Rock and Roll music wouldn’t exist without the Blues and The Rolling Stones certainly wouldn’t have been the same without the mixture of those two genres that made them famous. Huge fans of American bluesmen, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and the other members of the band turned their inspirations into music and showed the United States what they could do with that sound. Over the decades, many other Blues Rock bands emerged, including the Texan power trio ZZ Top. Keith Richards has always been a sincere person and has spoken about many of those groups, including the one originally formed by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard. What is Keith Richards' opinion on ZZ Top Keith Richards is a big fan of ZZ Top, once calling them "real down-home shit-kickers”. He had the opportunity to be the one who inducted the Texan band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. During the speech he said they were solid and they knew their Blues. "We are talking about consistency and longevity, believe me, I know all about it. Which means, who can do it good the longest, we all know about that ladies, right? I'm gonna talk to you why I am here, which is to bring in a bunch of great guys. Texas, for me, the heart of the matter to me is Rock and The Blues. We have to talk about the Blues here, because we can't leave it out." "Without it we are nowhere and these cats are steeped in the Blues and so am I. I steeped in several other things as well (laughs). (...) What I wanna say about the guys that I'm gonna bring on is (that they are) a solid band. This is the heartbeat of the whole country of the Rock and Roll. This is roots, these cats know they're Blues and they know how to dress it up." "When I first saw them, I thought 'I hope these guys are not on the run because that disguise is not gonna work man, you know (laughs). But obviously, they are still on the run and the frame held. It's really my honor and my joy to bring on ZZ Top!" Keith Richards said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). The Keith Richards and Rolling Stones songs compared to ZZ Top's sound Curiously, two songs of Keith's and The Stones' career were compared to ZZ Top's sound. The first one in "999", which was featured on the guitarists' solo album "Main Offender", released in 1992. He was asked about that by Rolling Stone and he said: "I can hear that comparison, yeah, very much. But to me '999' was just about the cost of everything, you know?" "You Got Me Rocking", from Rolling Stones' 1994 album "Voodoo Lounge" was also compared to the style of the Texan power trio. Talking with Guitar World magazine when the record was being promoted, Richards said that it was possible that it was influenced by ZZ Top. "There could be (an influence). I haven't heard ZZ Top for a long time. Apart from the fact that we both play rock and roll, the comparison wouldn't occur to me. But you never know." "We all cross over. I know that to me the rhythm has a bit of Motown, like 'Goin' to a Go-Go,' (Smokey Robinson And The Miracles) a little funky. I was looking for a swampy rhythm, something punchy. Wrote the thing on piano and then transferred it over to guitar," Keith Richards said. ZZ Top was The Rolling Stones' opening act several times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg9cNGHl-bg&list=RDGg9cNGHl-bg&start_radio=1&pp=ygUVenogdG9wIHJvbGxpbmcgc3RvbmVzoAcB Curiously, ZZ Top was The Rolling Stones opening act many times over the decades. The first time they had the chance to open for the British band was in 1973. One of the shows happened in Hawaii and Billy Gibbons recalled the details in an interview with Classic Rock in 2025. "The Stones had accepted an offer to make an appearance in Hawaii in 1972. It was three shows: a Friday night, a Saturday afternoon matinee and a Saturday evening. When the announcement was made it seemed that every band on the planet was vying to land the opening slot. Even today The Rolling Stones are ‘it’ as far as most bands are concerned. Somehow we got the call to take those three dates in Hawaii." "I remember walking out on stage in our standard attire of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. Which was something of a mystery to people back then. Someone in the front row shouted out: “Oh my God, they’re a country band!” Obviously that wasn’t particularly fashionable at the time. So we realised we had to get stuck in straight from the get-go to shake off this misleading image." He continued: "But we got along famously with the Stones and managed to hang out with them for a few extra days. We were just hanging out on the beach and sipping cool libations. Keith was totally living the rock’n’roll lifestyle at the time. But what a lot of people don’t know or realize is Keith’s unending devotion and calling to being what is true as a musician. That was very apparent then, although I have to say he was certainly a lot more colourful when it came to the extra-curricular stuff," Billy Gibbons said. They also opened for them in 1981, during their United States tour and then in 2003 on selected dates in Europe.
