By Best Classic Bands
Dusty Hill, the bassist and a lead singer for ZZ Top, has died. His bandmates Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons announced Wednesday, July 28, 2021 that he passed in his sleep at his Houston, Tex. home at age 72.
ZZ Top were in the midst of a tour when Hill suddenly took a leave of absence. At the time, the band announced to address a hip issue.
The brief announcement:
We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature, and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that “Blues Shuffle in C.”
You will be missed greatly, amigo.
Frank & Billy
After a sixteen-month hiatus, necessitated by the worldwide pandemic, ZZ Top went back out on tour in 2021. “A Celebration With ZZ Top” began on July 16 with scores of U.S. concerts planned.
It’s believed that Hill’s final performance was July 21 in Louisville, Ky.
Watch ZZ Top perform “Gimme All Your Lovin’” at that concert
Hill was born Joseph Michael Hill on May 19, 1949, in Dallas, Tex. While in his teens, he and his brother, Rocky Hill, played in several bands with a drummer and future ZZ Top member Frank Beard. Soon thereafter, Dusty and Beard moved to Houston where they combined with Billy Gibbons in what became ZZ Top in 1969.
Over the next 50+ years, “That Little Ol’ Band From Texas” maintained the most consistently stable lineup in the history of rock music. In that time, they’ve released 15 studio albums, some 30 million in record sales, and such classic rock favourites as “La Grange,” “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Tush.”
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
The only interview Music Express conducted with ZZ Top was when the band performed in Toronto in 1983 while riding high on the charts with their Eliminator release.
During the interview, Both Hill and Gibbons spoke highly of their support from Canada. At the VIP gathering following their concert, Music Express publisher Conny Kunz gave Hill a playful tug of his beard. “Just checking to see if it was real,” she laughed. “Oh yes, it’s real alright,” retorted Hill trying to realign his neck.
