ZZ Top debut album, the band released "Rio Grande Mud" (1972), which failed commercially and the promotional tour consisted of mostly empty auditoriums. ZZ Top released "Tres Hombres" in 1973. The album's sound was the result of the propulsive support provided by Hill and Beard, and Gibbons' "growling" guitar tone. Dan Erlewine wrote that the album "brought ZZ Top their first Top Ten record, making them stars in the process". The album included the boogie-driven "La Grange" (written about the Chicken Ranch, a notorious brothel in La Grange, Texas, that also inspired the musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"). On the
Famous Last Words (band) band released Council of the Dead. It reached #91 on the Top 200 and #18 on Independent Albums on Billboard's charts. On October 10, the band announced "The InVogue Records Tour" beginning late November through December with fellow acts For All I Am, Kingdom of Giants and Whether, I in the US. On February 19, 2015 the band announced "The Touring Dead" beginning late February through March with fellow acts For All I Am and Tear Out the Heart in the US. On January 5, 2016 it was revealed by Revival Recordings that they have signed Famous Last Words, the