Bill Ham

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Bill Mack Ham (b. 1937) is the former manager, producer, and image-maker for ZZ Top from its inception in the late 1960s until 2006. He started the band with Billy Gibbons and then helped Gibbons find the other two members, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

Ham was born in Waxahachie, Texas in 1937. Ham is widely known to be instrumental to this band's success, in much the same way that George Martin was to the Beatles--or, perhaps more appropriately, like Jim Guercio of the group Chicago, having constructed their entire image and run all their publicity as well as produced all their albums and all their stage show productions. Ham is widely considered in the music business, and by the band itself, as a sort of invisible "4th member" of the trio.

Ham is also legendary for having managed to get the band some exceptionally good record deals before they were famous, including a reported $35,000,000 guarantee from RCA. Ham ran his own recording label briefly in the 1960s, Scat Records. His wife Cecile was horribly murdered in 1991, which was a devastating blow to the band. The killer was apprehended and executed by the State of Texas.

Ham is major figure in Nashville, starting with his discovery and management of singer Clint Black and his founding of several music publishing companies. At one point, his companies were publishing 5 of the top 10 country music hits.

While most of Ham's career has been managing and producing ZZ Top, he did cut a record of his own as a crooner for Dot Records before becoming ZZ Top's manager. Ham has also produced such artists as Kinky Friedman and Point Blank.