Dusty Hill, bassist for iconic rock group ZZ Top, dies aged 72
(The AEGIS Alliance) – Bassist for the iconic rock band ZZ Top, Dusty Hill, among three of the Texas blues-rock bearded men, passed away at his residence in Houston, the band revealed on Wednesday. Dusty Hill, dead, aged 72.
In the band’s post on Facebook, guitar player Billy Gibbons as well as drummer Frank Beard stated Hill passed away while he was sleeping. The two did not provide information about the cause of Hill’s death, however, a post from July 21 on the ZZ Top website stated Hill had been “on a short detour back to Texas, to address a hip issue.”
During that time, the band mentioned its longtime guitar technician, Elwood Francis, will stand in as the bassist, slide guitar as well as harmonica.
Born Joe Michael Hill in Dallas, he, Gibbons, as well as Beard, created ZZ Top back in 1969 in Houston. The band released its initial album in 1970, entitled “ZZ Top’s First Album.” A few years afterward the band landed its breakthrough smash hit, “La Grange” which is actually an ode to the Chicken Ranch, an infamous whorehouse beyond a Texas city that was known by that title.
The band continued to release more fan favorites, such as “Tush” in 1975, “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs” as well as “Gimme All Your Lovin’” in 1983, and also “Rough Boy” and “Sleeping Bag” in 1985.
The band’s 1976 “Worldwide Texas Tour,” that included its renowned Texas-designed stage adorned along with cactuses, serpents, and also longhorn livestock, was among the decade’s very most prosperous rock music tours.
In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stones lead guitar player Keith Richards said while presenting the band to the Hall: “These cats are steeped in the blues, so am I. These cats know their blues and they know how to dress it up. When I first saw them, I thought, ‘I hope these guys are not on the run, because that disguise is not going to work.’”
Their appearance, with all 3 members wearing darkened sunglasses as well as both frontmen showing off long, slender beards, ended up being so legendary and were the topic of a New Yorker comic strip and also a joke on “The Simpsons.”
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
