ZZ Top

ZZ Top is the rare band that shifted from its roots to show biz without losing integrity. It's as if they decided there was something funny about a little ol' trio from Texas, heavily bearded under big Stetson hats, and opted to laugh along. By the time of the group's chart-topping pinnacle in the '80s and '90s, ZZ Top had wrapped its Rio Grande grit in a tightly choreographed, glossy and, yes, amusing package.<P> Originating in the '60s Texas garage band culture that produced the 13th Floor Elevators, ZZ Top entered the '70s with a stripped-to-bare-bones blues-rock sound. Touring incessantly, they worked their way from roadhouses to arenas and scored an FM hit with “La Grange,” essentially John Lee Hooker's “Boogie Chillen” barbecued in Texas hot sauce. By the time of their Worldwide Texas Tour (1976), they shared the stage with towering cacti, tumbling tumbleweeds and all manner of Lone Star bric-a-brac. It was all in good fun, and the band went platinum.<P> In the 21st century, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, released elaborate CD reissues of earlier work, played halftime at the Orange Bowl and announced their intention to record an album with Rick Rubin that would shift focus back from show biz to the roots of their blunt-edged blues-rock sound.