Houston's 170th Birthday Party
August 23, 2006
Wortham Center
CITY OF HOUSTON'S 170th BIRTHDAY ON AUG. 23
ZZ Top Set For Houston Hall Of Fame Honor
The members of ZZ Top - Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard - are set to be inducted into the City of Houston's Hall of Fame at a gala dinner set for August 23 at the Wortham Theater in downtown Houston. The group, over the course of more than 36 years, has come to be known as "that little ol' band from Texas " but traces its roots specifically to Houston where, in 1969, Billy, of the Moving Sidewalks, joined forces with Dusty and Frank of the American Blues.
The Houston Hall of Fame is replete with Houstonians who have played key roles on the national and international scene including heart surgery pioneers Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley, Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Secretary of State James A. Baker, boxing champ and entrepreneur George Foreman, NBA great Clyde Drexler, former Continental Airlines Chairman Gordon Bethune, Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane, and other notables.
ZZ Top have received many honors in the past including having been named Heroes of the State of Texas by the legislature, proclaimed Ambassadors of Goodwill for the state numerous times and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. This latest acknowledgement of their place in the pantheon of Houston greats coincides with the city's celebration of its 170th birthday and the evening August 23rd has been designated as "A Night of Cowboys and Culture" by Houston Mayor Bill White.
ZZ Top will be inducted into the Houston Hall of Fame along with Pearce Industries Board Chairman Louis M. Pearce, Jr., real estate magnate Ed Wulfe and, posthumously, Dominique and John de Menil who had been instrumental in making Houston a first tier city in terms of fine arts and culture.
The band, delighted with their having been cited for this extraordinary honor, released the following statement: "We're thrilled to be recognized by the city we love for doing what we love for all these years. We did a song a while back entitled, 'Heaven, Hell or Houston' and we're now quite convinced that the city is much closer to the former than the latter."
