ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969. Musician Billy Gibbons and drummer Dan Mitchell, originally in a band called the Moving Sidewalks, got together with bassist Lanier Greig, forming ZZ Top. In 1969, Greig and Mitchell were replaced by Dusty Hill and Frank Beard from the band American Blues. The band soon began developing a following in Texas.

They were signed to London Records in 1970, and released several albums, beginning with their 1971 debut album, followed by their 1972 album ''Rio Grande Mud''. In 1973, the band emerged into the mainstream with the album ''Tres Hombres'', and their 1975 follow-up ''Fandango!'' expanded on their sound and sense of humor. By the mid-1970s, they were among the most popular touring acts in the United States and broke various concert attendance feats. After years of touring, the band went on a two-year break in 1977, which resulted in Gibbons and Hill growing chest-length beards.

Although they returned in 1979 and the band signed a new deal with Warner Bros. Records (taking the rights to their London recordings with them), it was not until the band released 1983's ''Eliminator'' that they reached a new height in popularity, selling over 10 million copies. Throughout the late 1980s, the band made several hits and won several awards for music videos like "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man". After over 40 years of performing with the same members, the band continues to tour and record music.

ZZ Top has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, including 25 million albums in the US alone. The band scored eight Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, six number one Mainstream Rock hits, and three MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

History

Formation and early years (1967–1972)

The band's name was rumored to have derived from Zig-Zag and TOP rolling papers. Gibbons, however, revealed the true origin of the group's name in his autobiographical book ''Billy F Gibbons: Rock + Roll Gearhead''. The book mentions an apartment that Gibbons lived in, with a row of flyers on a wall. Taking notice of Z. Z. Hill and B. B. King posters, Gibbons favored "ZZ" and "King," and came up with "ZZ King," though it was too much like the guitarist's name. Coming to the conclusion that B.B. King was on the "top," Gibbons settled with the name "ZZ Top."

Meanwhile, Hill and Beard formed the band American Blues with Hill's brother Rocky Hill, which was based on blues and psychedelic rock. Hill and Beard moved to Houston in 1968. Two years later, they met with Gibbons, who had dropped Mitchell and Ethridge from the group. After finalizing the lineup, they hired Bill Ham as their manager. Ham secured a record deal with London Records. ZZ Top played their first gig in Beaumont, Texas at the Knights of Columbus Hall on February 10, 1970, which was booked by rock DJ Al Caldwell.

The band issued their debut album, ''ZZ Top's First Album''. Released in January 1971, the album failed to chart, though the single "(Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree" peaked at No.50 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was a blues-rock record filled with distorted guitars, boogie-woogie rhythms, and sexual innuendos, laying the foundation for ZZ Top's signature blues-rock sound. After releasing their first album, the band started to attract local attention doing live shows, opening for acts like Janis Joplin, Humble Pie, Ten Years After, and Mott the Hoople. In January 1973, ZZ Top was asked by Rolling Stones frontman, Mick Jagger, to open their shows in Honolulu. Dusty Hill recalls: The band released their second album ''Rio Grande Mud'' in 1972, which peaked at No.104 on the Billboard 200. Although the only charting single from the album was "Francine" at #69, several songs such as "Just Got Paid" and "Bar-B-Q" would become fan favorites of the band's live shows.

Touring years (1973–1977)

US popularity, ''Tres Hombres'' and ''Fandango!''

The next album, 1975's ''Fandango!'', featured the A-side with studio tracks and the other featuring live performances recorded at The Warehouse in New Orleans. The album scored the band their first Top 40 hit "Tush," peaking at #20. Soon after ''Fandango!'' was released, the band continued to tour extensively, headlining their own shows, and breaking concert attendance records set by Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin. In 1976, they organized the Worldwide Texas Tour, which included a Texas-shaped stage, as well as various livestock and plants for props. 1977's ''Tejas'' was not as successful or as positively received as their previous efforts, although the album went to No.17 on ''Billboard'''s Pop Albums chart.

ZZ Top continued the Worldwide Texas Tour in support of ''Tejas'', though they had been touring for seven years. The band went on what was supposed to be a 90-day break from public appearances. Gibbons traveled to Europe, Beard had gone to Jamaica, and Hill went to Mexico. The break extended to two years, during which Gibbons and Hill grew chest-length beards.

Reunion, ''Degüello'' and ''El Loco'' (1979–1981)

''Eliminator'' and the synth era (1981–1990)

''Afterburner''

''Recycler''

ZZ Top contributed a song, "Doubleback", and appeared as an acoustic band in the wild-west dance scene in the 1990 movie ''Back to the Future Part III''. The band also appeared in the 1990 TV movie ''Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme'', portraying the Three Men in a Tub.

In 1992, Warner released ''ZZ Top's Greatest Hits'' along with a new Rolling Stones-style cut "Gun Love" and an Elvis-inflected video, "Viva Las Vegas".

In 1993, ZZ Top inducted a major influence, Cream, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

RCA years (1994–2003)

''Antenna'', ''Rhythmeen'' and ''XXX''

''Mescalero''

A comprehensive four-CD collection of recordings from the London and Warner Bros. years, ''Chrome, Smoke & BBQ'', was released in 2003. It featured the band's first single (A- and B-side), several rare B-side tracks as well as a radio promotion from 1979, a live track and several extended dance mix versions of their biggest MTV hits. Three tracks from Billy Gibbons' pre-ZZ band, The Moving Sidewalks, were also included.

Hall of Fame, touring, and unfinished album (2004–present)

Expanded and remastered versions of the original studio albums from the 1970s and ’80s are currently in production. Marketed as "Remastered and Expanded," these releases include additional live tracks which were not present on the original recordings. Three such CDs have been released to date (''Tres Hombres'', ''Fandango!'', and ''Eliminator''). The first two were released in 2006 and use the original mixes free from echo and drum machines, while "Eliminator" was released in 2008. The ''Eliminator'' re-release also features a collector's edition version containing a DVD featuring several videos and additional live tracks.

As of 2006, it was reported that ZZ Top were recording their 15th studio album. There was no release, however, and on September 17, 2006, the band ended their tenure with RCA Records and further left their manager Bill Ham, president of Lone Wolf Management. No reasons were publicized for these changes. In December 2006, Sanctuary Management added ZZ Top to its roster.

ZZ Top's most recent high-profile appearance was a performance at the 2008 Orange Bowl game in Miami. They also performed in 2008 at the Auto Club 500 NASCAR event at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

On June 23, 2008, ZZ Top celebrated the release of their first live concert DVD entitled ''Live From Texas'' with the world premiere, a special appearance, and charity auction at the Hard Rock Cafe in Houston. The DVD was officially released on June 24, 2008. The featured performance was culled from a concert filmed at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas on November 1, 2007.

In July 2008, the band announced they have signed with producer Rick Rubin and are recording a new album. Rubin will be producing the next album, and it has been reported that the band will be aiming to move back to their pre-80s ''La Grange'' sound.

The ''Eliminator Collector's Edition'' CD/DVD, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band's iconic RIAA Diamond Certified album, was released September 10, 2008. The release includes seven bonus tracks and a bonus DVD, including four television performances from ''The Tube'' in November 1983.

The band performed at the 2009 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo on the final night on March 22, 2009. In July, the band appeared on VH1's ''Storytellers'', in celebration of their four decades as recording artists.

On January 22, 2010, Billy Gibbons accompanied Will Ferrell and others playing "Free Bird" on Conan O'Brien's last show. O'Brien joined in on guitar.

On June 8, 2011, a press release, reported on various media sources, announced that the new song "Flyin' High" will debut in space. Astronaut and friend of ZZ Top, Michael Fossum, was given the released single to listen to on his trip to the International Space Station.

Billy Gibbons stated in a recent interview that the new album will be out in March or April of 2012

Band Members

Current members

Discography

Filmography

Concert tours

Awards and achievements

ZZ Top also holds several chart and album sales feats, including six number one singles on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. From the RIAA, ZZ Top has achieved 4 gold, 3 platinum, and 2 multi-platinum album certifications, in addition to one diamond album. In addition to this,many of their songs have become classic rock and hard rock radio staples.

Rankings

See also

References

Bibliography

Footnotes

External links

Category:Blues rock groups Category:American hard rock musical groups Category:Rock music groups from Texas Category:Musical groups from Houston, Texas Category:RCA Records artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Musical groups established in 1969 Category:Musical trios Category:ZZ Top

Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer. She gained fame for her appearances in ''Playboy'' magazine, on the MTV game show ''Singled Out'', on the TV series ''Baywatch'', and dancing with the Pussycat Dolls, and has since had roles in the parody films ''Scary Movie'' (as well as the fourth film), ''Date Movie'', ''Epic Movie'', ''Meet the Spartans'', and ''Disaster Movie''.

Early life

Career

In 1995, Electra started appearing in television programs. In May 1996 she was featured in a nude pictorial in ''Playboy'' magazine, the first of several. This exposure led to higher profile television appearances, including ''Baywatch'' (cast member from 1997–1998, as Leilani "Lani" McKenzie) and MTV's ''Singled Out''. She returned to ''Baywatch'' for the 2003 reunion movie, ''Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding''.

Electra was featured in ''Playboy'' four more times, with her second appearance in June 1997, third in December 2000, fourth in April 2003 and her fifth in the January 2009 anniversary issue. She was on the cover three times, in December 2000, April 2003 and on the 55th anniversary Issue in January 2009.

Electra has appeared in films such as ''American Vampire'' (1997), ''Good Burger'' (1997), ''The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human'' (1999), the horror spoof ''Scary Movie'' (2000) and also appeared in ''Meet the Spartans'' (2008), ''Scary Movie 4'' (2006), ''Epic Movie'' (2007), ''Date Movie'' (2006), ''Disaster Movie'' (2008), the remake of the 1970s TV show ''Starsky & Hutch'' (2004) and ''Cheaper by the Dozen 2''. She won an MTV Movie Award (best kiss) for ''Starsky & Hutch''. She also appeared in an episode of ''House'' in which she portrayed herself as an injured golfer and an injured farmer, playing out House's fantasy.

In 1999, she appeared in the Bloodhound Gang's music video of "The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope." In 2005, she joined the voice cast of the animated series ''Tripping the Rift'', replacing Gina Gershon as the voice of the sexy android "Six". Also in 2005, she began the Naked Women's Wrestling League, acting as the commissioner for the professional wrestling promotion. In late 2006, Carmen began to be featured in commercials by Taco Bell.

Other work

Electra has produced exercise videos and equipment. Her ''Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease'' is a five-disc DVD series that combines teaching classic stripping moves with a low impact cardio workout, which also starred Jon Eby. She also endorses the Electra Pole, a pole dancing kit released in January 2008.

In 1997, Electra modeled for the covers of the comic books ''Razor and the Ladies of London Night'' by London Night Studios.

Electra appeared in commercials for ''Maxim'' Men's Hair Color products (2004–2005).

In 2006, Electra signed on as the spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is featured in some video spoofs of Lonelygirl15 that advertised ''Epic Movie''. That same year she appeared as the face and spokesperson for the MAX Factor Make-Up line (beginning in 2006) in their television and print ads.

Electra appeared as a guest judge on ''So You Think You Can Dance'' Season 8 on July 6, 2011. She appeared along with regular series judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy and fellow guest judge Travis Wall.

Charity work

Personal life

On November 22, 2003, Electra married Dave Navarro, lead guitarist for the rock band Jane's Addiction. The couple documented their courtship and marriage in an MTV reality television show called '''Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave''. On July 17, 2006, she and Navarro announced their separation, and Electra filed for divorce on August 10. It was finalized on February 20, 2007.

In April 2008, Electra's representative confirmed that she was engaged to Rob Patterson, a member of the nu metal band Otep and hard rock band Filter.

Credits

Discography

Filmography

Videography

References

External links

Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sharonville, Ohio Category:Actors from Cincinnati, Ohio Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:Pussycat Dolls members Category:Musicians from Cincinnati, Ohio Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:Professional wrestling executives Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent

Doctor Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown, Ph.D. is a fictional character and one of the lead characters in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy, in which he is the inventor of the first time machine, which he builds out of a DeLorean sports car. The character is memorably played by actor Christopher Lloyd in all three films, as well as in the live action sequences of the ''animated series''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta in the animated series. The character's appearance and mannerisms are loosely inspired by Leopold Stokowski and Albert Einstein. In 2008, Dr. Emmett Brown was selected by ''Empire'' magazine as one of ''The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time'', ranking at #76.

Character background

His character is one who can be absent-minded at times, and despite being seen around fictional Hill Valley, the setting for all three films, evidence in the three films indicates that he is regarded as strange, eccentric, or crazy. He often enunciates his words with wide-eyed expressions and broad gestures ("Great Scott!" being one of the character's well-known catchphrases), and tends to use large words or phrases over short ones: for instance, referring to a dance as a "rhythmic ceremonial ritual" in the first film. An article in the July/August 2010 online edition of ''Autism/Asperger's Digest'' cites the aforementioned eccentricities and speculates in a tongue-in-cheek manner that Doc may have Asperger syndrome.

The only friends the character is shown to have are Marty, and Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer. The films do not depict how Doc originally met Marty, however production notes and word from creators Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale have stated that they met several years prior to the events of the first film when Marty sneaked into his lab after being warned to stay away from Doc by his parents. Doc was happy to be revered as being cool and hired Marty as his part-time lab assistant.

Doc has been involved in illegal and criminal enterprises within the scope of the films—albeit as a means to obtain items he could not purchase legally—but shows naïveté over the repercussions of his actions, excitedly telling Marty how he cheated Libyan terrorists out of stolen plutonium, saying "they wanted me to build them a bomb, so I took their plutonium and, in turn, gave them a shoddy bomb casing full of old used pinball machine parts!"

The character begins the trilogy somewhat innocent and very enthusiastic over the possible applications of his discovery, and actively tries to alter the past or future of various principal characters, in efforts to improve their lives. However, events throughout the story, particularly in the second film, bring him to the conclusion that time travel should not be used because of the hazards involved, and that the time machine should be destroyed. In the third film, after realizing he has unwittingly altered history by preventing the death of Clara Clayton in 1885, Doc expresses regret for inventing the time machine at all, remarking that it has "caused nothing but disaster."

However, after being left behind in 1885 when Marty departs in the DeLorean for 1985, Doc starts a family with Clara. He creates another time machine and builds it into a steam locomotive, which he uses to transport his family to 1985 (to collect his dog, Einstein) after having traveled to an unspecified point further in the future (presumably 2015 in order to give the locomotive a hover conversion akin to the DeLorean and to show his wife and children society beyond their natural years, which is also reinforced by Doc's answer to Marty's question if he is going "back to the future", and Brown answered in the negative, stating they have "already been there!"). The trilogy ends with Doc and his family departing 1985.

Events from ''Back to the Future'' series

''Back to the Future''

In the original movie, after the fire Doc moved into his former garage (which was down the hill from the mansion and was not affected by the blaze), addressed as 1646 Riverside Drive. There were rumors that he had deliberately burnt it down to claim the insurance money to fund the time machine. Whether or not that was the case, Doc still had to use up most of his family's fortune to fund the creation of his time machine. Doc moved to his garage and sold the rest of his estate to developers, but he was soon back on track. On Monday, May 23, 1983, he was commended and given a civic award for unspecified reasons. Another indicator of Doc's moneymaking could have been a large truck he owned which was advertised as "Dr. E. Brown 24-Hour Scientific Services". This truck may simply have been used to transport cumbersome materials, however it also suggests Brown offered himself as a contractor to those in need of technical and scientific help in order to make money to defray the cost of building the time machine.

Doc finally finished installing his time machine into a DeLorean sports car in 1985, using plutonium to power the time circuits and the flux capacitor, and was apparently killed by the group of Libyan terrorists who had given it to him as they wanted a nuclear weapon in return, but Doc, in an act of either extreme courage or extreme foolhardiness, merely gave them "a shoddy bomb casing full of used pinball machine parts."

Marty, who had witnessed the first time travel experiment, was accidentally sent back to 1955, where he tried to warn the 1955 version of Doc about the terrorists. Doc did not want to know too much about his own future and ripped up the warning letter Marty had written him. Doc successfully sent Marty back to the future by harnessing the energy from a bolt of lightning as it struck the Hill Valley clock tower on Saturday, November 12, 1955 at 10:04 pm. Sometime after these events, one can surmise, Doc decided to take the risk, taped together Marty's warning letter, and discovered the truth about that night in 1985. When 1985 rolled around again, it turned out the Doc wore a bulletproof vest for protection, apparently modified to resist rifle fire. After dropping Marty home, Doc went 30 years into the future. He went to October 21, 2015 and while he was there, he observed a chain of disastrous incidents that destroy Marty's life, and then skipped back in time to find the origin, tying it to a specific incident in 2015 that occurred between Marty's son, Marty Jr. and Biff's grandson, Griff. While there, he got an "all natural overhaul" to his body which added 30 or 40 years to his life and made him look younger, just like back in 1955. (This had little effect on his appearance, and was written into the script to allow the actor not to wear "old" makeup through the second and third films). He also got the DeLorean hover-converted and installed a "Mr. Fusion". The Mr. Fusion reactor eliminated the need for plutonium, and allowed the time machine to operate off ordinary household garbage. Afterward, Doc returned to 1985 to pick up Marty (and Jennifer, who happened to be there) to take them to 2015.

''Back to the Future Part II''

Doc, Marty, and Jennifer arrived back in 1985 only to discover that history had been altered. Biff's wealth had led to a total alteration of Hill Valley to Biff's wishes and supposed alterations to the entire world's history (such as Richard Nixon still being in office and the Vietnam War still being fought in 1985). In this version of history, Doc has been committed to an insane asylum since 1983 (he was committed on the same day he won his award in the "proper" history). It is speculated that since Biff was warned by his older self upon delivery of the almanac that a "crazy, wild-eyed old man who claims to be a scientist" would ask about it someday, Biff was the one who had Doc committed, but no concrete evidence is provided in the film. It is also possible that Doc actually went insane due to the changes in the timeline, which only he would be aware of and be unable to reconcile with how he knew history should have unfolded.

Doc and Marty headed back to 1955 to correct the timeline, and while Marty tracked down Biff to get the almanac from him, Doc attempted to make repairs to the time circuits, which had developed a fault and kept re-setting the Destination Time setting to January 1, 1885. When Doc discovered Marty had got the Almanac, he went to the roof of Hill Valley High School, but accidentally switched on the time circuits, which was set at 1885. Their mission of stealing the almanac and setting history straight was accomplished. However this success was quickly followed by Doc, in the DeLorean, being sent back to 1885 when a bolt of lightning struck the DeLorean, causing a gigawatt overload. Once in 1885, Doc set himself up as a blacksmith while trying to fix the DeLorean, but had to give up as suitable parts to repair the DeLorean's destroyed microchip would not be invented until 1947 (the actual date of the invention of the transistor.) He buried the DeLorean in the abandoned Delgado Mine on the outskirts of town and wrote a letter to Marty to be delivered just minutes after the DeLorean was struck by lightning. The letter was held by Western Union for the next 70 years, 2 months and 12 days, and given to Marty in 1955.

It also appears that Doc has made other travels to different time periods before coming back for Marty in 1985 because he has a suitcase full of vintage money for, as he calls it, "all monetary possibilities."

''Back to the Future Part III''

Marty located Doc, and once again Doc had to make repairs to the time machine after it ran out of gas (hard to come by in 1885 since cars wouldn't exist in the United States until 23 years later) when its fuel line was ruptured. While making a plan to use a train to push the DeLorean to 88 mph, Doc saved a teacher, Clara Clayton, from falling into a ravine after a snake spooked her horses. The ravine was, in the proper timeline, called Clayton Ravine after Clara fell into it. They fell in love at first sight, much to the despair of Marty who saw Clara as a distraction. Doc and Clara danced at the town festival on September 5, where Marty managed to save Doc from being shot early by Buford Tannen (It is also possible that this was supposed to have been the fatal event - Tannen told the Doc that the last man shot with the gun took two days to die along with that with his small gun, he predicted Doc would be dead by suppertime Monday). Doc and Clara also had their first kiss that night.

Later, Doc realized he would have to leave Clara behind when he went back to the future with Marty on Monday. He said goodbye to her and told her the truth about where he came from. Naturally, she did not believe him and slapped him. Broken-hearted, Doc went to have a glass of whisky at the Palace Saloon, where Marty found him next morning (Monday) with the same glass of whisky. After drinking the whisky, he immediately fell down drunk. Marty and Chester the bartender managed to revive Doc with an extremely spicy concoction called "wake-up juice" which included tabasco sauce, and afterwards Doc and Marty hijacked a train to use to push the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour (141 km/h). Clara reappeared, having seen Doc's train model plan and realized Doc was telling the truth, but nearly fell off the train. Doc managed to save her, with help from Marty's hoverboard (a piece of technology from 2015), but decided to stay behind with Clara in 1885 (or that he realized he had not enough time to get in the time machine and attempting to do so might strand Marty in 1885 as well). Marty managed to get home, but the time machine was destroyed less than a minute after his arrival by a modern locomotive plowing through it, meaning he could not go back to rescue Doc and Clara from the past.

Over the next 10 years, Doc and Clara married (they marry on December 15, 1885 according to the animated series episode, "Solar Sailors") and had two sons, Jules and Verne, named after their favorite author. Doc also built a new time machine, this time using a steam locomotive. The Brown family take off to visit the future (to get the train hover-converted) and then back to 1985 to pick up Einstein (his dog), and visit Marty and Jennifer (when and where Marty thought he would never see Doc again due to the time machine being destroyed), before heading off to times unknown.

''Back to the Future: The Ride''

''Back to the Future: The Animated Series''

The Simpsons Ride

In the cameo, Professor Frink, Doc's colleague as it is revealed in the ride, is shocked to discover that Doc's Institute has been turned into Krustyland, a theme park built by Krusty the Clown. So, he drives a DeLorean time machine back in time to save the institute, where, two years earlier, Doc is about to sign a contract with a banker, named Mr. Freidman, to save the Institute. However, as Doc is about to sign, Frink drives the DeLorean into the banker. Doc becomes upset at Frink, and complains that he has to sell his Institute to "that mercenary clown", who happens to be Krusty. Krusty then appears and puts a Krustyland sign in front of the Institute, and Frink complains that he created a time paradox. Doc asks Krusty if there's anything he can do for him, to which Krusty responds he can sell tickets at the front gate if he "gets a haircut". Doc says it takes him three hours a day "Just to get it like this!". It is then presumed that the Institute of Future Technology became Krustyland.

Back to the Future: The Game

In other media

In 2011 American Singer Britney Spears joked that Dr. Emmet Brown was her favorite scientist for "I Am FIRST: Science is Rock and Roll".

References

External links

Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1985 Category:Back to the Future characters Category:Fictional inventors Category:Fictional scientists Category:Fictional mad scientists Category:Fictional doctors Category:Fictional characters from California Category:Fictional American people of German descent Category:Fictional smiths Category:Time travel in fiction