Wymer Publishing will release Martin Popoff's ZZ Top: A Visual Biography on October 28. Pre-order here.
ZZ Top: A Visual Biography commemorates that little ol’ band from Texas’s long and storied career, from the guys’ roots in the clubs playing psychedelic blues, through a soul searching career hiatus in 1978 to the band’s surreal and unexpected success in the MTV video age with Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler. Next comes an era in which the records sold less, but respect for the band as consummate dirty blues artists grew and grew. All the while the trio toured, bringing to the stage those long beards and funny hats and all manner of stylish stage design appointments that reflected the band’s wry take on life in the Lone Star state.
Make no mistake, first and foremost, ZZ Top: A Visual Biography is a celebration of the band’s visual resplendence, but author of 115 rock ‘n’ roll volumes Martin Popoff makes sure that there’s wordy substance behind the pictures. Ergo, next to the explosion of live photography, memorabilia shots, LP covers, tour programs and ticket stubs, he’s provided an extensive chronology of this band’s furtive movements behind cheap sunglasses across fully seven different decades of mischief making. The end result is a wildly entertaining celebration of ZZ Top’s legacy, and a fitting tribute to the band’s greatest singer, Dusty Hill, gone too soon.
Note: This book requires total independent editorial control. It has not been authorized or approved by ZZ Top or its management.