Rock Beards

Rock bands will come and go but the ROCK BEARD is forever. From Jerry Garcia circa 1969 to the kings of rock beardsmanship themselves, ZZ Top, nothing has said ROCK and motherfucking ROLL more than the beard. Ironically, the only un-bearded member of ZZ Top is named Frank Beard. But Frank gets cut some slack because he carries the flag for all mustachioed men of rock. Thick and voluptuous facial hair has long been a rite of passage in rock. Grow a beard and guitar shredding, nighttime sunglass wearing, and PBR bottle smashing all become wicked cool. Before the beard, they were just idiotic acts of drunken stupor. And as the chin hairs grow longer, the music gets better. To prove such a point just take a gander at the shaggy chops of TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone or even The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. Beards make even Metallica seem rockin. If it weren't for James Hetfield's billy goat goatee, Metallica would be sold in the children's section of Walmart. Recently, the beard has infiltrated the indie and hip-hop scenes. Slowly such artists as Ben Bridwell from Band of Horses, Bon Iver's Jutin Vernon, and the Avett Brothers have crafted their own flavor savors and chinstraps. According to Rolling Stone Mag, even Kanye has gotten in on this action stating, "I took the TV on the Radio pill and ended up with a beard and glasses!" Indeed, the beard is an instant pill to music magic. The beard embodies all that is Rock. The rock beard will live on forever.