Texas rockers ZZ Top split with manager, label

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Texas rock trio ZZ Top has parted ways with the manager who helped form the band in 1969, according to a statement issued on Sunday.

In addition to splitting with Bill Ham, the band has also ended its tenure at RCA Records, 14 years after signing a five-album contract reportedly worth $30 million.

ZZ Top's most recent album, "Mescalero," spent just three weeks on the Billboard 200 in 2003. Its stint at RCA, beginning with 1994's "Antenna," failed to match its run at Warner Bros. Records, where it recorded the biggest hit of its career, 1983's "Eliminator."

ZZ Top -- comprised of singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, singer/bass player Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard -- last toured in 2005, ending a trek dominated by casinos and state fairs at New York's Beacon Theater in November.

"Upcoming plans for the band will be announced in the near future," the statement said. The band is due to receive an honor from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in November, a spokesman said.

Ham, the president of Austin, Texas-based Lone Wolf Management, first partnered with Gibbons in the late 1960s. The former record promoter helped Gibbons put together ZZ Top, which settled on its current lineup in late 1969.

According to former roadie David Blayney's 1994 memoir "Sharp Dressed Men," Ham "coupled a Col. Tom Parker managerial savvy with a Rambo approach to life and a Marquis de Sade style of doing business, which would soon make him famous in the music industry."

Specializing in Texas blues boogie, the band issued its debut release, "ZZ Top's First Album," in 1970. Amid constant touring, it broke through with 1973's "Tres Hombres," featuring the classic-rock radio staple "La Grange."

Pop success beckoned with "Eliminator," which sold millions and propelled the band to stadium status, thanks to slick videos for tunes like "Gimme All Your Lovin"' and "Legs," featuring pretty women and souped-up cars.

"For nearly four decades we have made music history together," Ham said in a statement. "Lone Wolf will always be grateful for the overwhelming loyalty and support from fans around the world, the labels, the promoters, the agencies, the vendors, the media, and so many others who helped make this possible. We wish the band all the best for continued success."

Reuters

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