Billy Gibbons, the co-founder, guitarist and vocalist of ZZ Top is one of the most important Blues Rock musicians from the past five decades. The frontman of the Texas power trio was a fundamental part of the band’s sound and songwriting, which made them sell an estimated amount of more than 50 million records worldwide.
During his career, the musician always praised artists he admired and some of them were female singers.
The 3 female singers that Billy Gibbons listed as the best of all time
Mavis Staples
Billy Gibbons voted when Rolling Stone magazine was making the list of the 100 Best Singers of All Time in 2008. The musician listed 19 vocalists and three of them were women. The first one he mentioned was Mavis Staples, placing her in the position 14, in front of names like Hank Williams, Howlin’ Wolf, James Brown Johnny Cash and Bill Medley.
She started her career being part of the band formed by her family The Staple Singers. They were a Gospel, Soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1948. The members were the family’s patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples” alongside his children. They were: Cleotha, Pervis, Yvonne and Mavis.
It was in 1969 that she released her self-titled solo debut album and then released more than 10 records. The most recent one is “We Get By” (2019).
She won several Grammy Awards over the years and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Joni Mitchell
Another female singer listed by Gibbons was Joni Mitchell, the legendary Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist. He placed her in position number 13, in front of Mavis Staples.
Joni started her career in 1964 and has released 19 studio albums, the most recent one being “Shine” in 2007. She produced or co-produced most of her albums and designed most of her own album covers. She once described her as a “painter derailed by circumstance”.
Some of her most famous songs are “Big Yellow Taxi”, “Both Sides Now”, “California” and “A Case of You”. She became known for her personal lyrics and also for compositions that were unconventional. Many of her songs incorporated elements of Pop, Jazz, Folk and other music genres. She won 11 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Sheryl Crow
The final female singer listed by Billy Gibbons is Sheryl Crow, who was the youngest artist of his list. He placed her on position number 10, in front of Mavis, Joni and other artists like B.B. King and Robert Plant.
Born in Kennett, Missouri back in 1962, she started her musical career in 1983. Her debut album “Tuesday Night Music Club” would only be released 10 years later, in 1993. Since then she released 11 more albums and sold an estimated amount of more than 50 million records worldwide (Same as ZZ Top).
She won 9 Grammy Awards from 32 nominations. Some of her most famous songs are “All I Wanna Do”, “Strong Enough”, “If it Makes You Happy” and “My Favorite Mistake”.
