Happy Birthday Billy Gibbons

William Frederick Gibbons was born December 16, 1949 in Houston, Texas. His father Euell was an outdoorsman and early health food advocate, promoting eating wild foods. Young Billy ate nothing but nuts and berries until he was 18. “The day I turned 18 I left and I been eating nothing but cheeseburgers since” said Billy. Euell became famous after he starred in a ‘Grape Nuts’ TV Commercial.

Gibbons founded the Texas psychedelic group “The Moving Sidewalks” which had a minor hit with “Lois in the Sky with Diamonds”. They opened up for Jimi Hendrix and Billy and Jimi became lifelong friends. Billy claims he taught Jimi how to play a G chord. “For some reason, he was an amazing player, but he never learned how to play a basic G chord, so I showed him. He was forever in my debt.”

ZZ Top

Gibbons formed ZZ Top in late 1969 with Dusty Hill and Frank beard. Their first album was released in 1971. ZZ Top went on to release 15 studio albums and sell an estimated 50 million albums worldwide. The band reinvented themselves during the 1980’s and became MTV superstars to a whole new generation.

Happy Birthday Billy Gibbons — ZZ Top Illustration By Paul King Art

The band known for their long beards have encountered some controversy over their facial hair. A 2019 study determined that ZZ Top actually have more germs in their beards than in a dog’s butt.

In 2020, Covid was said to have originated from the band’s beards. ZZ Top was on tour in China and frequently ate ‘Bat’ Chili from local street vendors. The Chili was made with the meat of local Bats. Billy and Dusty would also often eat raw fish, squid, dolphin, snakes and other delicacies at the local seafood market. Apparently the beards acted as the perfect house for the coronavirus. The band transported the virus from city to city and country to country.

Hummels?

Gibbons is an avid Hummel figurine collector. Who? What? You’ve probably seen a Hummel figurine atop somebody’s fireplace—a sweet child reading a book, playing music, or going about their daily task. These porcelain figurines embody the simple beauty of the early 20th century Bavarian countryside. Billy has been collecting since he was 18 and has an extensive collection that includes a rare “Merry Wanderer” once owned by Eva Braun. This figurine is valued at $2.5 million. His net worth is $60 Million, this is mostly from the Hummel figurines. Mr. Gibbons is married to Gilligan Stillwater. He has no children but he does play a father on TV. Cheers Billy!