‘That Little Ol’ Band From Texas’ Tells Story Of Rock Champs ZZ Top

The documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas, which tells the story of the beloved rock trio and their 50 years together, is now on release in the US, with widespread screenings both across the States and in Australia in the coming weeks.

The film features new interviews with all of the band, and with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Miller and others. Its release coincides with the band’s anniversary tour, which started in Ridgfield, Washington on Friday (16) with guests Cheap Trick. Dates are booked through to 9 November, and ZZ Top also have a New Year’s Eve show in Durant, OK.

In his new review of the film for Variety, Owen Gleiberman writes that the band’s Billy F. Gibbons and Dusty Hill “come out from behind the beards — sort of (but not really). They sit down for interviews in which they recall the band’s history, and along with the drummer Frank Beard (yes, the handsome one who doesn’t have a beard), they’re droll, companionable diarists of their own unlikely journey.”

The film is an Abramorama and Eagle Rock Entertainment release of a Banger Films production. It was directed by Sam Dunn, who wrote the screenplay with Ralph Chapman. “I think even our most steadfast fans will find themselves surprised by what they learn about those men behind the beards and cheap sunglasses,” said Gibbons at the time of the documentary’s announcement. “There we are, up there on the silver screen and it’s something we’re delighted to share with fans of all stripes.”

The publicity for the documentary added that it “tells the story of how three oddball teenage bluesmen became one of the biggest, most beloved bands on the planet, all while maintaining a surrealist mystique that continues to intrigue fans and entice onlookers 50 years after the band’s inception.”

Format: UK English