How ZZ Top conquered MTV in 1983 to become the unlikeliest music video stars

Rolling Stone

The recent death of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill at age 72 has prompted Rolling Stone to look back at how the band became pop-culture icons with three music videos released in 1983. "The world is mourning today for the late, great Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, who died Tuesday," says Rob Sheffield. "He was a beer drinker, hell-raiser, sharp-dressed broom duster, and bassist in the same trio for more than 50 years. But Dusty was more than just a legendary bluesman — he and ZZ Top helped define music videos in the early Eighties, conquering MTV with their Eliminator Trilogy. The little ol’ band from Tejas, the most proudly unfashionable rockers around, became MTV’s unlikeliest superstars ever. And they did it without cleaning up their look: beards, hats, cheap sunglasses. As Billy Gibbons said, shrugging, 'Dusty and I don’t fit too well with Giorgio Armani.' ZZ Top had a long career before MTV even existed. (The channel turns 40 this Sunday.) But they changed everything about their story with their synth-y reinvention on Eliminator and the classic video trilogy of 'Gimme All Your Lovin’,' 'Sharp Dressed Man,' and 'Legs,' made with director Tim Newman. Against all odds, the weird beards turned out to be the old-school rockers who best adapted to the Eighties music-video revolution. ZZ Top reveled in the humor and ridiculousness of it all, busting their synchronized dance moves and spinning their white-fur guitars. These guys always got the joke, at a time when other bands were still just nervously lip-syncing in front of brick walls."