In his prologue, author Christopher McKittrick acknowledges the difficulty of condensing Gibbons’ six-decade career into one book, partially due to the enigmatic vocalist/guitarist’s own “admitted tall tales.” In short, Gibbons is both an incredible musician and accomplished bullsh***er. Per engineer and longtime Gibbons collaborator Joe Hardy: “He will approve if I say this: [Billy] will lie about anything. Our saying is that he would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth.”

Nonetheless, Gibbons decides ZZ Top’s musical direction. Vocalist/bassist Dusty Hill (d. 2021) and – most notoriously – drummer Frank Beard, didn’t even play on some/all of the synthesized songs on ’80s mega-albums Eliminator and Afterburner. Gibbons defended the band’s pop-music evolution by pointing out that Muddy Waters and Bob Dylan transitioned from acoustic to electric guitars and Jimi Hendrix increasingly incorporated sonic experimentation.

Plentiful guitar morsels abound in the book, discussing Gibbons’ tones, his first guitar/amp combo (a sunburst ’62 Melody Maker through a vintage Champ), and the spinning Dean solidbody in the “Legs” video. And of course, his ’59 Les Paul ’Burst, Pearly Gates, for which he claims once being offered $5 million.

This article originally appeared in VG’s September 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.