The 2 Country singers that Billy Gibbons chose as the best of all time

Billy Gibbons started his musical career in 1967, joining The Moving Sidewalks, a band that had the chance to tour with Jimi Hendrix. Two years later, he formed the supergroup power trio ZZ Top alongside the bassist Dusty Hill and the drummer Frank Beard. Their line-up was the same for 51 years, until Hill’s death in 2022.

Gibbons is often listed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time and also as one of the most influential Blues Rock artists from the past decades. Although Blues and Rock are the kind of music he plays, he also likes other music genres, including Country music. He once even mentioned two players of that genre as some of the greatest singers of all time.

The 2 Country singers that Billy Gibbons chose as the best of all time

 Johnny Cash

The first one is Johnny Cash, who Gibbons placed in the position number 18 of the 19 best singers of all time list he did for Rolling Stone back in 2008. He was only in front of Bill Medley and behind artists like Paul Di’Anno (That’s right, the Iron Maiden singer), Robert Plant, Sammy Hagar and Sheryl Crow.

Curiously, Gibbons has been a fan of Johnny Cash since he was young, the first record he ever bought was by the Country musician. “Get Rhythm, by Johnny Cash, when I was five,” Billy Gibbons told Elmore Magazine. That single was first released as the b-side of  “I Walk The Line” in 1956.

A few decades later, in 1995, Gibbons had the chance to write a song for Cash called “I Witnessed a Crime”. During a Q&A session in 2017, he recalled how he first met Johnny face to face. “Johnny Cash and I met quite by a planned surprise arranged by our pal, producer Rick Rubin. Rick was in the process of producing one of his the great return to the studio albums. (He) asked if I would write a special song aimed directly with Johnny Cash in mind.”

“Johnny heard the song and immediately set about working up an arrangement which was on hand during our “surprise” encounter. The added bonus appeared when Johnny’s lovely and talented bride, June Carter Cash also made the showing to make for a warm and lively gathering resulting in an impromptu studio recording session delivering a memorable interpretation of the song created especially for Johnny. The entire affair remains a standout! Needless to say, a moment not soon forgotten. The song, “I Witnessed A Crime” sometimes appears on YouTube. Check it out…!”

Hank Williams

The other Country music artist that Billy Gibbons said was one of the best singers of all time was Hank Williams. He placed the musician in the position number 15 on the Rolling Stone list. He was in front of Johnny Cash and other artists like Howlin’ Wolf, James Brown, and Bill Medley.

Gibbons didn’t have the chance to meet Williams because the musician died in 1953 at the age of 29. But he is a good friend of his grandson Hank Williams III, who is also a musician. Talking about him in an interview with Classic Rock in 2022, the ZZ Top frontman

“He’s another talent. He’s frighteningly the ghost of his grandfather [Hank Williams]. Good grief. He sounds like his grandad and he’s a living example to back up the idea of genetics skipping a generation. His old man [Hank Williams Jr] is really quite different from his dad. But come around to the generation after and it returns right to his granddad.

He’s a great entertainer himself as well. He’s torn between keeping on the tradition and his real passion, which is grindcore to the end. That’s his true love. I was lucky enough to work with the New Orleans drummer Joe Fazzio, who holds down a spot with Hank and also played with Superjoint Ritual. He was telling me that they’d go out as a double bill, and Hank III would give his audience fair warning that the first half of the show would be to the delight of those who liked country music. Then he’d say: “We’re gonna take a small break now. Those who can’t take it better leave the building, cos we’re going to get real heavy.”