Billy F. Gibbons' 'Southern pop' excellence highlighted at BMI Troubadour Award ceremony

Genres and musical styles cannot define the five-decade-long career of ZZ Top member Billy F. Gibbons. That was never more evident than at the private Sept. 18 ceremony in Nashville, where the musician was honored with Broadcast Music Inc's. Troubadour Award.

The Troubadour Award honors "songwriters who have made indelible impacts on the music world and remain a source of inspiration for subsequent generations of musicians," notes a press statement.

ZZ Top defying genre and style titles with music embracing a swagger built on unvarnished, boogie-ready grooves and anthemic truths define five decades of music that BMI's VP of Creative Clay Bradley referred to in a May Tennessean feature as "Southern pop."

"[Southern pop] highlights that fans don't care about the style of the sound, but rather how passionate it is and timeless it can become."

Elle King -- born three years after the release of ZZ Top's last Top 40 Billboard singles in a decade-long run bookmarked between 1970-1990 -- was present at the festivities.

The multiple-time country chart-topper with rock and soul bona fides at the event sang ZZ Top's 1983-released "Gimme All Your Lovin'."

It was symbolic of the previously-mentioned Southern pop stylings previously-mentioned.

As well, performers including Chris Isaak ("Sharped Dress Man") and Keith Urban (1986's "Rough Boy") highlighted how Southern pop has continued to dress itself and represent cinematic-style leading-man energy while retaining Gibbons' level of B.B. King and Elvis Presley-inspired craft and showmanship.

Robert Earl Keen -- a fellow peerless Texas songwriter -- and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's rising star status as a blues guitarist were also present in the proceedings.

Coupled with icons like Eric Clapton and three-time Academy of Country Music Award-winning session guitarist Tom Bukovac celebrating his excellence, the event cemented the foundation of Southern culture-inspired and globally influencing pop for generations to come.

"BMI has been fortunate enough to have Billy as part of our family for decades and his contributions to ZZ Top's enduring success solidified their legendary status," stated Bradley. "His songwriting and artistic style transcends through many decades."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Billy F. Gibbons' 'Southern pop' excellence highlighted at BMI Troubadour Award ceremony