ZZ Top at the Adler Theatre -- April 11.
Tuesday, April 11, 7:30 p.m.
Adler Theatre, 136 East Third Street, Davenport IA
With their first album having debuted more than a half-century ago, and albums including Eliminator, Afterburner, and La Futura all top-10 smashes on the Billboard charts, the legendary blues rockers of ZZ Top bring their eagerly anticipated “Raw Whiskey Tour” to Davenport's Adler Theatre on April 11, the artists as familiar for their signature look as they are for iconic songs including “Legs,” “Gimme All Your Lovin',” and “Sharp Dressed Man.”
Formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas, ZZ Top was composed, for 51 years, of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. The group developed a signature sound based on Gibbons' blues-guitar style and Hill and Beard's rhythm section, and originated after the 1969 demise of Gibbons' previous band Moving Sidewalks. Within a year, they signed with London Records and released the appropriately titled ZZ Top's First Album in 1971. Subsequent releases such as 1973's Tres Hombres and 1975's Fandango!, as well as the singles "La Grange" and "Tush," gained extensive radio airplay, and by the mid-1970s, ZZ Top had become renowned in North America for its live act, including the "Worldwide Texas Tour" from '76 to '77 that was a critical and commercial success.
After a hiatus, ZZ Top returned in 1979 with a new musical direction and image, with Gibbons and Hill wearing sunglasses and matching chest-length beards. With the 1981 album El Loco, the musicians began to experiment with synthesizers and drum machines. They consequently established a more mainstream sound and gained international success with 1983's Eliminator and 1985's Afterburner, which integrated influences from new wave, punk, and dance-rock. The popularity of these albums' music videos, including those for "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs," gave them mass exposure on MTV, with the Afterburner tour setting records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour of 1986.
Having gained additional acclaim with the release of their 10th album Recycler in 1990 and its accompanying tour, the group's experimentation continued with moderate success on the albums Antenna (1994), Rhythmeen (1996), XXX (1999), Mescalero (2003), and La Futura (2012), with 2019's Goin' 50 a compilation album commemorating the band's 50th anniversary. By the time of Hill's death in 2021, ZZ Top had become the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music. Per Hill's wishes, he was subsequently replaced by their longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis on bass.
Since its inception, ZZ Top has released 15 studio albums and sold an estimated 50 million albums worldwide. They have won three MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2004, the members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Gibbons the 32nd greatest guitarist of all time, and in addition to being world-class musicians, the band members have served as successful ambassadors, supporting campaigns and charities including Childline, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and a fundraiser for the Delta Blues Museum.
ZZ Top's “Raw Whiskey Tour” lands in Davenport on April 11, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert event is $39.50-159.50, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting AdlerTheatre.com.
