One of the American musicians who helped to keep the Blues in the mainstream, Billy Gibbons was a member of The Moving Sidewalks in the late 1960s, a group that even was Jimi Hendrix's opening act. But he would really become a music legend as the vocalist and guitarist of ZZ Top, group he formed in Texas in 1969 alongside Dusty Hill and Frank Beard. Although he is mainly a Blues Rock musician, he has a really broad musical taste and talked about many other artists during his career. One of them was the late legendary Prince. What is Billy Gibbons' opinion on Prince Prince is known as one of the most incredible performers and songwriters of history but he tends to be quite underrated as a guitar player. He was such a complete musician that most people really didn't notice how skilled he was as a guitar player. Billy Gibbons was among those people because he always loved Prince's musician but didn't know he was such a good guitar player until he saw the late musician playing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In an interview with Dan Rather (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) he recalled that and also told the story of the amazing meeting he had with Prince. "I had become a fan of Prince and by large I admired his showmanship. I considered him a world-class entertainer and it was only until he appeared with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame closing jam session when he picked up a guitar and tore it up. Lit the stage on fire with his technical dexterity. I didn't really know Prince to be that accomplished as a guitarist. (Until that moment I thought) by and large (he was) a great dancer, a great singer, a great composer. Previously I knew he held a guitar but I didn't really see him playing live much. That one appearance at the close of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction awards really caught me off guard and I started listening intently. Then one evening, not long after that I went to  Manhattan and we had made an appearance and it was late at night. I was looking for a place to go find something to eat. I had a favorite spot down in the meat market. On arrival the go to 24-hour place briefly closed for renovation." Billy Gibbons continued: "I was kind of standing around and I looked across the street and there was another place that had recently opened. I had never seen it before. There was a great fanfare going on and I saw Brazilian looking dancers on top of the bar. The music was so loud I said 'Well, I gotta go'. I walked in and a large guy came up and tapped on the shoulder and said: 'Somebody wants to speak to you' and I said 'oh, ok'. He pointed and sitting in this little horseshoe banquette all along there sat Prince. I took a seat and he said: 'I just would like to talk guitar'. I said: 'Well, you've come to the right place'." He continued: "I said: 'Now knowing you as a guitarist, which I had not known before, let's peel the onion. We sat for a good two hours talking how to do this, how to do that. We closed the conversation, this was going to 4:30, 5 in the morning. I said: 'By the way, can you teach me how to play that guitar figure that opens up your great song 'When Doves Cry'? He said: 'Well, I fell into it by accident. I haven't been able to play it like that ever since. Let's go learn it' (laughs). Prince was a prince," Billy Gibbons said. As he told Ultimate Prince they ended up playing together after that conversation. “We performed together one evening in Manhattan (25th-anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame). Later that same night, we gathered at a late-night club to exchange angles on all things guitar. He was always stretching the limits and his guitar prowess out there remains timeless,” he said. Prince was quite aware of ZZ Top's guitarist and mentioned many songs from the power trio that night to Gibbons when talking about guitar sound. His favorite Prince guitar solo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG3VcCAlUgE&pp=ygUOd2hlbiBkb3ZlcyBjcnk%3D Gibbons' favorite guitar solo by Prince is quite obvious after reading the story of their meeting. When asked by Ultimate Prince he said: “’When Doves Cry’ is it for me, really. That opening guitar figure is killer. That passage solidified our admiration for Prince as a truly gifted soloist on the six-string. Something that was overlooked ’til the sound of that first fill hit the airwaves. (...) All the Prince stuff is satisfying. The awe inspired from the realization that he could play everything with a delivery that made total sense nails it. He ‘knew what he knew’ and brought it forth for enjoyment for many,” Billy Gibbons said. Prince tragically passed away too soon at the age of 57 in 2016 after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl. He was nine years older than Gibbons. A prolific songwriter, he released 40 studio albums during his praised career. The post Billy Gibbons’ opinion on Prince appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.