Billy Gibbons is a highly celebrated guitarist, songwriter, actor, and beard enthusiast, who’s best known for his work with blues-infused rock-‘n-rollers ZZ Top. Born in Houston, Texas, Billy’s father was a concert pianist and orchestra conductor, who encouraged his son’s musical aspirations. Billy got his first guitar at the age of 13, and by 18, he had accumulated a good amount of experience playing with a variety of bands, while also striking a friendship with the legendary Jimi Hendrix.

Billy really got his career rolling back in the ‘60s with the psychedelic blues band The Moving Sidewalks, which recorded the album Flash in 1968 and opened for the Jimi Hendrix Experience on numerous occasions. In 1969, Gibbons launched ZZ Top, and went on to record such memorable hits as “Le Grange” (off Tres Hombres, 1973), “Tush” (off Fandango, 1975), “Cheap Sunglasses” (off Deguello, 1979), and “Gimme All Your Lovin” (off Eliminator, 1983).

Gibbons is also an incurable hot rod fanatic, as evidenced by the cornucopia of custom machinery that graces several ZZ Top album covers and videos. His car collection is extensive, and includes such personalized beauties as a 1950 Ford Business Coupe, a 1958 Ford Thunderbird, a 1933 Ford Coupe dubbed the Eliminator, a 1962 Chevrolet Impala affectionately called the Slampala, and the incredible CadZZilla, a 1949 Cadillac Series 62 built by the late Boyd Leon Coddington.

Without a doubt, Gibbons is a true-blue car lover, and we here at TopSpeed would like to wish him plenty of chopped tops and shiny chrome.

Happy Birthday, Billy!

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