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ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

The story of how three oddball teenage bluesmen became one of the biggest, most beloved bands on the planet.

Director

Sam Dunn

Year

Genre

documentary, biography, music

Box Office

$14,879

Production

N/A

Awards

1 nomination

Cast information not available.

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Explore 490 Clips

So, I have Elvis things
all over the house and all over, you know? - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, I have Elvis things all over the house and all over, you...

I used to carry so much on the road that
I started getting a separate dressing room - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I used to carry so much on the road that I started getting a...

So, when I was a kid,
my mother was a waitress - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, when I was a kid, my mother was a waitress

He was not that well known
outside of Memphis at that time. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

He was not that well known outside of Memphis at that time.

She brought it back with her when we moved
back to Dallas and I used to sing to it. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

She brought it back with her when we moved back to Dallas an...

My brother Rocky,
two and a half years older, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

My brother Rocky, two and a half years older,

So, we were singing. The guitar player
was playing a guitar lead. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, we were singing. The guitar player was playing a guitar ...

I leaned into my mother.
I said: "What is that?" - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I leaned into my mother. I said: "What is that?"

But I can remember walking down the street
where I lived, in Dallas, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

But I can remember walking down the street where I lived, in...

And I didn't want to hear
what was going on, so, I would sing. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And I didn't want to hear what was going on, so, I woul...

But you had to know how to work
your way around the neighborhood. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

But you had to know how to work your way around the neighbor...

So, you don't walk around
singing or dancing. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, you don't walk around singing or dancing.

And, uh, playing in a rock band
gives you instant cred. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And, uh, playing in a rock band gives you instant cred.

♪ If you really want me to stay ♪ - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

♪ If you really want me to stay ♪

♪ You'd better make some changes today ♪ - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

♪ You'd better make some changes today ♪

We were still playing this one beer joint
and my brother played guitar and I sang. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

We were still playing this one beer joint and my brother pla...

You know... we decided we need a bass.
This is stupid. I went: "Okay, well..." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

You know... we decided we need a bass. This is stupid. I wen...

This is about '64,
so, I guess I was about 15. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

This is about '64, so, I guess I was about 15.

The girl was actually from England.
She'd married a soldier. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

The girl was actually from England. She'd married a sol...

And in '64 in Dallas, if you had
someone from England in your band, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And in '64 in Dallas, if you had someone from England i...

But this was a club, the Disc a Gogo,
and we were the entertainment, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

But this was a club, the Disc a Gogo, and we were the entert...

So, my brother came up to me
and pointed at Frank, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, my brother came up to me and pointed at Frank,

He went:
"He's going to be our new drummer." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

He went: "He's going to be our new drummer."

[Frank Beard] I was 15
and had a high school band, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[Frank Beard] I was 15 and had a high school band,

And finally, we got a job
playing at the Cellar club - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And finally, we got a job playing at the Cellar club

And we were going to play
from eight till 12 - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And we were going to play from eight till 12

And, so, we went out and we played
and when we were through, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And, so, we went out and we played and when we were through,

♪ In a few more days
We'll be on our way ♪ - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

♪ In a few more days We'll be on our way ♪

My God, these guys are, you know,
right one step below the Beatles. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

My God, these guys are, you know, right one step below the B...

I mean, they were just, uh...
I only owned white socks at the time. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I mean, they were just, uh... I only owned white socks at th...

Anyway, I watched The Warlocks that night,
came back for the Saturday night show - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

Anyway, I watched The Warlocks that night, came back for the...

So, that's when I met Dusty. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, that's when I met Dusty.

[music continues] - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[music continues]

I enjoyed playing with Frank
the second we hit a note. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I enjoyed playing with Frank the second we hit a note.

[Frank] And when we played together,
and we had a way of interacting - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[Frank] And when we played together, and we had a way of int...

And him and I, we locked so in on that
and that was a great step forward for us. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And him and I, we locked so in on that and that was a great ...

When Frank joined the band,
all this music was going on. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

When Frank joined the band, all this music was going on.

And now there's a lot of bands
circulating, so, a lot of competition. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And now there's a lot of bands circulating, so, a lot o...

People started to get long hair, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

People started to get long hair,

Let's dye it blue
and call ourselves American Blues." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

Let's dye it blue and call ourselves American Blues.&qu...

I think people thought I was nuts. Anyway,
the American Blues lasted quite a while - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I think people thought I was nuts. Anyway, the American Blue...

And I thought:
"Well, I can't just keep just doing this. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And I thought: "Well, I can't just keep just doing...

I'm just going round and round and round." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I'm just going round and round and round."

So, I'm married and got a baby
and living at my parents' house. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, I'm married and got a baby and living at my parents...

And I was selling a little pot, too,
you know, to make ends meet. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And I was selling a little pot, too, you know, to make ends ...

I packed up my drums and my wife
and my baby and left home. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I packed up my drums and my wife and my baby and left home.

And it was a... Norman Rockwell scene.
I mean, Mum's crying. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And it was a... Norman Rockwell scene. I mean, Mum's cr...

Dad's pissed off and I'm loading shit
in the car, you know. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

Dad's pissed off and I'm loading shit in the car, ...

I mean, it was... it was a sitcom. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I mean, it was... it was a sitcom.

[tires squeal] - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

They had an entirely different scene
in Houston than they did in Dallas. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

They had an entirely different scene in Houston than they di...

And, you know, one of the big bands
of Houston were Moving Sidewalks. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And, you know, one of the big bands of Houston were Moving S...

And, so, when we came down, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And, so, when we came down,

You know,
I'd also heard his song on the radio, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

You know, I'd also heard his song on the radio,

I mean, he tore up guitar strings.
He was... He was wonderful. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I mean, he tore up guitar strings. He was... He was wonderfu...

[music: "99th Floor"] - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[music: "99th Floor"]

♪ Come on, baby ♪ - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

♪ Come on, baby ♪

But, by the mid-60s, as the times
began to change, so did the music. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

But, by the mid-60s, as the times began to change, so did th...

And, all of a sudden,
there was a group that showed up - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And, all of a sudden, there was a group that showed up

♪ Oh, yeah ♪ - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

They had a message, they had a mission,
and it was runaway insane. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

They had a message, they had a mission, and it was runaway i...

[music: "You're Going to Miss Me"] - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[music: "You're Going to Miss Me"]

[surreal bubbling] - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[surreal bubbling]

And as our way
of acknowledging the impact, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And as our way of acknowledging the impact,

Elevators go up,
we should be the Moving Sidewalks - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

Elevators go up, we should be the Moving Sidewalks

♪ I woke up this morning ♪ - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

♪ I woke up this morning ♪

We got signed. We toured with
Eric Burdon and the Animals, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

We got signed. We toured with Eric Burdon and the Animals,

And we even landed some dates
with Jim Morrison and the Doors. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And we even landed some dates with Jim Morrison and the Door...

And there was this promoter
at the time, who said: - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And there was this promoter at the time, who said:

He's got this band,
The Jimi Hendrix Experience." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

He's got this band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience."

We played "Foxy Lady" and we were
going into the intro to "Purple Haze" - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

We played "Foxy Lady" and we were going into the i...

And we came offstage and he said: - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And we came offstage and he said:

[Billy] This was 1968 - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[Billy] This was 1968

So, having learned the power of the trio - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, having learned the power of the trio

So, then we decided to rename it. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, then we decided to rename it.

[music: "Salt Lick"] - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[music: "Salt Lick"]

And we'd noticed there was
this recurrence of a B.B. King, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And we'd noticed there was this recurrence of a B.B. Ki...

And we said:
"Yeah, let's take the Z.Z. from this end - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

And we said: "Yeah, let's take the Z.Z. from this ...

I said: "No, the King is at the top." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I said: "No, the King is at the top."

Shortly after, we cut a single,
but we needed a manager. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

Shortly after, we cut a single, but we needed a manager.

I remember playing a show
and Bill Ham showed up backstage - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

I remember playing a show and Bill Ham showed up backstage

He said: "This is my buddie Bill Ham." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

He said: "This is my buddie Bill Ham."

Would you guys have an interest
in considering talking about management?" - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

Would you guys have an interest in considering talking about...

He had several singles that became
quite popular way, way back. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

He had several singles that became quite popular way, way ba...

So, he knew music. He knew songwriting. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, he knew music. He knew songwriting.

This was not some guy
that was just good at sales. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

This was not some guy that was just good at sales.

So, we connected
and he seemed to believe in us. - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, we connected and he seemed to believe in us.

So, we said: "Let's try." - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

So, we said: "Let's try."

[Billy] So, ZZ Top
is up and running as an organ trio - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

[Billy] So, ZZ Top is up and running as an organ trio

But our fair organists
wound up auditioning to take the part, - ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas

But our fair organists wound up auditioning to take the part...

ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas poster

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The story of how three oddball teenage bluesmen became one of the biggest, most beloved bands on the planet.

User Rating: 0.0 (0 ratings)

Director: Sam Dunn

Writer: Ralph Chapman, Sam Dunn

Production: N/A

Genre: documentary, biography, music

Year: 2019

MetaScore: 64/100

ImdbRating: 7.5

BoxOffice: $14,879

Released: 04 Sep 2019

Awards: 1 nomination

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