The Rock & Roll High School podcast, hosted by two-time Grammy Award-winning producer & music executive Pete Ganbarg, continues its anticipated fourth season with an episode featuring rock legend Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. One of the most iconic guitarists and vocalists in rock history, Gibbons has been at the helm of ZZ Top for over five decades, blending blues and rock into an unmistakable sound. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, with none other than Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones doing the honors.
In this episode, Gibbons recounts stories from his legendary career, from the formation of ZZ Top to their rise as global rock superstars. He reflects on his father’s career in music, his first guitar and band, discovering the music of Jimmy Reed (who he would later induct into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and opening for and befriending Jimi Hendrix. Gibbons also dives into the band’s iconic look, and shares some fun anecdotes, including Billy Bob Thornton’s time in a ZZ Top tribute band called Tres Hombres (and yes, there were five of them in the band). He opens up about his collaboration with Rick Rubin, who pushed ZZ Top to create new sounds and discusses the distinctive sound that made ZZ Top a household name.
Quote from Pete Ganbarg: “I love Billy Gibbons. We worked and traveled together for around a year in 2006-2007 and his guitar chops and knowledge of music are rivaled only by his charm and personality. Very happy to reunite with him for this episode of Rock & Roll High School.”
The new season of Rock & Roll High School continues to showcase intimate, first-hand stories from the legends who shaped contemporary music. Following the season premiere with Chaka Khan and today’s episode featuring Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, upcoming guests will include Tony Orlando, John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful), Curt Smith (Tears For Fears), Chris Difford (Squeeze), Al Stewart, Gerry Beckley (America), Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive/The Guess Who), and many more.
About Pete Ganbarg
Pete Ganbarg is a 2X Grammy Award winning record producer and A&R executive who is currently President of Pure Tone Music. Most recently President of A&R for Atlantic Records, Pete has spent the past 35 years as a senior A&R executive for major label groups, including Arista, Epic, and SBK/EMI. Some of the artists that Pete has worked with in his career include Santana (the 9X Grammy winning album “Supernatural”), Lin-Manuel Miranda (the Diamond certified “Hamilton” cast album), as well as contemporary stars (Twenty One Pilots, Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez), all time classic artists (Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, America) and hit Broadway cast recordings and film soundtracks (Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls, The Greatest Showman).
Pete’s two GRAMMY Awards come from his role as producer on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen and the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Jagged Little Pill. Additionally, he was named International Music Person Of The Year for 2023 by the music industry organization MUSEXPO and currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
As a music publisher, Ganbarg operates Songs With A Pure Tone and Margetts Road Music, joint ventures currently in partnership with Warner Chappell Music. Songs published by Pure Tone include 2024's Grammy winning Record of the Year, "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus as well as hits by Benson Boone, Charli XCX, Beyoncé, Lizzo, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, OneRepublic, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Andy Grammer and more.
New episodes launch every other Thursday and are available to stream everywhere at https://lnk.to/rrhspodcast or https://www.rockschoolpodcast.com/
