with a recent interview with Guitar World, Robert Fripp discussed the history of his career and offered a memory from his days with King Crimson. He said that in the 1970s, Billy Gibbons or someone from ZZ Top’s team disrupted his band’s set. When discussing the songs he has covered thus far, the guitarist explained: I had never heard of Korn, Megadeth, or Slipknot prior to ‘Sunday Lunch.’ I was, however, familiar with Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top. In 1974, King Crimson opened for ZZ Top at a stadium in Denver. We came on, and after about 20 minutes, the sound went completely dead. We had no idea why we had left the stage.” He mentioned the rumors about who was behind the cut: “20 years later, I discovered that it was ZZ Top who pulled the power – but there were several versions.” Some say it was the tour manager, but others say it was Billy Gibbons who didn’t like us and forced him to do it. Another theory is that the tour manager disliked us. I’m not sure! The tour was short-lived.” Despite the previous issue, Fripp mentioned ZZ Top in his YouTube show in 2021.
With his wife, Toyah Willcox, he covered two of the band’s songs, ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ and ‘Gimme All Your Lovin’. The former King Crimson guitarist mentioned one of them while discussing the covers that stood out to him: “As for ‘Sharp Dressed Man,’ Billy Gibbons’ Live [from] Daryl’s House is the best version I know.” I would advise everyone reading this to look it up. In that bluesy section, it’s a nice surprise. First and foremost, the click on the ZZ Top version is approximately 126. It’s approximately 115 on this edition, which means it’ll fit right into your pocket. Billy is the first of three soloists. He doesn’t utilize many notes… Billy is not required to.” Listen to Robert Fripp’s cover and Billy Gibbons’ performance at ‘Live from Daryl’s House’ in the videos below.
