Billy Gibbons on 'La Grange’ | Don's Tunes

Photo: Jay Dickman

 

Billy Gibbons: “The “La Grange” riff is another interpretation of one of the cornerstone staples of that splendid American art form, the blues. There are many ways to chop it, we just got really lucky and landed something with resonance that lasts and lasts.” 

As Gibbons recalls, “Growing up in Texas, there were two requirements toward manhood: You had to visit La Grange, and you had to go to the Mexican border. We somehow captured both in one single trip.” 

The guitarist points to Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue Got Married,” the rock pioneer’s sequel to “Peggy Sue,” as compositional inspiration. “That song showed us you didn’t have to rhyme every single stanza or verse,” Gibbons says. 

“Plus, Holly left things open to interpretation: ‘I heard it’s a rumor from a friend.’ Did she get married or not? So with ‘La Grange,’ we tagged the closing with lines like, ‘I hear it’s fine… but I might be mistaken.’ The invitation stood at that moment.”

Regarding a failed lawsuit by the copyright holder of John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen’,” which resulted in a court ruling that the rhythm was in the public domain, Gibbons says, “It seemed to be a somewhat egregious and curious accusation. At the end of the day, we were kind of flattered to know that our music had taken a very important position in the history of rock and roll.” 

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any excuse to revisit Peanuts covering their favourite boogie! Charlie and Snoopy can really rock!