Our Verify team is tackling a question from a viewer about the band ZZ Top.
John Presnall wanted to know if the legendary Texas band got its name from a pizza sign that had its letters missing.
Our Verify fact checkers did some digging and reached out to Billy Gibbons, the band’s lead guitarist and a Houston native. Gibbons’ representative said she is not allowed to address the origins of the band’s name.
However, Gibbons did talk about the origins himself in his autobiography, “Rock + Roll Gearhead.” In the book, he says the name came from a concert poster they saw for Z.Z. Hill. They liked it because it sounded like one of their heroes, B.B. King.
So, we can verify this story definitely does not have legs. They idea that ZZ Top got their name from a broken pizza sign is false.
VERIFY: Sources
Representative for Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top lead guitarist