American Blues were a 1960s Texas-based garage band who played a psychedelic style of blues rock music influenced by the 13th Floor Elevators. They are most famous for including two future members of the band ZZ Top in their ranks, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard. From 1966 to 1968, they played the Dallas-Fort Worth-Houston circuit and headlined in three clubs all called "The Cellar", in Dallas at clubs such as "The Walrus" on Mockingbird Lane, and in Houston at "Love Street Light Circus Feel Good Machine" on Allen's Landing, as late as 1968.
Around 1968 the band (the two Hill brothers and Beard) decided to leave the Dallas–Fort Worth area, relocating to Houston. At this time, however, guitarist Rocky Hill wanted to focus on "straight blues", while his brother Dusty wanted the band to rock more. Rocky left the band, and was soon replaced by Billy Gibbons, of Houston psychedelic-rockers Moving Sidewalks, becoming the band ZZ Top.
Rocky Hill continued to tour around Texas, and elsewhere, becoming one of a number of guitarists well-known within the state for their blues guitar prowess, such as Rocky Athis and Charlie Sexton. In this role, his playing in Austin was said to have been an influence on guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan's formative years, as well. He sometimes referred to himself as "The Anti-Clapton", and one writer with the Houston Press called Rocky "perhaps the wildest and scariest -- both onstage and off -- of all the Texas white-boy blues guitarists."
- Rocky Hill - guitar
- Dusty Hill - bass
- Richard Harris - drums
- Doug Davis - piano on "Mellow"
- Frank Beard - drums
Read more about American Blues: Albums
Famous quotes containing the words american and/or blues:
“... his voice and hands,
Within whose warm spring rain of loving care
Each dwells some twenty seconds. Now, dear child,
Whats wrong, the deep American voice demands,
And, scarcely pausing, goes into a prayer
Directing God about this eye, that knee.”
—Philip Larkin (19221986)
“Holly Golightly: You know those days when youve got the mean reds?
Paul: The mean reds? You mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No, the blues are because youre getting fat or maybe its been raining too long. Youre just sad, thats all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly youre afraid and you dont know what youre afraid of.”
—George Axelrod (b. 1922)