+++ NAME: Linden Hudson (77 years old)(secretly famous, see below for details).

+++ www.facebook.com/linden.hudson.7/

+++ HOME: Texas Gulf Coast, Metro Area, USA

+++ PROFESSIONAL LIFE: Linden Hudson: freelance Location Sound Engineer for Video & Film production 30 years (semi-retired). Linden's worked TV interviews with 4 USA PRESIDENTS (secret service clearance). He's worked in the NASA audio department (6 shuttle missions), did a day shoot with/for FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA, did tv jobs for 2 SUPER BOWLS & a WORLD SERIES . Traveled worldwide for hundreds of film/video jobs. Linden's worked cop show crack house busts, high speed chases & crime scenes. Worked in hurricanes for CBS, ABC, NBC News Florida to Texas & he’s worked network TV on some of histories worst disasters (F5 tornado aftermath, Moore OK), Oklahoma City bombing, robberies, murder trials. He's been in caves in Mexico with PBS. Worked with countless stars & superstars.

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SECRET FAME: Before Film & Video biz, Linden spent 20 years as a recording studio engineer, recording bands. In the early 80's he lived at ZZ Top's drummer's house & built a small demo/recording studio there for Frank. Linden was involved in two ZZ Top albums (lightly involved on EL LOCO and more involved on ELIMINATOR). The resulting ELIMINATOR album (1983) sold "Diamond", a sales rating ten times platinum (huge). ELIMINATOR, the only ZZ Top album to be "Diamond" out of their total of 15 albums. In 2003 ELIMINATOR was chosen as one of Rolling Stone magazine's 500 greatest albums of all time. The famous album spawned five hit singles. Eliminator sold HALF of ALL the records ZZ Top sold in their 50 year career.

On the early design and pre-production of the ELIMINATOR album, Linden was a co-writer, without a hint of credit. Not receiving credit and specific compensation was a real bummer. A slap in the face. The internet has given Linden a voice for the telling of his story. Credits should always be given to contributors.

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From the book: Gimme All Youur Lovin’

By: Christopher McKittrick (copyright 2024)

(page: 136)

Linden Hudson, played a significant role in the pre production of the album. His contribution is now widely known and accepted particularly since Hudson has in recent years been speaking openly about his involvement in the early stages of Eliminator in interviews, most recently in a profile in the summer 2023 issue of the revived Creem magazine. His insight into the creation of Eliminator has also served as a rare first hand account of how the individual members of ZZ Top and management often worked independently, despite the public image of unity and fraternity.

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QUOTE: FROM THE 2022 UK DOCUMENTARY FILM "BREAKING THE BAND: ZZ TOP" famous writer of 150 books MARTIN POPOFF COMMENTED ABOUT THE WRITING OF THE ELIMINATOR ALBUM: “They’re (Billy Gibbons & Linden Hudson) starting to put together pretty complete songs without the necessity of an actual drummer around. Linden Hudson also helped in coming up with the synthesizer bass sound so now, all of a sudden, you didn’t need Dusty around either. So that kind of gets rid of Dusty and Frank as being very necessary at all in the writing process, and suddenly you have this songwriting partnership and demo making partnership between Billy and a guy who’s not even in ZZ Top”

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CREEM MAGAZINE, 2023 Summer Edition, Feature Article: Quote from the article: " In the early 80s Hudson found himself in an unusual position with ZZ Top. An accidental interloper, and unforeseen creative collaborator, and eventually and estranged friend. Hudson got a rare glimpse into the band’s inner world—just before Eliminator exploded in popular culture. "

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ANOTHER EXCERPT FROM CREEM MAGAZINE

Summer 2013 Edition

Hudson, in reflection, focuses on the positive. “I was blessed to be in the engineer chain with Terry Manning and Bob Ludwig [who mastered Eliminator].' He tells me several days later, after our initial conversation. “So in the end, there were three engineers in a row for Eliminator, each to do his job and perform his magic. The Eliminator album was perfect. That’s the part I’m so deeply proud of.”

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It's true that Linden Hudson spent a year with Billy Gibbons starting up the ELIMINATOR album project. Linden knew the songs before ZZ's bass player and drummer did. In fact, Linden knew most of the ELIMINATOR songs before ZZ’s manager did. It’s because the project project started with Billy and Linden even before it had a name (several of the pre-album Linden/Billy demos are now posted on the internet as "ZZ Top original rehearsal tapes" or something like that). More than 30 years after that album was released, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top guitarist) half-heartedly began to admit these Linden Hudson facts in several interviews (only because Linden was talking about it on the internet). Linden was Billy's friend (at least that's what Linden thought).

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-MORE ABOUT THE ZZ TOP "ELIMINATOR" ALBUM - LINDEN'S SECRET FAME:

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LICKLIBRARY DOT COM (interview with Billy Gibbons, in 2013) ZZ TOP'S BILLY GIBBONS SAID: “the Eliminator sessions in 1983 were guided largely by another one of our associates, Linden Hudson, a gifted engineer, during the development of those compositions.” (end quote)

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MUSICRADAR DOT COM (in 2013): Journalist Joe Bosso interviewed Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top guitarist). Gibbons broke 30 years of silence about Linden Hudson introducing synthesizers into ZZ Top's sound. Gibbons said: “This was a really interesting turning point. We had befriended somebody who would become an influential associate, a guy named Linden Hudson. He was a gifted songwriter and had production skills that were leading the pack at times. He brought some elements to the forefront that helped reshape what ZZ Top were doing, starting in the studio and eventually to the live stage. Linden had no fear and was eager to experiment in ways that would frighten most bands. But we followed suit, and the synthesizers started to show up on record.” (end quote) (once again, there were no apologies from Billy Gibbons & ZZ Top)

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FROM THE BOOK: "SHARP DRESSED MEN - ZZ TOP" BY THE LATE DAVID BLAYNEY: "ELIMINATOR went on to become a multi-platinum album, just as Linden had predicted when he and Billy were setting up the 124-beat tempos and arranging all the material. Rolling Stone eventually picked the album as number 39 out of the top 100 of the 80's. Linden Hudson in a fair world should have had his name all over ELIMINATOR and gotten the just compensation he deserved. Instead he got ostracized." (end quote)(Note: the author David Blayney was ZZ Tops first roadie, and then was their stage manager, was with them for 15 years. He passed away in 2010. His knowledge of these matters is unquestionable.)

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FROM THE BOOK: "TRES HOMBRES - THE STORY OF ZZ TOP" BY DAVID SINCLAIR (Writer for the Times Of London): "Linden Hudson, the engineer/producer who lived at Beard's house (ZZ's drummer) had drawn their attention to the possibilities of the new recording technology and specifically to the charms of the straight drumming pattern, as used on a programmed drum machine. On ELIMINATOR ZZ Top unveiled a simple new musical combination that cracked open a vast worldwide market." (end quote)

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DUSTY WAS THIRSTY: Or there was the time we were at Frank's rehearsal studio (front of his house) and all three of the ZZ boys were there working on a song composition. I was at the mix board (starting and stopping tape, adjusting headphones, making comments, cracking jokes). After a couple of hours Dusty said "shit, I could use a drink". I knew Dusty liked bourbon (although I didn't know just how much) so I said "well, I've got a brand new, un-opened bottle of Jim Beam in my bedroom." Dusty's face lit up "well shit, go get it" he said with a big smile. I went down the hall to my room and grabbed a paper cup and the new bottle of Beam (thinking maybe he'd just want a sip or two).

When I came back into the rehearsal studio with the bottle in my hand, Frank (ZZ's drummer) was making a really weird face in my direction, like he was trying to tell me something. But, Dusty was reaching for the bottle as I walked in "you're the man" he said. And, make a note, this bottle of bourbon was not a small pocket bottle. Anyway, long story short, Dusty drank the entire fucking bottle of bourbon in a short amount of time. I couldn't believe it (unreal). Then he said "I gotta go". He got up, put his bass down (his amplifier still on, and volume knob still up), he went outside and we heard him burn rubber in every gear all the way down the street in his Delorean (as his bass strings started feeding back into the speakers). It was the weirdest thing, like a scene from some really crazy movie. Frank looked at me and said "don't ever give whiskey to Dusty". I looked at Billy, as he sat on his stool and diddled on the strings of his guitar, and he just shrugged and said "uh huh".

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QUICK TRIP: I (Linden) want to go back in time a bit and tell a story on Billy G. I was sitting around Frank's house having coffee (in Houston) one morning, ZZ was on the road starting a tour. I got a phone call from Billy Gibbons. "We've got a problem with a piece of electronic gear and we're in a town in Tennessee (I think Knoxville) and my guys can't find anyone to fix it. Can you hop a plane and come try to fix this before the show tonight?" I said "I'll give it a try" and I hustled off to the Houston airport (note: I repeat, I wasn't an employee of ZZ Top, I just did freelance odd jobs for them occasionally).

A roadie picked me up at the Tennessee airport and I got to the auditorium a couple of hours before the show. Gibbons was there to show me the electronic problem with a piece of gear. I re-seated the IC chips in the device as a start, and bingo, the thing was fixed in ten minutes. "Jeez" I said "I flew here to do that?" Gibbons smiled and said "cool, hey stick around, the pyro guy is about to test a pyro effect I want for the start of the show". So we stepped up on the stage and Billy looked back at the pyro guy and said "ok, go ahead". Suddenly there was a huge explosion up in the lighting grid, and it blew my mind and my ears were ringing and I had spots in my eyes from the flash. It even blew a couple of paper cups off the stage. It was like a stick of dynamite going off. The pyro guy walked rapidly up to the stage saying "Jesus, sorry, that was a little stout". Billy grinned and said "no, that's perfect." I started laughing, it's all I could do. (A roadie took me back to the airport, I was back in Houston having a beer before midnight).