ZZ Top's First Album ZZ Top's First Album ZZ Top's First Album is the debut studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top. It was produced by manager Bill Ham, and was released on January 16, 1971, on London Records. Establishing their attitude and humor, ZZ Top incorporated boogie, hard rock, and Southern rock influences into their sound. Thematically, the album is lively, playful and at times brash, filled with the band's personal experiences and sexual innuendos that became central to the group's image. Seeking inspiration from Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top began recording the album at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas. Only
Paul Tripp Owens on trumpet, Paquito D'Rivera on clarinet, Marco Katz on trombone, Chuck Folds on piano, John Thomas on percussion, and Oliver Jackson on drums. Paul Tripp is the narrator on this recording. Several of the same instrumental tracks appear on a 2006 release called "Play it Happy" on Koch Records that features Meredith Vieira on "Tubby the Tuba" and "Tubby the Tuba Meets a Jazz Band," and Paul Tripp on "The Story of Celeste". He also acted in other dramas on television, in the theater, and in movies. Among his television appearances were two 1962 roles on "Perry Mason", which