ZZ Top, that little ol’ band from Texas, celebrate their 50th anniversary this year since forming back in 1969. The three-piece rock band comprised of guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and bassist Dusty Hill have announced their plans to celebrate 50 years of rocking with a new, career-spanning compilation album, Goin’ 50. The album is scheduled to arrive on August 16th via Warner Bros. Records.
The compilation will include a total of 50 tracks spread out over three CDs or five LPs pulled from the band’s studio catalog (with a few live recordings), dating back to their first studio album, 1971’s ZZ Top’s First Album, through 2012’s La Futura. The album will also feature two new bonus tracks, “Salt Lick” and “Miller’s Farm”, which were both recorded by the band’s original lineup back in 1969. A single-CD version with 18 tracks will arrive ahead of the deluxe editions on June 14th, the same day that version lands on streaming platforms.
“It’s been five decades, and I think we’re starting to get pretty good at all this,” Billy Gibbons said in a statement to go with the album’s announcement. “We’re truly excited to be appearing across the continent this summer and fall, playing our bluesy kind of rock like we started in ’69. The beards, Frank [Beard]’s excepted, are perhaps a bit longer, yet nothing else has changed. We’re keeping it that way.”
The band is one of the headlining acts scheduled to perform at the inaugural Exit 111 Fest in Manchester, TN this fall, which takes place on the same site as Bonnaroo. In addition to playing three nights as part of their 50th Anniversary Texas Bash across Texas later this month, the band will continue their anniversary summer tour with an international leg of dates beginning on June 4th in Helsinki, Finland. The trio will return to the States to begin the North American leg of their summer tour on August 16th in Ridgefield, WA.
Fans can head to the band’s website to pre-order the album, in addition to finding tickets and tour info.
[H/T Guitar World]