Billy Gibbons Always Wanted To Be The One To Write 2 Classic Songs

Billy Gibbons Always Wanted To Be The One To Write 2 Classic Songs | I Love Classic Rock Videos

Billy Gibbons of US rock band ZZ Top performs on stage during a concert in the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on June 24, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ANP / FERDY DAMMAN --NETHERLANDS OUT-- (Photo credit should read Ferdy Damman/AFP/Getty Images)

It’s not surprising to find that most musicians hope to one day pen their own songs so they may reveal their innermost ideas and feelings to the world. It’s also more exciting for most artists to come up with their own material rather than cover existing tunes. Developing a song’s lyrics, melody, rhythm, and tone are only a few of its numerous components. Bill Gibbons of ZZ Top is one such famous person, as he wrote many of the band’s great songs.

While ZZ Top has often handled songwriting as a group, Gibbons has been instrumental in contributing songs that draw from his own life. Despite his success with songs like “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs,” and “Tush,” the guitarist told Maxim in a 2017 interview that he still wishes he had composed more tunes.

When asked whether there was a certain song/s he wishes he had written, Billy Gibbons said, “Good question.” However, the seasoned rocker instead listed two songs that were particularly influential due to their nuanced composition. He added, “I can’t choose between Muddy Waters’ ‘Mannish Boy’ and Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady.’”

Blues fans everywhere know that Muddy Waters’ 1955 recording of “Mannish Boy” is a classic. It’s a cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man” and a “response song” to him. Moreover, Hendrix and his band The Jimi Hendrix Experience released a tune called “Foxy Lady” (sometimes spelled “Foxey Lady”). It is one of Hendrix’s most well-known songs, having made its debut on their debut album Are You Experienced in 1967 and being played regularly at performances.

It’s no wonder that Billy Gibbons, a self-proclaimed classic rock aficionado, would wish to pen a song as significant as those performed by Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, two of the most influential rockstars in the history of classic rock.