Billy F. Gibbons was born in Houston, Texas in 1949.
As a youngster, he picked up an electric guitar — a Gibson Melody Maker — for the first time after his 13th birthday.
By his mid-to-late teens, music had become everything to him. He was inspired by blues and rock, and he started playing in small bands.
The birth of The Moving Sidewalks — first real band
In the mid-1960s, Gibbons founded The Moving Sidewalks, a psychedelic-blues rock band based in Houston.
They released a few singles and in 1968 released their album Flash. Their song “99th Floor” became a local hit in Houston, helping them build a following.
A bold move: opening for Jimi Hendrix in 1968
In February 1968, The Moving Sidewalks got a massive opportunity: they opened for the first U.S. tour of the legendary Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Because they didn’t have enough original songs to fill the required set time, the band took a risk — they covered two Hendrix songs: “Foxy Lady” and “Purple Haze”.
Imagine playing “Purple Haze” in front of Hendrix himself. According to Gibbons, during that performance he glanced sideways — and there was Hendrix, arms folded, smiling in the shadows. Afterwards, Hendrix walked up and told him — “I like you. You’ve got a lot of nerve.”
What the experience meant — friendship, learning and respect
That night changed everything. Hendrix didn’t treat The Moving Sidewalks like a typical opening act — he treated them as peers. The tour turned into something like a mentorship.
Hendrix even gifted Gibbons a pink Fender Stratocaster guitar — a meaningful token that carried with it not just a guitar, but respect and inspiration.
Gibbons learned a lot from Hendrix, not just about songs — about tone, stage presence, courage to push boundaries, and expressing music in new, creative ways.
The next step — forming ZZ Top
Although The Moving Sidewalks didn’t become internationally huge, the experience gave Gibbons confidence and vision. In late 1969, he teamed up with two other musicians — bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard — to form ZZ Top.
With ZZ Top, Gibbons carried forward that mix of blues roots + rock grit + stage swagger — and started building a legacy that would last decades.
Why this story matters — guts, timing, and seizing opportunity
Billy Gibbons’ early career shows how sometimes big breaks come not by playing it safe — but by taking bold risks. He was young, relatively unknown, and yet he walked onstage and played Hendrix’s songs in front of Hendrix himself. And that moment of nerve turned into respect, friendship, and a stepping stone to something bigger.
From a teenager strumming a Gibson in Houston, to playing alongside music legends — Gibbons’ story teaches that talent, guts, and a little luck can change everything.