:53,757
We've been watching four hours,
and it keeps going."
1026
01:11:53,935 --> 01:11:56,222
About three,
four in the morning,
1027
01:11:56,395 --> 01:11:59,763
we were like, "Goddamn, how long
is this thing, you know?
1028
01:11:59,941 --> 01:12:01,227
We've got to go to sleep."
1029
01:12:01,484 --> 01:12:04,897
We all are so excited about
this new concept in TV.
1030
01:12:05,279 --> 01:12:06,735
We were fascinated
1031
01:12:06,906 --> 01:12:10,774
by the possibility of video
meets music.
1032
01:12:11,452 --> 01:12:15,195
That discovery of MTV
is what brought the notion
1033
01:12:15,373 --> 01:12:18,331
of putting three guys in front
of a camera.
1034
01:12:18,960 --> 01:12:23,295
And Tim Newman, the great
director, stepped forward.
1035
01:12:23,881 --> 01:12:27,090
I had produced a video
for my cousin Randy Newman
1036
01:12:27,260 --> 01:12:28,967
of this song called
'I love LA'.
1037
01:12:29,512 --> 01:12:32,550
And apparently,
Bill Ham had seen the video
1038
01:12:32,723 --> 01:12:34,885
and had requested
a meeting.
1039
01:12:35,059 --> 01:12:37,096
So, I had this meeting
with Bill Ham and he said,
1040
01:12:37,270 --> 01:12:40,228
"We wanna do a video for the
song 'Gimme All Your Lovin'."
1041
01:12:40,398 --> 01:12:42,389
He said, "The video's got
to have a car
1042
01:12:42,567 --> 01:12:43,853
and it's got to have girls."
1043
01:12:44,026 --> 01:12:46,017
It was sort of like,
the unspoken thing was,
1044
01:12:46,195 --> 01:12:47,651
"Besides that,
do whatever you want."
1045
01:12:47,822 --> 01:12:49,904
That was the creative brief.
1046
01:12:50,366 --> 01:12:52,152
Tim Newman had an idea,
he said,
1047
01:12:52,326 --> 01:12:55,159
"I've heard about this
hot rod car, can we bring it in?
1048
01:12:55,329 --> 01:12:56,945
Because I've got three
pretty girls
1049
01:12:57,123 --> 01:12:59,114
to match you three
ugly guys."
1050
01:13:22,857 --> 01:13:24,439
Get back to work.
1051
01:14:21,666 --> 01:14:25,034
I'm a product
of that early MTV era,
1052
01:14:25,211 --> 01:14:30,672
and fascination with discovering
music through video in that way.
1053
01:14:31,008 --> 01:14:34,000
My introduction was
Eliminator',
1054
01:14:34,178 --> 01:14:37,762
and that's the sonic version
of ZZ Top.
1055
01:14:37,932 --> 01:14:40,219
Now, if you are a blues purist,
1056
01:14:40,393 --> 01:14:42,851
that could be very dangerous
for them.
1057
01:14:43,020 --> 01:14:45,728
That could have backfired
in a major way,
1058
01:14:45,898 --> 01:14:49,357
because they're toying with
something sacred.
1059
01:14:49,568 --> 01:14:51,150
People don't like that
that much.
1060
01:14:51,320 --> 01:14:56,781
You know, "Don't toy with
my idols, my altar."
1061
01:15:06,961 --> 01:15:08,872
A lot of people's introduction
to ZZ Top
1062
01:15:09,046 --> 01:15:11,879
was the MTV videos and
'Eliminator'.
1063
01:15:12,258 --> 01:15:14,124
'Eliminator' has got
great songs,
1064
01:15:14,885 --> 01:15:16,546
but it was a departure.
1065
01:15:19,932 --> 01:15:22,014
A couple of people
at the record company,
1066
01:15:22,184 --> 01:15:25,802
and a couple that we knew,
were real against it.
1067
01:15:25,980 --> 01:15:28,392
They said, "No, you can't
release that song.
1068
01:15:28,566 --> 01:15:31,729
That song, it's not you.
1069
01:15:31,902 --> 01:15:33,939
You're gonna get a lot of crap
about it."
1070
01:15:34,780 --> 01:15:35,986
We stood up for it.
1071
01:15:36,157 --> 01:15:38,774
We really wanted to do
some different things,
1072
01:15:38,951 --> 01:15:42,239
things like a synthesizer
or different technology.
1073
01:15:42,830 --> 01:15:43,945
We wanted to use it.
1074
01:15:44,123 --> 01:15:47,741
If you don't do that,
you play shuffle in C forever.
1075
01:16:02,892 --> 01:16:05,054
We had to maintain
a willingness
1076
01:16:05,227 --> 01:16:09,312
to continue this business
of experimentation.
1077
01:16:09,482 --> 01:16:13,601
This notion of what blues
should or shouldn't be,
1078
01:16:13,778 --> 01:16:15,143
was thrown out the window.
1079
01:16:41,055 --> 01:16:43,763
Combining the new sound
with the videos,
1080
01:16:43,933 --> 01:16:46,766
with the girls,
the car and the keys,
1081
01:16:46,936 --> 01:16:48,722
and the cartoon character
band guys
1082
01:16:48,896 --> 01:16:50,682
fading in and out
and doing things,
1083
01:16:50,981 --> 01:16:54,224
that was so out of the ordinary
to happen.
1084
01:16:54,401 --> 01:16:56,517
I love films, and I come from
the idea of narrative.
1085
01:16:56,695 --> 01:16:58,982
It didn't interest me to do
a performance video.
1086
01:17:00,533 --> 01:17:01,864
So, somehow,
I got the idea
1087
01:17:02,034 --> 01:17:04,196
that it would be interesting
to turn these videos
1088
01:17:04,370 --> 01:17:09,911
into a story that had to do with
the band as magical heroes.
1089
01:17:10,126 --> 01:17:13,664
Their mission was
to help out young people
1090
01:17:13,838 --> 01:17:16,000
who were having a really
crappy life.
1091
01:17:16,757 --> 01:17:19,465
Tim Newman,
his sense of vision...
1092
01:17:19,635 --> 01:17:22,548
He was the first on the block
that really brought
1093
01:17:22,721 --> 01:17:24,962
Hollywood-movie-like
scripting
1094
01:17:25,182 --> 01:17:27,423
into a three-minute
expression.
1095
01:17:34,608 --> 01:17:35,564
Gee, I'm sorry.
1096
01:17:36,068 --> 01:17:36,933
That's OK, any time.
1097
01:17:37,111 --> 01:17:38,727
- Oops!
- Watch your dress!
1098
01:17:38,904 --> 01:17:43,319
The band suddenly became
larger-than-life.
1099
01:17:43,784 --> 01:17:49,325
We came, we appeared lending
our hand to the underdog.
1100
01:17:50,040 --> 01:17:54,284
Boy meets girl, girl and boy
ride off into the sunset.
1101
01:17:55,838 --> 01:17:57,044
And we're still playing.
1102
01:17:57,840 --> 01:17:59,171
We're still the musicians.
1103
01:17:59,341 --> 01:18:01,799
That's all ZZ Top is,
we get to play.
1104
01:18:33,792 --> 01:18:37,126
It was just so potent,
it was so stylised,
1105
01:18:37,296 --> 01:18:40,084
that it just laser-etched
in your brain when you saw it.
1106
01:18:41,467 --> 01:18:44,926
No one else looked like them,
no one else sounded like them.
1107
01:18:45,596 --> 01:18:48,554
You didn't even have to own
a ZZ Top record to know ZZ Top.
1108
01:18:50,142 --> 01:18:54,761
It made them cultural icons,
it made them so recognisable
1109
01:18:55,314 --> 01:18:57,681
that they will be
recognisable forever.
1110
01:19:24,969 --> 01:19:29,839
It was one of the handful
examples of artists
1111
01:19:30,015 --> 01:19:33,178
whose careers were completely
transformed by music videos.
1112
01:19:33,352 --> 01:19:36,970
They could go and tour Europe
and Asia.
1113
01:19:37,147 --> 01:19:39,229
The end result
of the videos was
1114
01:19:39,400 --> 01:19:41,607
they became international
superstars.
1115
01:19:41,777 --> 01:19:44,314
Right here we have the fabulous
ZZ Top!
1116
01:19:46,031 --> 01:19:48,898
I just can't tell you
how important it was to us.
1117
01:19:49,451 --> 01:19:50,987
Without videos,
I don't think
1118
01:19:51,161 --> 01:19:54,028
'Eliminator' would have been
what it was.
1119
01:19:55,416 --> 01:19:56,906
I always wanted to do
the Carson show.
1120
01:19:57,084 --> 01:19:58,245
We finally got to do it.
1121
01:19:58,669 --> 01:20:00,205
Would you welcome,
ZZ Top!
1122
01:20:25,946 --> 01:20:29,109
Did 'Eliminator' define ZZ Top?
I don't know.
1123
01:20:29,283 --> 01:20:31,615
But as the old saying goes,
1124
01:20:31,785 --> 01:20:33,742
"As long as we're in there
somewhere."
1125
01:20:34,747 --> 01:20:37,409
There's that even stronger
statement,
1126
01:20:37,583 --> 01:20:39,369
"It only takes one."
1127
01:20:40,336 --> 01:20:41,952
And we continue
to make music.
1128
01:20:42,129 --> 01:20:46,589
We continue to get in the studio
and thrash it out.
1129
01:20:51,263 --> 01:20:55,473
Let's face it, the Eliminator'
peak really brought
1130
01:20:55,642 --> 01:20:59,226
so many new faces
to the party.
1131
01:20:59,855 --> 01:21:02,768
They're still there
and so are we.
1132
01:22:55,262 --> 01:22:57,048
Here's the deal,
1133
01:22:57,222 --> 01:23:00,214
we don't really know what's kept
us together this long.
1134
01:23:00,684 --> 01:23:02,925
I make a joke about,
that we've been together
1135
01:23:03,103 --> 01:23:06,141
because early on we got
separate tour buses.
1136
01:23:07,608 --> 01:23:11,943
But, the love of music
certainly bonded us together.
1137
01:23:12,112 --> 01:23:14,820
We grew up listening to kind of
the same stuff.
1138
01:23:15,365 --> 01:23:20,201
But that happens 8 lot and
it doesn't keep bands together,
1139
01:23:20,370 --> 01:23:22,031
so, I don't know.
1140
01:23:26,585 --> 01:23:32,627
I would say, for me, I've found
the people I want to play with.
1141
01:23:33,217 --> 01:23:35,925
And I was able to do that
at a very early age.
1142
01:23:36,970 --> 01:23:38,802
I'm still satisfied
with them.
1143
01:23:38,972 --> 01:23:42,090
I'm satisfied with Dusty
and I'm satisfied with Billy.
1144
01:23:42,726 --> 01:23:45,058
With these two guys,
I've never wanted to quit
1145
01:23:45,604 --> 01:23:47,015
and I've never wanted
to get fired.
1146
01:23:50,234 --> 01:23:51,395
I'll drink to that.
1147
01:23:51,568 --> 01:23:52,603
Oh, OK.
1148
01:24:11,004 --> 01:24:14,588
Well, there's an easy answer
to what's kept the band together
1149
01:24:15,926 --> 01:24:19,419
for now nearing
five decades,
1150
01:24:19,888 --> 01:24:23,006
which is probably longer
than most marriages,
1151
01:24:23,308 --> 01:24:29,520
but the general consensus,
and we talk about it frequently,
1152
01:24:30,065 --> 01:24:33,603
we still enjoy getting to do
what we get to do.
1153
01:25:15,736 --> 01:25:17,352
There's such a richness
1154
01:25:17,529 --> 01:25:21,067
in meandering down
this long trail together.
1155
01:25:21,825 --> 01:25:27,070
Dusty, Frank, and I, four going
on five decades later,
1156
01:25:28,457 --> 01:25:31,791
we've stayed on course,
and we turned it up,
1157
01:25:32,252 --> 01:25:35,540
cranked it up,
and we never looked back.
1158
01:26:24,096 --> 01:26:29,011
When I first met Billy,
it was to play together
1159
01:26:29,184 --> 01:26:31,516
in the studio on
a Queens's record.
1160
01:26:31,687 --> 01:26:34,679
He was playing,
and he hits this note,
1161
01:26:34,856 --> 01:26:38,349
and his beard fell
and it muted the strings
1162
01:26:38,527 --> 01:26:41,360
and it made this harmonic.
1163
01:26:42,614 --> 01:26:47,700
I sat there stunned,
dumbfounded,
1164
01:26:47,869 --> 01:26:50,156
and we looked at each other
and he's like,
1165
01:26:50,872 --> 01:26:53,785
"This is the first ever
beard harmonic."
1166
01:26:54,000 --> 01:26:56,207
Even his beard
1167
01:26:56,378 --> 01:26:59,996
is a pretty good
guitar player, you know.
1168
01:27:14,604 --> 01:27:19,940
I think that the fact that
ZZ Top has the same three guys,
1169
01:27:20,694 --> 01:27:22,560
had been together
for fifty years,
1170
01:27:22,738 --> 01:27:26,231
is really an amazing
achievement.
1171
01:27:26,408 --> 01:27:29,491
And they will be remembered
for 150 years.
1172
01:27:29,661 --> 01:27:32,028
200 years from now,
people will be going,
1173
01:27:33,790 --> 01:27:36,578
"Everybody's crazy 'bout
a sharp dressed man,
1174
01:27:36,752 --> 01:27:38,117
Who are those guys?"
1175
01:27:49,681 --> 01:27:52,093
How much are you getting off
any of these cameras?
1176
01:27:52,267 --> 01:27:53,428
Is it just table-height?
1177
01:27:53,602 --> 01:27:55,969
It's pretty much from
about here.
1178
01:27:56,146 --> 01:27:58,604
How about
this camera here?
1179
01:28:00,066 --> 01:28:01,602
We're not seeing below
the table.
1180
01:28:01,777 --> 01:28:03,609
- OK, that's what I'm asking.
- Yeah, yeah.
1181
01:28:03,779 --> 01:28:05,269
So I can take my pants off.
1182
01:28:18,210 --> 01:28:23,125
Bill Ham, was probably one of
the most charismatic men
1183
01:28:23,298 --> 01:28:24,504
I've ever met in my life.
1184
01:28:24,674 --> 01:28:32,172
He's the reason we were able to
grow out of "just another band",
1185
01:28:33,225 --> 01:28:36,763
that was out there, a B-level
band trying to make it,
1186
01:28:36,937 --> 01:28:41,056
that we were able to grow
into what we are.
1187
01:28:44,152 --> 01:28:49,022
It's difficult to talk about it
'cause it's kind of too soon.
1188
01:28:49,825 --> 01:28:54,661
He just gave me direction,
1189
01:28:56,873 --> 01:29:01,618
not only as part of the band,
but as a person.
1190
01:29:02,212 --> 01:29:06,001
He was a very wise man
and I loved him.
1191
01:29:07,980 --> 01:29:12,980
OCR'd and corrected by explosiveskull
www.OpenSubtitles.org
1191
01:29:13,305 --> 01:30:13,738
Support us and become VIP member
to remove all ads from www.OpenSubtitles.org
95951
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.