Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members ZZ Top will take the stage at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Wednesday, March 15, at 8 p.m.
ZZ TOP a/k/a “That Little Ol’ Band From Texas,” lay undisputed claim to being the longest running major rock band with original personnel intact.
In 2004, the Texas trio was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s a remarkable achievement that Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard are still very much together after more than 40 years of rock, blues, and boogie on the road and in the studio. Their impressive list of hits dates back to 1973, when “La Grange” – still one of the band’s signature pieces today – catapulted them to national attention. Since then, they’ve recorded such classics as “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Tush,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Got Me Under Pressure,” “Sleeping Bag,” and “My Head’s In Mississippi.”
As a touring unit, they’ve been without peer over the years, having performed before millions of fans throughout North America on numerous epochal tours as well as overseas where they’ve enthralled audiences from Slovenia to Italy, Australia to Sweden, Russia to Japan and most points in between. Their iconography – beards, cars, girls, and that magic keychain – seems to transcend all bounds of geography and language. In the 1980s, powered by numerous hits from their Diamond-selling (over 10,000,000 copies) album, Eliminator, ZZ Top were video icons, playing a kind of Greek chorus in videos that highlighted the album’s three smash singles: “Gimme All Your Lovin’, “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.” The follow-up album, Afterburner, continued their chart juggernaut. ZZ TOP had become a certified rock institution, contemporary in every way, yet still completely connected to the founding fathers of the genre. The band has released several albums since, adding to its legacy, including La Futura – their fifteenth studio album (and first in nine years) – in September 2012. The project received widespread critical acclaim. In 2013, The Complete Studio Albums (1970-1990) 10 CD collection was released and this year they released “The Very Baddest,” a new two-disc compilation of their greatest hits.
The elements that keep ZZ TOP fresh, enduring and above the transitory fray can be summed up in the three words of the band’s internal mantra: “Tone, Taste and Tenacity.” ZZ TOP’s music is always instantly recognizable, eminently powerful, profoundly soulful and 100 percent Texas American in derivation.
The true rock icons have sold millions of records over the course of their career, have been officially designated as Heroes of The State of Texas, and referenced in countless cartoons and sitcoms but, against all odds, they’re really just doing what they’ve always done.
Tickets are $69.50 and $49.50 plus applicable service charges. Tickets went on sale Friday, Oct. 31 and will be available online at www.ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at (800) 745-3000 or at the Westbury box office. Event, date and time are subject to change. For more information, visit www.thetheatreatwestbury.com.
