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ZZ Top stands as one of the most iconic and influential bands in classic rock history. Formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas, the power trio of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard first unleashed its gritty blues-rock sound with ZZ Top’s First Album in 1971. From there, the band carved out a unique place in rock history by combining Texas blues, boogie, humor, and hard-rock swagger across 15 studio albums released over more than four decades.
What makes ZZ Top’s legacy even more compelling is how easily the band’s music has crossed generations and genres. The 10 covers on this list come from hard rock, metal, punk, blues, jam-band culture, Southern rock, and virtuoso guitar circles, showing just how adaptable these songs can be without losing the riffs and attitude that made the originals unmistakable.
# 10 – “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” – Pat Travers
Pat Travers covered “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” on his 2000 album Don’t Feed the Alligators, released by Shrapnel Records on February 22, 2000. Travers takes the ZZ Top classic from 1979’s Degüello and pushes it toward his own muscular blues-rock style, with a lineup that included Larry Jacoby on bass, Liberty DeVitto on drums, Doug Bare on keyboards and vocals, and Monica Travers on backing vocals. The result keeps the original song’s swagger while giving it the harder guitar attack that has always defined Travers’ best work.
Read More: Top 10 Pat Travers Songs
# 9 – “Jesus Just Left Chicago” – Phish
Phish’s version of “Jesus Just Left Chicago” appears on the live album Slip, Stitch and Pass, released on October 28, 1997. Contrary to some later listings, the performance was recorded on March 1, 1997, at the Markthalle in Hamburg, Germany, not at the E-Werk in Cologne. With Page McConnell taking the lead vocal and Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, and Jon Fishman stretching the song into Phish’s improvisational world, the band preserves the deep blues feel of the ZZ Top original while opening it up into something looser and more exploratory.
Read More: Top 10 Phish Songs
# 8 – “Got Me Under Pressure” – Duff McKagan’s Loaded
Duff McKagan’s Loaded covered “Got Me Under Pressure” for the 2011 compilation ZZ Top – A Tribute From Friends, released by Show Dog–Universal Music. McKagan handled vocals and guitar alongside guitarist Mike Squires, bassist Jeff Rouse, and drummer Isaac Carpenter, turning the Eliminator track into a leaner and more aggressive hard-rock performance. The cover keeps the nervous momentum and bluesy backbone of the original while adding the punk-influenced edge that McKagan brought from Guns N’ Roses and his other projects.
# 7 – “Sharp Dressed Man” – Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet included “Sharp Dressed Man” as the opening track on Southern Rock Masters (Deluxe Digital Version), released in 2008 by Deadline Music. ZZ Top’s 1983 Eliminator classic already carried plenty of Southern swagger, making it a natural fit for a band whose own identity was rooted in heavier Southern rock. Molly Hatchet preserves the instantly recognizable riff and groove while roughening the edges with a more muscular guitar sound and rugged vocal approach.
# 6 – “TV Dinners” – Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer covered “TV Dinners” on his 2003 album Drive, one of the final studio albums released during his lifetime. Palmer’s version of the quirky Eliminator track trades some of ZZ Top’s electronic sheen for the bluesier, groove-centered character that runs throughout Drive. His controlled vocal delivery gives the song a different kind of humor and coolness, proving that even one of ZZ Top’s strangest hits could be reshaped without losing the playful spirit of the original.
# 5 – “Tush” – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts recorded “Tush” for the 1990 all-covers album The Hit List. ZZ Top originally released the song on 1975’s Fandango!, and its compact blues-rock riff made it a perfect choice for Jett’s direct, no-frills approach. With Jett joined by Ricky Byrd, Kasim Sulton, and Thommy Price, the Blackhearts play the song with enough grit to honor the original while giving it the tougher punk-and-hard-rock edge that defined Jett’s own catalog.
# 4 – “Sharp Dressed Man” – Ministry
Ministry turned “Sharp Dressed Man” into industrial metal on Undercover, the 2010 collection credited to Ministry & Co-Conspirators. Al Jourgensen’s approach strips away the polished MTV-era sheen of the ZZ Top original and replaces it with distorted guitars, mechanical rhythms, and a much darker atmosphere, while Mike Scaccia’s guitar work pushes the familiar riff into Ministry territory. It is one of the most radical reinventions on this list because the basic identity of the song survives even after virtually everything around it has been made harsher and heavier.
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# 3 – “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” – Motörhead
Motörhead recorded “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” during sessions for its self-titled debut album in April 1977, but the track did not appear on the original LP and was later issued on the 1980 Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers EP. Lemmy Kilmister, “Fast” Eddie Clarke, and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor take the blues-rock swagger of ZZ Top’s 1973 Tres Hombres original and drive it through Motörhead’s louder, faster, dirtier sound. The cover feels less like a genre exercise than a meeting of two bands that understood exactly how much mileage could be pulled from a great riff and a rebellious attitude.
# 2 – “Blue Jean Blues” – Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Malmsteen’s version of “Blue Jean Blues” appears on his 2019 album Blue Lightning, released on March 29, 2019. The collection was built partly around songs from the blues and classic-rock artists who influenced him, and the slow ZZ Top ballad from Fandango! gives Malmsteen an opportunity to emphasize touch and phrasing rather than sheer speed. He still adds the soaring bends and technical flourishes associated with his playing, but the performance works because he allows the blues foundation of the song to remain at the center.
# 1 – “La Grange” – G3: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci joined forces on “La Grange” during the G3 concert recorded on May 8, 2005, at the Tokyo International Forum and released later that year on G3: Live in Tokyo. The all-star jam also featured Billy Sheehan on bass and vocals, Matt Bissonette on bass, and Jeff Campitelli on drums, while Satriani, Vai, and Petrucci traded guitar parts over ZZ Top’s immortal Tres Hombres boogie. What makes the performance such a great number-one choice is that all three guitarists bring their own highly recognizable styles to the song without losing the shuffle, grit, and Billy Gibbons riff that make “La Grange” work in the first place.
10 Best Covers Of ZZ Top Songs article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
Updated September 6, 2026.
No mention of the legendary Hamsters. Not been in this country for long enough to have witnessed them I guess.
Yes, I already said it once, but for some reason it was deleted.
The Hamsters were the best at most of those tracks, and the best at Jimi songs too. Credit where credit’s due.
Hi Kate, when you say “this country” what country are you referring to?
Brian – It says the writer lives in Chelsea, London, but comes from San Diego. She may have just been in London for a few years and the Hamsters retired 2012 after 25 years together and therefore she may not have managed to catch them. Check out the Wikipedia page The Hamsters or Facebook page which is a source of considerable mirth, as were the countless gigs we saw over 20 of those 25 years! Enjoy.
Thanks for the tip Kate. What are your favorite Hamsters songs?
Got to be Sharp Dressed Man! Always the finale to a gig. Instrument swap and walk among the crowd,
Who would do that these days? Best CD collection is “Pet Sounds” which has 34 mixed ZZ Top/Hendrix/Hamsters tracks including Little Wing. You can get it on ebay. They did their own music too. Blues for the Blues is a good ‘un. Not on Spotify but a few vids on YouTube. They had some great Album covers and T-shirts too – Verminator, Condensed Hamsters, Band of Gerbils, Electric Hamsterland, Route 666. I miss them so much. The atmosphere at their gigs was amazing.