ZZ Top: Electric Journey

Rock ’n’ roll and the genre of music that birthed it—the blues—are immediate art forms. Within a few beats of a drum kit or a few notes on the electric or acoustic guitar, the listener is taken to the core of the sound. Whether it’s rock and its electric punch or the blues with its solemn intimacy, feelings are transmitted quickly and true. And it’s this reality that drew a young Billy Gibbons to their sounds. Gibbons, who would go on to co-found the legendary blues-rock band ZZ Top as an adult, was first introduced to these styles of music as a kid. At a time when most his age were preparing for kindergarten, Gibbons was getting a different education. Now, some six or seven decades later, Gibbons has harnessed those lessons into an acclaimed career that continues to this day with the release of ZZ Top’s new live 12-track album, Raw, which features many of the band’s biggest hits and is officially out on July 22.