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The Latest Breaking News from Dusty Hill

“Even today, that instrument is fascinating. I’ve passed it around and players of all sorts have all come to the same conclusion – there is something magic in that instrument”: Billy Gibbons on why Pearly Gates is one of the greatest Les Pauls of all time

All Gibson Les Paul Standards from 1959 are special but what is it about the ZZ Top frontman's Pearly Gates that makes it so unique? As Gibbons says, it might be something entirely supernatural

MusicRadar

“I said, ‘Rick, you think we should take a break?’ And he goes, ‘Oh yeah, we got it on tape three hours ago – we just like hearing you guys play!’”: ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons describes Rick Rubin as a “peculiar” kind of producer

Plus: how the Texan trio created something new out of an old hip-hop track

MusicRadar

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard quits tour to address ‘health issue’

Longtime drummer will be absent from the band’s forthcoming tour, a statement said

The Independent UK

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

ZZ Top announce Elevation Tour dates for 2025

The shows will hopefully give fans another chance to behold the majesty of Elwood Francis's 17-string bass

Louder

“Billy Gibbons pulls out this big-ass yellow 17-string bass and he’s like, ‘Okay, we’ll play it for a song, right?’” ZZ Top’s Elwood Francis on teching for Joe Perry, lying to Steve Vai – and the curse of playing that viral 17-string bass

The gear-trashing DIY enthusiast once had to choose between Vai and Joe Perry, before being fired and rehired by Guns N’ Roses –in a matter of days

Guitar World

“I said to Billy, ‘We should order one of these, and I’ll play it. It’ll be hilarious.’ Then it went viral. I hate playing that bass. Now I’ve got to play it every night”: Elwood Francis on why he regrets his 17-string bass becoming a ZZ Top staple

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

Guitar World

“I'm not the bass player. I'm not in the band. I'll never be in the band. I shouldn't be in the band”: Elwood Francis says he'll never replace ZZ Top's Dusty Hill

Elwood Francis isn't comfortable being bassist in ZZ Top

MusicRadar

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“Dusty is their bass player. I'm not the bass player. I shouldn't be in the band”: Elwood Francis replaced Dusty Hill in ZZ Top – but he still feels uncomfortable about it

Francis originally served as ZZ Top's longtime guitar tech, but took on a completely new role at the behest of Hill's wishes after the bassist passed away

Guitar World

"They couldn't transport the snakes in the cattle trailer because it upset the Longhorn and the buffalo": How ZZ Top took Texas on the road in the most sanity-defying tour ever staged

ZZ Top's Worldwide Texas Tour featured a plexiglass pyramid filled with rattlesnakes, trained buzzards, a fake wolf, and a night in Pittsburgh one doctor called "the most horrible thing I have seen since World War II"

Louder

“Billy drops the line, ‘I'm sending you some sheepskins. I want you to put them on some guitars’”: Dusty Hill’s iconic fur-covered spinning bass from ZZ Top’s Legs video just sold at auction – and absolutely smashed its estimated sale price

The Dean Zelinsky-made model went under the hammer alongside Hill's custom Hot Rod car bass – but both were outsold by the late ZZ Top bassist's vintage 1953 Fender Precision model

Guitar World

ZZ Top icon Dusty Hill's famous Fender Precision bass guitar sells at auction for $393,700

1953 Fender Precision bass owned and beloved by late ZZ Top star becomes second highest selling bass in auction history

Louder

“When they shot smoke, the crowd went wild!”: Dusty Hill’s Hot Rod car bass, custom built by Wayne Charvel for ZZ Top’s Eliminator tour, hides a few secrets beneath the hood – now it’s up for auction

Check out the automobile-inspired build that powered some of the band’s most iconic appearances in the early-’80s

Guitar World

Hilarity ensues as Slash, Dave Mustaine, Rick Nielsen, Dusty Hill, Joey Ramone and more "audition" for the Drew Carey Show

Is this the most star-studded line-up of musicians to ever appear on a comedy show?

Metal Hammer

Billy Gibbons has an unfinished song he wrote with Jeff Beck called Chocolate Meatballs

Billy Gibbons reflects on his solo shows, life without Dusty Hill, and new life with Elwood Francis

Louder

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The Independent UK

New this week: Beyoncé, Shark Week, ESPYS and 'The Gray Man'

This week’s new entertainment releases include Beyoncé’s new album “Renaissance,” Stephen Curry hosting the ESPYS sports awards and the summer thrill ride known as Shark Week returns to Discovery Channel for its 34th year

Louder

The 50 best rock bands of all time

A definitive guide to the very best rock bands to ever have bothered polite society

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