ZZ top bassist Joseph Michael “Dusty” Hill has died, as Rolling Stone and TMZ report. In a statement posted on ZZ Top’s social media channels, Hills’ surviving bandmates Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons said Hill died while sleeping at his Houston home. “We, together with legions of ZZ top fans all over the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good-naturedness and your permanent commitment to give the ‘top’ this monumental floor,” they wrote. “We’ll be forever associated with this ‘blues shuffle in C’.” Dusty Hill was 72 years old.
Dusty Hill, guitarist and lead singer Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard formed ZZ Top. The Texan trio gained national attention with the groundbreaking 1973 album Tres Hombres, which included the hit “La Grange”. During their four decades of career, ZZ Top experimented with new, wave-shaped synthesizer records, staying in touch with their southern rock and blues roots. The band’s last album with Hill was 2012 La Futura, which Gibbons produced with Rick Rubin.
Hill was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Together with his brother Rocky Hill and the future ZZ Top member Beard, he played in several bands, including the Warlocks, Cellar Dwellers and American Blues. The final band, American Blues, released two full-length albums before breaking up in 1968. Hill and Beard moved to Houston where they met Billy Gibbons. The trio shared the first ZZ top single “Salt Lick” in 1969; the aptly named first album by ZZ Top came out two years later.
After the success of Tres Hombres, ZZ Top released four more studio records before releasing their best-selling album Eliminator in 1983. It marked a move towards the pop and synthesizer driven sound of the band. The next record, 1985’s Afterburner, became the group’s top-charting LP and peaked at number 4 on the US charts. ZZ Top were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
In addition to his work with ZZ Top, Dusty Hill appeared in Back to the Future Part III and the HBO series Deadwood. He was also featured in the 2007 King of the Hill episode, “Hank Gets Dusted,” in which he is said to be Hank Hill’s cousin.
