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In one of rock\u2019s great ironies, the only man in ZZ Top<\/a> without an iconic beard happened to have Beard as a last name.<\/p>\n Despite what some people think, this wasn\u2019t some pre-planned joke by the band. Frank Lee Beard<\/a> was born in 1949. Twenty years later, he\u2019d join ZZ Top, but at that\u00a0early point of their career, the band was (relatively) clean shaven.<\/p>\n Throughout the \u201870s, ZZ Top established itself as the premiere purveyors of country-fried blues rock. The band was successful, but towards the end of the decade they were burned out. In 1977, the trio\u2019s members \u2013 Billy Gibbons<\/a>, Dusty Hill<\/a> and Beard \u2013 opted to take a break.<\/p>\n When they reconvened two years later, things looked very different.<\/p>\n During ZZ Top\u2019s hiatus, Gibbons traveled the world, Hill took a job at an airport and Beard tried to get sober. Coincidentally, none of the men made shaving a priority. In the documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol\u2019 Band from Texas<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>Beard recalled being surprised when he saw his bandmates.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a beard, but it wasn\u2019t (even) near the beard they had,\u201d the drummer remarked. \u201cSo I shaved it pretty right after we got back together when I saw they (had much more beard than I had).\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Rockers Pay Tribute to Late ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFrank didn\u2019t mind being beardless,” Gibbons chimed in. \u201cAfter all he had the name and he could go in the shopping mall without being interrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate interview, Gibbons was even more forthright regarding the facial hair origins. “We’d gotten really, really lazy,” he admitted to the Caller-Times<\/em>. “Nobody had bothered to shave. In simple terms, that’s exactly how it started.”<\/p>\n While ZZ Top\u2019s long beards became an iconic part of their appearance, Beard opted to maintain a mustache instead. While the original reason was because he couldn\u2019t maintain face fur as impressive as his bandmates, there was also a more practical purpose: Gibbons and Hill had beards that stretched all the way down to their chest. If he\u2019d matched that look, Beard\u2019s beard could have become a hindrance while drumming.<\/p>\n ZZ Top\u2019s image became an important part of their history, with Gibbons and Hill even turning down $1 million from Gillette to shave their famous facial hair. Beard, meanwhile, saw the humor in being the band\u2019s only beardless member \u2013 even if it wasn\u2019t originally planned that way.<\/p>\n Okay, enough about beards! Onto rock’s best mustaches!<\/em><\/p>\n I “mustache” you a question: What are rock music’s best mustaches? If you want to know my opinion, see the following list of the 35 greatest lip rugs in rock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Philip Trapp<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Origins of ZZ Top’s Beards<\/h3>\n
ZZ Top Refused to Shave<\/h3>\n
The 35 Best Mustaches in Rock Music<\/h2>\n