LaGrange Origination

The Big Interview Sneak Peek - Billy Gibbons, the ZZ Top front-man discusses his hit song "La Grange" with Dan Rather.

[@dallasharris8966]

This guy has got to be the most humble , kind and coolest cats still around ! I have always been a fan, and now I really know why . Keep on rocking Billy Gibbons !!! 💯🇺🇸

[@chrishagreen3988]

Met him twice 5yrs apart. He remembered me!! Really nice guy.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

He has stuck to his "sauzage" theology.

[@darrelljourdan3687]

I was a night manager at a 4 star hotel in Austin, back in the day. Billy was the first celebrity to stay at our hotel and he was a frequent guest.... often enough that we were on a first name basis. He is genuinely a nice man.... humble, down-to-earth, real guy. I recall one night where the group Heart was staying at our hotel and fans were all over the lobby trying to see them.. I'm sure he wouldn't know me from Adam today, but he left a lasting impression on me. Great guy.

[@TuberOnTheLoose]

I saw ZZ Top three times back in the '70s. At one of their shows Billy Gibbons asked from the stage "what song is it you want to hear?" I yelled back "Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers," but every other living soul in the venue yelled "La Grange." I thought to myself "oh, yeah. That one's good too."

[@cousineddie7898]

Billy's such a class act. Never angry, no profanity...can't beat that.

[@wandajames143]

Mm but he sure know metaphors in songs! Tube snake Pearl necklaces

[@revwillyg6450]

@@wandajames143old bands were better at saying it without saying it. Lol. Why my mom never confiscated my Kiss and AC/DC records I guess🤷‍♂️

[@michaelcruz8312]

We all love Reverend Billy G, but no anger and profanity just means that ZZ have never really been put through the hardships of real life, because if that were the case, you would be able to tell. They have just been a well-oiled and reliable engine and road companion for decades.

[@ahvavee]

Hearing the first notes of la grange at la grange just gave me goosebumps! ZZ Top is the best!

[@IronStormtrooper]

same pal

[@Stevo_Drums]

Billy F. Gibbons is just the coolest

[@oychoppa]

Billy and ZZ Top are Texas treasures never to be duplicated.

[@patriot5526]

I had the opportunity to see ZZ Top along with Deep Purple, Alvin Lee, and others that I can’t recall, in Nuremberg Germany back in the early 80’s. At the time, Alvin Lee and Ten Years After were absolutely huge in Europe but ZZ Top blew them away.

[@gfd215]

I met Billy Gibbons 2017 in the Europapark.He came to me and said:"A nice beard" .So my beard was happy about this compliment of this lucky man...we made fotos..

[@ZootSuitCooter]

I was there, Fayette County Fair, what a night. I just live 20 miles from La Grange so that made it even cooler. RIP, Dusty, you will be deeply missed.

[@Sleepy-xy8fq]

It was a good show, to bad there were issues with the volume that night. Leaving the grounds was also a bit of a challenge, but it was still a great time.

[@ZootSuitCooter]

@@Sleepy-xy8fq Yeah, parking was sketchy with the busses, took us 2 hours to get back to the square. Interesting bit of trivia, there were more people at the concert than the entire population of Fayette County. LOL

[@lmcdermott96]

I met him last week and am embarrassed to say I didn’t recognize him at first just cause I didn’t wanna assume any older dude with a long beard was in ZZ Top and be wrong 😬 incredibly nice guy! One of the best and most egg on my face moments I’ve had in a while

[@GreenGator94]

Lol!

[@djquinn11]

Uh huh. Sure.

[@jerrydoubleday8619]

It was always a given If they were playing in my area I was at the show. I'm glad that I did! Some of the best shows and times in my young life! Thanx! To those three little ole boys from Texas! RIP Dusty Hill.

[@RoadCaptainEntertain]

On September 1, 1974, Texas rock band ZZ Top headlined a music festival at the University of Texas' Memorial Stadium in Austin. I was there and remember sitting in the Texas sun in that stadium and it was hot as hell....we left and walked west thru the UT campus to some burger joint on Guadalupe Street for cold sodas then went back for the rest of the concert. That was forty nine years ago.

[@ErikLehnhoff]

ZZ Top’s 1st Annual Barn Dance and BBQ. 80k in attendance. Bad Company(Jimmy Page played on encore) Joe Cocker Santana ZZ Top

[@allanerickson5053]

I was there... and yes it was HOT as hot can get (drove up from Del Rio). Not enough water for that massive crowd. I was also there at "that shack outside LaGrange" back in 1971 - drove from Bergstrom AFB. And yes, there were a lot of nice girls there. I didn't see any chickens tho'

[@DannyBrooks1]

Billy Gibbons- the reason I started playing guitar. Love this guy! I hope to meet him someday.😊

[@lucan369]

Never over plays and tone for days

[@georgehuerta1990]

I’m a born and raise Texas boy and I seen this band probably when I was 12 years old and have been a fan ever cents. I hope they go back Lagrange and play again I will definitely make my way there

[@dougms9790]

We saw them at Fiddlers Green in Denver, yeah that many years ago and La grange is STILL the coolest song in the world.

[@termsofusepolice]

Wow... For all these years I always thought this song was a wholesome, old-fashioned tribute to the farmer's movement the Grange. Always imagined a bunch of old guys going to the Grange to have a beer and talk about crop prices. 😀

[@vinyllpreviews9462]

I guess you didn't know what he was talking about.

[@Old-dog-jams]

It was called the chicken ranch. Dolly Parton made a movie about it. The best little whore house in Texas.

[@mikentx57]

Glad ZZ Top was able to help you and others learn about some of our rich culture here in Tejas.

[@neilreid2298]

Saw them live twice. Never saw a better show. Absolutely incredible- the music, lighting, sets, the band. COW Palace in the 80's.

[@missymouse9754]

Say what you want, this Texan still has his polite speaking voice, his manners and his accent. The training growing up in the South lasts a lifetime. Great to see, Billy

[@lucasmamidon]

I was working in La Grange at the time and it was insane.... They had to shuttle people to the fair

[@1allspub]

BFG just might be the coolest cat since Elvis. :)

[@eyellgeteven9928]

Sorry, but in my book he even out-cools Elvis.

[@1allspub]

@@eyellgeteven9928 😯

[@ahthisisgood]

What a gentle soul. Could listen to his stories for hours.

[@williamweiss6128]

Billy, genuine human. Original cool dude.

[@1populist]

I met Billy at the grocery store in suburban Minneapolis and he was the nicest most normal guy I could ever hope to meet.

[@theressamurphy2996]

He went to Lagrange, Tx to play "Lagrange"...how 😎😎😎😎

[@fw1421]

I’ve been a fan of ZZ Top since the early 70’s and LaGrange is still one of my favorites. Billy is definitely one of the coolest guys out there. Hell I loved him appearing on the TV show “Bones”,and such a cool character too! Angela’s father was the guy that always kept Hodgson guessing.

[@misplacedcajun2325]

There is a LaGrange about 50 miles south of me (not in Texas). My brother moved there once and anytime that anyone we knew mentioned him being in LaGrange, we all sung about that shack outside LaGrange. True story.

[@Mademoiselle_Co_]

I love this, he's beautiful! God bless Billy Gibbons & ZZ Top.

[@samfrito]

Billy should have made Dan Rather do shots of whiskey before every question instead of just at the end.

[@valerieellison2483]

When my husband and I took a trip to Texas, I told him we had to go to LaGrange.

[@norachamberlain5187]

Billy is awesome.

[@kyleetie5608]

Wow! What a reception! ⭐️

[@tomahawktom7595]

I was there that night in Lagrange and it was awesome

[@jimswordsnchords1759]

Great story from a great musician.

[@StratBurst92]

Always been my favorite.

[@arthurmurfitt7698]

Billy Gibbons the ever pleasant diplomat...

[@Johngonefishin]

Exactly, I met him 20 years ago and he has great people skills, I asked him lots of questions and he would wax on and not really answer much, but when he was done you felt really good about what he had just told you......

[@lessevdoolbretsim]

I met Billy at Molly's La Casita in Memphis in about 1984 on Madison Ave. Right next door to Ardent studio.

[@Vincent-fo7xp]

The pinched harmonics on that goddamn solo are legendary..

[@Tdub0911]

Surprised it was only 35,000.

[@CorePathway]

So I’m in the army, FT Riley, circa 1986. My company is in monthly formation one Friday morning. The guy who just got off overnite duty went to his barracks room and fucking CRANKED La Grange. His window just so happened to be open. A-haw haw. Top lost his shit and screamed at someone to tell him to turn it off. La Grange always takes be back to that moment.

[@bigpapi2658]

Holy crap!!! He has EYES!!!

[@PlanktoniusRex]

🙄🙄🙄

[@GreenGator94]

I actually first saw his eyes in person back in the 90's. I had never noticed anyone's EYES before, but his were absolutely gorgeous.

[@hwanhee6896]

😃

[@Rocknranchman]

ZZ Top is a part of Texas and always will be! RIP Dusty Hill 🙏

[@Walter-dj3ip]

Thank you Rev😎👍

[@johnbehneman1546]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I LOVE MY ROCK AND ROLL AND HOT ROD FAMILY!!!! SO MUCH FUN!!! I LOVE MY TEXAS FAMILY AS WELL. GREAT VIDEO AND THANKS FOR SHARING!!!

[@paulpatton5093]

Wish I’d have made that show, bet it was Epic !

[@AmericanFlyOnTheWall]

1970s. 1980s. La Grange, TX. Society Hill, SC. The Shack. The Trucker’s Motel. Any of you guys been to both?

[@GreenGator94]

Is there ANYWHERE you can see the entire show? Dan Rather has lots of great interviews but I don't get the channel and miss them. Being as ZZ is my favorite band, I'd really like to see all of it.

[@sideswiped6874]

Billy; he's cool and smooth.

[@maureencora1]

Great Song, Feel the Music.

[@mckcpaul1]

The man has been cooking for 50 years now, just a guitar, base and drums, amazing what real music sounds like, nowadays, they can't make music without autotune, lip syncing and pre recorded sound from different instruments, let's no forget putting vinyl on a turntable and running it backwards, that takes a lot of talent, lmao!

[@simoneric8183]

Yes it's after having listened to Billy that I dropped multiple chained pedal effects and just kept my guitar and my amp.

[@jonginder5494]

This was the first rock n roll song that made me uncontrollably move.

[@AuditingTexas]

I don't live far from La Grange, I went and saw them when they came to La Grange.

[@daniart8182]

great interview! Billy Gibbons and Dan Rather

[@williamrichardson2344]

ok if you went and did this for LaGrange come to Galveston Tx and play Down at the Balinese for us we love you guys here and we will miss Dusty God rest his soul ...but he said it his self the show must go on ...R.I.P.Dusty ...the Balinese Room is no longer there on the seawall ...but the memories are still here ...

[@dennymk6454]

main la grange riff is real close to a J L Hooker riff. the "how, how, how" lyric is Hooker too

[@rickkoleyahoocom]

John Lee Hooker is "real close" on lots of good music.

[@leemaples1806]

watch canned heat at woodstock. one song they do is that main riff.

[@TheVatonaught]

Glad someone else knows this ! I was hypnotized by the riff back in the 1950;s...

[@BlueLou974]

Réal close...

[@scottgoodman8993]

You will note that rock and roll is maximum R+B, pedal to the metal, blues fancified, as it were.

[@WaywardTexan]

..."I hear it's TIGHT most every night"....

[@andreasglumm]

I think Iwas 12 years old when the radio DJ played the new 45rpm-single from a band from Texas, zz top, a song called La grange or, how he said in french, very dark and ungemütlich,"La Grange'", he didnt really know..

[@joelewishenry7886]

Legend.

[@mrpentium]

I heard that after the notoriety of the song, they had to shut the "house" down. People were not happy bout that

[@BamBam_PDX]

Billy Gibbons shaved my friend’s beard after a soundcheck at a show.

[@shahenohanjanyan3545]

I like this interview (not the fragment bat like while Big Interview) so much

[@revwillyg6450]

Such a cool guy. A class act

[@jbusta8548]

Class!

[@Johngonefishin]

Ah-how-how-how ............... Billy got that from John Lee Hooker

[@Challender]

G We Thank you!

[@jonnyrox116]

Surprised he didn't mention the most infamous establishment in La Grange, none other than the Chicken Ranch!

[@MaverickOrtaeo1]

That's technically what he was talking about without actually mentioning it

[@jonnyrox116]

@Stephen Beck-von-Peccoz I didn't hear either of them mention it specifically

[@goatuscrow4135]

It’s cool that ZZ has a top singer.

[@tvs3497]

Well, damn, I thought he was talking about La Grange, Georgia.

[@bikersoncall]

ha ha... so cool, you're going to love the end of this clip.. 😎😎😂😅😀

[@donaldlococo954]

Every time I drove from Houston to Austin, I had to stop in La Grange at the MacDonalds to pee. Never bought a thing.

[@jonathanholbrook6300]

Best song by ZZ- Girl in a tshirt

[@danlamay7035]

There's boys being boys, then there's Texas Boys.🍻

[@m444ss]

musical genius

[@tomlehr861]

Very intelligent,we do lagrange in our band

[@Torpedomtb]

LaGrange also exist in North Carolina

[@Cancun771]

He strangely reminds me of my late Godmother. Her cooking was about as good as his guitar playing.

[@aarfeld]

What, Billy, no mention of Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips"? That's what the riff is really based upon.

[@aarfeld]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHnFmKuMp9Nqqsk

[@aarfeld]

^ Check it out.

[@Dirtboxhor]

There’s also a LaGrange Kentucky. Not much there but a prison.

[@ACDZ123]

I'm a born and bred Australian tru blu...but I identify as a Texan yee haw 🇦🇺🇺🇲

[@Carstensenson]

someone please tell me about Billys hat..

[@glenchapman3899]

Its called a Nadu - Billy was gifted it after swapping his old trade mark Stenson with a tribal leader in Cameroon

[@ogopogo1352]

RIP

[@brucemorton7787]

RIP Dusty

[@Ariesmount]

Great song. Great guy. Great band. It’s a shame nothing was mentioned about how much was stolen from the Rolling Stones’ Shake Your Hips, released just a few years earlier.

[@Bikewithlove]

Nope - it’s an old blues style riff called ‘hill country blues,’ which has its roots in African music - long before the earliest American blues artists. Music styles aren’t taboo to copy. It’s like the waltz - Rush didn’t ‘steal’ from Strauss when they wrote La Villa Strangiato - they just played a waltz. Same here - ZZ Top played a basic, garden-variety hill country blues riff, just like the Stones did - and many others. It’s called ‘style.’

[@Ariesmount]

@@Bikewithlove You obviously haven’t heard the Stones song which I refer to. Theft.

[@Bikewithlove]

@@Ariesmount - Oh - I thought for a second you weren’t an idiot.

[@billjordan3639]

Slim Harpo

[@Queso_YT7]

❤

[@funnyharleyman]

Lordy, I'd love to sit and chat and do a shot of tequila with this guy!

[@mr.smithgnrsmith7808]

Have gotten extremely stoned several times with Mr.Gibbons….my pops is buddies with his guitar tech and when they come around Maryland we always eat crabs and smoke some weed…Billy is even cooler in person

[@renafielding945]

La Grange was next county over from Brenham. The Chicken Ranch.

[@steelers6titles]

And the tin to get yourself there.

[@garricksands844]

But where did the Riff come from? Let's not talk about that.

[@metrichotrods1763]

...that Texas town

[@rhutch3277]

Rumor has it that drummer Frank Beard did NOT play drums on the track "La Grange". Anyone have any thoughts?

[@johnmonroe7378]

Rick's Music Videos There's a fella on here from Memphis, who said "Rube" was " not studio reliable". I was stunned, because Frank Beard is a world class percussionist of the highest order. He may work at Ardent.

[@mattwood2872]

Interesting. I've seen and heard it live many times and it never swung like it did on record

[@carywest9256]

That is about in the same vein as saying Crockett surrendered to the Mexicans at the Alamo!!! I am from Harris county,Texas also like Rev. Billy F.Gibbons. Dusty is born and raised in Dallas,Texas. Frank was born in Frankston,Texas.That is in Anderson country-East Texas, but raised in Irving.

[@masterofdrones7287]

I would jump in here and suggest that you are confusing "La Grange" with "Eliminator'-era ZZ. Neither Frank nor Dusty play a single note on the Eliminator album. It is ALL Drum machines and sampled synth Basses. It was a Billy Gibbons solo record that the Warner insisted was the new ZZ product. Frank almost left when he was told that it was the new album. But then the $$$$ would have proved VERY persuasive. ZZ never sounded the same when they started using clicks and samples. Frank Beard was/is an AWESOME and underrated Drummer. Unique Grooves. And who could forget when Billy removed the original drums from the 70s records and replaced them with samples? They were all you could buy on CD for 10+ years.

[@rhutch3277]

@@masterofdrones7287 I assure you I am not confusing "La Grange" from the Tres Hombres Lp with ANYTHING from Eliminator. I have read about this in several different places. Whether or not it is true is quite another thing. Which is why I posed the question.

[@paulsmodels]

Great song for sure but going to those concerts are crazy. I'd rather hear the music and the song than thousands of sreaming people in the audience.

[@Bolt_theG35]

RIP Dusty Hill

[@maxpuppy96]

Billy is a Diva of rock and roll

[@eyellgeteven9928]

Billy is NOT a "diva".

[@tomcooper6108]

LA Grange was lifted directly from Canned Heat's 'Refried Boogie' released in '68, which was lifted from John Lee Hooker's 'Boogie Chillin' which was released in '48. Nothing original about La Grange.

[@buttneked3963]

Hey kids, the Cat in the shami cap is Cool. Play guitar like this guy and you’re automatically cool. All the girls love the cool dude.

[@jimgsewell]

You won't even need to dress sharp

[@tidepoolbay]

Dan Rather is a DUD.

[@mgallegos4708]

lol TRUE

[@6ps_strength]

That can’t be Billy, you can see his eyes

[@Brewnoe]

course of corse

[@tedkay_music]

nice!