New Book Tells ZZ Top Frontman Billy F Gibbons' Life Story Through His Amazing Collection of Custom Automobiles and Guitars

ST. PAUL, Minn., July 18 -- Billy F Gibbons' hot rods and custom car fixation is the stuff of rock 'n' roll legend. Beyond this bona fide bluesman's mastery of the six-string and his unrepentant love for internal combustion one discovers a noted collector whose own designs have manifested both in his cars and in hundreds of mind-bending custom guitars.

In Billy F Gibbons: Rock and Roll Gearhead, ZZ Top's iconic ax man riffs on his teenage garage-band years, his four-decade recording career, his experiences with icons like Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry and life on the road. He reveals the tales behind dozens of guitars from his collection of more than 600. These include the famous "Furry One," the "Muddywood," constructed from a timber fallen from Muddy Waters' childhood home and commissioned as a fundraiser for the Delta Blues Museum, and, of course, the creme de la creme, "Pearly Gates," his cherished musical companion.

Gibbons also gives the lowdown on 10 of his outstanding rods and customs, including Kopperhed, CadZZilla and the famous red Eliminator Coupe. In addition to exclusive photography by Bay-Area shooter David Perry, the book features dozens of images from Gibbons' personal archive.

  Billy F Gibbons: Rock and Roll Gearhead by Billy F Gibbons with Tom
   Vickers, photography by David Perry
  Jacketed hardcover / 10 1/2  x 12 / 192 pages / 175 color,
   25 black-and-white photos
  ISBN 0-7603-2269-4 / $29.95 / $396.95 (CAN) / pounds Sterling 18.99 (UK)
  Available October 2005 in bookstores everywhere or through
   http://www.motorbooks.com/ .

   About the Authors and Photographer

Billy F Gibbons is known worldwide as the lead guitarist of ZZ Top, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 by Keith Richards. An avid collector, he is the driving force behind the band's use of stunning custom cars and hot rods on its album covers and in its music videos. He lives in Houston and Los Angeles.

Tom Vickers has worked in the music industry for more than 30 years as an A&R man, journalist and producer. He resides in Los Angeles.

David Perry has had his photographs published exhibited worldwide; his previous books include Hot Rod Pin-Ups, Hot Rod and Bordertown.