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
Heart (band) band later in the year. Nancy kept busy scoring her husband's movies "Jerry Maguire" (1996), "Almost Famous" (2000), "Vanilla Sky" (2001), and "Elizabethtown" (2005). In 1999, Nancy released a solo album, "Live at McCabe's Guitar Shop". Also in 1999, Nancy and Ann undertook their first tour without a backing band. In 2001, Ann participated in the A Walk Down Abbey Road: A Tribute to the Beatles tour, which also featured Todd Rundgren, John Entwistle of the Who, and Alan Parsons. The sisters also appeared at benefits and special events, including the tribute to Brian Wilson at New York's Radio City