Furry guitars, hot rods and music industry tales in Billy Gibbons ’ Rock + Roll Gearhead
The book sees an expanded release, matching ZZ Top’s 50th anniversary this year.
Photo: Harmony Gerber / Getty Images
An expanded edition of Billy Gibbons’ Rock + Roll Gearhead, celebrating ZZ Top’s 50th anniversary, is set to launch on 2 June. The book documents Gibbons’ eclectic collection of vintage instruments and hot rods, and tales from the guitarist’s long career in music.
Over 60 instruments will be featured in the compendium, including Gibbons’ ’59 ‘Pearly Gates’ Les Paul, his custom Nacho Guitars Telecaster and of course – the Furry Gibson Explorer made famous in ZZ Top’s music videos.
Apart from stage instruments, the book also collects some of the more historic guitar specimens in Gibbons’ collection, including a National Resonator and Dixie Ukulele, both from 1929; and a 1939 Rickenbacker “Frying Pan” guitar.
Rock + Roll Gearhead also puts the spotlight on another great passion in Gibbons’ other life: cars. An avid hot rod customiser with an “unrepentant love for internal combustion”, Gibbons will expound upon 15 notable vehicles in his garage, including his Quintana ’50 Ford Custom, a ’51 Willys Wagon and the “Whiskey Runner” ’34 Ford Coupe.
From his personal archive, Gibbons also shares photographs and memorabilia as part of a retrospective dive taken into Gibbons’ long music career. Rock + Roll Gearhead will detail the musician’s pre-beard “teenage Houston garage rocker” days, up to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Learn more and check out a preview of Rock + Roll Gearhead at billygibbons.com
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