ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons was on Pawn Stars on the History Channel last week and he turned a sale into a donation for a cause close to his heart.
A lady brought in a rhinestone-studded suit that she indicated had belonged to ZZ Top. Gold and Silver owner Rick Harrison, as always, asked, if he could bring in an expert to verify authenticity. That expert was Gibbons himself, who has at his home in Vegas.
Gibbons said the item was designed by the late Nudie Cohn of Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors in Los Angeles, and that he wore actually it on the band's 1974 tour.
He said it was also the suit he wore on the cover of ZZ Top’s fourth album, Fandango! Gibbons also said he left it on a plane in 1974 and thought it had "vaporized."
The lady was asking for $25,000. Gibbons then it was probably worth closer to $50,000. Billy then suggested to Harrison that they go in half to purchase and then donate the suit to the legendary Antone’s nightclub in Austin, Texas for a museum they plan to open this summer.
That’s exactly what they did -- for $40,000 and $20,000.
[courtesy of Classic Hits Today]