Billy Gibbons is a famous rock musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the frontman of the band ZZ Top. He is renowned for his unique guitar playing style, blending together elements of blues, rock, and boogie-woogie, as well as for his distinctive voice and iconic beard.
In addition to his work with ZZ Top, Gibbons has also released several solo albums and is widely considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Billy over the course of his career has collaborated with many great artists like himself. However, Billy has one regret that tops everything in him. It was an opportunity to work with Jeff Beck, but sadly he couldn’t take it.
In a recent interview, Billy revealed how he missed his one-time opportunity to work with Jeff Beck and B.B. King. But we also have to keep in mind that Billy and Jeff have ended up together on a song. It was after Billy called Jeff for a collab. During that time he sang the chorus of the song ‘Hey, Mr. Millionaire’. The collaboration was done when Billy was working on the studio album ‘XXX’.
Gibbons recalled the production process of the album. He said, “It was like, ‘Okay, this feels good.’ We can still be a blues band, and we can stand as a trio. It’s just gonna require a little extra practice before we walk into the studio. And, of course, Jeff Beck sings in conjunction with me on the chorus of a song called ‘Hey, Mr. Millionaire.'”
Billy then talked about how Beck asked him to return the favor. Sadly, Billy couldn’t make it in time for his and everyone else’s dream collaboration. The reason was scheduling. He revealed, “The invitation arrived to sing on his record, but unfortunately, I was way off in Europe and unable to make his deadline. I called him from overseas, and he said he was out with B.B. King, and I was cringing that we were not able to see one of the greatest combinations shows ever.”
The musician has always revealed B.B. King is his greatest influence. He admires him at every given opportunity. Missing out on such a huge opportunity must have been very sad for him. It would have been everyone’s dream collaboration if they had actually managed to work on their schedule.
Straying a little bit from the original article. Billy Gibbons also received a piece of great advice from B.B. King. There is a unique relationship between the two of them. B.B. King taught Billy some techniques he could never have learned himself. During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, he revealed what he said. He stated,
“B.B. King laid quite a simplistic statement on me: Learn to play what you want to hear. When you’re trying to learn an instrument, chances are you find yourself at the feet of a teacher who may have an idea of what you should learn. But if you learn to play what you want to hear in your head, you are steps ahead.”
