Lanier Greig, second from left, with Neal Ford and the Fanatics
Lanier Greig, an immensely talented keyboardist, bassist, composer and arranger who was also a member of an early iteration of ZZ Top, died in his sleep this week at his home in Austin; he was 64.
“He was a brilliant natural musician,” says friend and musician Guy Schwartz. “He was able to fit into any situation and add value to anybody’s music.”
Greig’s tenure in ZZ Top was brief, but he could count himself an original member of the enduring blues rock band. The band’s name was trademarked in June 1969 when singer and guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Dan Mitchell, formerly of the band the Moving Sidewalks, enlisted Greig to help them move away from psychedelic rock and into a more blues and boogie-based sound. Greig can be heard on the ZZ’s first single, “Salt Lick” and its b-side, “Miller’s Farm,” which were first released as a single in 1969. Greig’s snaky keyboard line is an integral part of the song’s eerie vibe before setting up a wild solo by Gibbons.
Though Greig’s playing was on the single was prominent, he nevertheless was soon out of the band; the given reason was “creative differences.” Schwartz suggests Gibbons and manager Bill Ham were seeking a particular sound that codified with bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard, the classic ZZ Top lineup that has been playing since 1970.
Prior to his time with ZZ Top Top Greig, a Memorial High School grad, was a member of Neal Ford and the Fanatics, a wildly popular band in Houston in the 1960s. In 1967 the group placed first in the Houston Post’s Teen Music Contest. After years out of print, Ford and the Fanatics will have their recordings digitized and reissued later this year, which should draw some attention to Greig’s playing.
“He was as important as anybody in the sound of that band,” Ford says. “His perspective on everything was just a little different. I’d just lost my keyboardist, so I had an interview with Lanier. First thing he did was look at his watch and said, ‘There, I just blew up my little brother.’ Which was very typical Lanier. No explanation. He just left it a mystery. That was typical Lanier. He was an excellent player. I was blown away at how good he was. But he also seemed to come at everything from a different direction.”
Schwartz said Greig was a mentor to him at Memorial, and their friendship spanned decades. Schwartz calls Greig “my all night driving buddy . . . if I was coming back from a show late at night, he’d call and keep me awake. He was a guy with a lot of energy.”
In addition to admiring Greig’s musical gifts, Schwartz also cited the keyboardist’s sense of humor. “He was a great entertainer and a great entertainer off stage also,” Schwartz says. “Like the night the police pulled him over in his car. Lanier waited until the officer got to his car, he rolled down his window and said, ‘I’ll take a cheeseburger and a large orange, please.’”
That one didn’t go over so well. “His parents were called, and they picked him up later on,” Schwartz says.
After leaving ZZ Top, Greig eventually made his way to Los Angeles. He spent decades there doing session work as a keyboardist while also leading jazz duos and trios. “He did a lot of session work and he was involved in a lot of pop music, but he loved jazz and improvisation and he was great at it, a natural,” Schwartz says.
Greig, who years ago relocated to Austin, also composed and recorded beautiful and grand classical music on piano. “He didn’t come out with any albums over the past few years,” says his son, Holland Greig. “He kept to himself and would play a few local shows.” Holland recently posted a few of the classical pieces on YouTube.
Greig is survived by his son Holland, his daughters Ariana and Alexis, and his brother Jud.