ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill dead at 72 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

AKA · 07-28-2021, 03:09 PM

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...54907339332163

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZZ Top

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

AKA · 07-28-2021, 03:16 PM

Ohio8 · 07-28-2021, 07:09 PM

Zoneboy · 07-28-2021, 08:38 PM

Link

Dusty Hill, Long-Bearded Bassist for ZZ Top, Dies at 72
The band, known for its hard-charging, blues-inflected rock, was one of the biggest acts of the 1980s, selling more than 50 million albums.

Dusty Hill, the quiet, bearded bass player who made up one third of ZZ Top, among the best-selling rock bands of the 1980s, has died at his home in Houston. He was 72.

His bandmates Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons announced the death on Wednesday through Facebook and Instagram. They did not provide a cause or say when he died.

Starting in the early 1970s, ZZ Top racked up dozens of hit records and packed hundreds of arenas a year with their powerful blend of boogie, Southern rock and blues. But the band really took off in the 1980s, when Mr. Gibbons, the lead singer and guitarist, and Mr. Hill grew their signature 20-inch beards and the band released a series of albums that added New Wave synthesizers — often played by Mr. Hill — to their hard-driving guitars, producing MTV-friendly hits like “Legs” and “Sharp-Dressed Man.”

The band paired their grungy sound and innuendo-filled lyrics with a knowing, sometimes comic stage act — Mr. Hill and Mr. Gibbons, in matching sunglasses and Stetson hats, would swing their hips in unison, spinning their instruments on mounts attached to their belts. (Despite his name, Mr. Beard, the drummer, sports just a mustache.) Their stage sets might include crushed cars and even livestock.

Though in public Mr. Hill and Mr. Gibbons were often mistaken as twins, their musical styles differed — Mr. Gibbons a showy virtuoso, Mr. Hill a grinding, precise musical mechanic.

Mr. Hill rarely gave interviews, preferring to let Mr. Gibbons speak for the band. And he gladly accepted his supporting role for his bandmate’s masterful lead guitar playing.

“Sometimes you don’t even notice the bass,” he said in a 2016 interview. “I hate that in a way, but I love that in a way. That’s a compliment. That means you’ve filled in everything and it’s right for the song, and you’re not standing out where you don’t need to be.”

Joseph Michael Hill was born in Dallas on May 19, 1949. He started his musical career singing and playing cello, but he switched instruments at 13, when his brother, Rocky, who played guitar, said his band needed a bassist. One day Dusty came home to find a bass on his bed; that night, he joined Rocky onstage at a Dallas beer joint.

“I started playing that night by putting my finger on the fret, and when the time came to change, my brother would hit me on the shoulder,” he said in a 2012 interview.

In 1969, Dusty was living in Houston and working with the blues singer Lightnin’ Hopkins when Mr. Beard, a friend from high school, suggested that he audition for an open spot in a trio, called ZZ Top, recently founded by Mr. Gibbons. They played their first show together in February 1970.

The band’s humor was evident from the start: They named their first album “ZZ Top’s First Album.” Real success came in 1973 with their third release, “Tres Hombres,” which cracked the Billboard top 10. That same year they opened for the Rolling Stones in Hawaii.

Many of their early songs leaned heavily on sexual innuendo, though sometimes they set the innuendo aside completely. “La Grange,” their big hit on “Tres Hombres,” was about a bordello.

In 1976, after a string of hit albums and nearly seven years of constant touring, the band took a three-year hiatus. Mr. Hill returned to Dallas, where he worked at the airport and tried to avoid being identified by fans.

“I had a short beard, regular length, and if you take off the hat and shades and wear work clothes and put ‘Joe’ on my work shirt, people are not expecting to see you,” he said in a 2019 interview. “Now, a couple of times, a couple of people did ask me, and I just lied, and I said: ‘No! Do you think I’d be sitting here?’”

The band reunited in 1979 to release “Degüello,” their first album to go platinum, and the first time Mr. Gibbons and Mr. Hill grew out their beards. It was also the first sign that they were going beyond their Texas roots by adding a New Wave flavor to their sound, with Mr. Hill also playing keyboard.

They achieved superstar status in 1983 with “Eliminator,” which included hit singles like “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Give Me All Your Lovin.’” It sold 10 million copies and stayed on the Billboard charts for 183 weeks.

In 1984, Mr. Hill made headlines when he accidentally shot himself in the stomach. As a girlfriend was taking off his boot, a .38 Derringer slipped out, hit the floor and went off.

The band’s success continued through the 1980s, and while later albums — in which they returned to their Texan blues roots — didn’t climb the charts, the trio still packed stadiums. And despite their raunchy stylings, they began to draw grudging respect from critics, who often singled out Mr. Hill’s subtly masterful bass playing.

“My sound is big, heavy and a bit distorted because it has to overlap the guitar,” he said in a 2000 interview. “Someone once asked me to describe my tone, and I said it was like farting in a trash can. What I meant is it’s raw, but you’ve got to have the tone in there.”

ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Mr. Hill married his longtime girlfriend, Charleen McCrory, an actress, in 2002. He also had a daughter. Information on survivors was not immediately available.

In 2014 he injured his hip after a fall on his tour bus. He required surgery, and part of the tour had to be canceled. On July 23, he left their latest tour, citing problems with his hip. It is unclear whether that had any connection to his death.

Contrary to their image — and the hard partying that their music seemed to encourage — Mr. Hill and his bandmates kept a low, relatively sober profile. And they remained close friends, even after 50 years of near-constant touring.

“People ask how we’ve stayed together so long,” he told The Charlotte Observer in 2015. “I say separate tour buses. We got separate tour buses early on, when we probably couldn’t afford them. That way we were always glad to see each other when we got to the next city.”

Dude111 · 07-28-2021, 08:51 PM

Very sad......

PhoenixAcres · 07-28-2021, 08:54 PM

Wawwie · 07-28-2021, 09:27 PM

I'm guessing he must have had some kind of terminal illness or some kind of bad sickness since 72 is not terribly old.

AKA · 07-28-2021, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wawwie

I'm guessing he must have had some kind of terminal illness or some kind of bad sickness since 72 is not terribly old.

The band is currently on tour. Dusty’s last show was ten days ago, but he had to bow out because he had a hip injury that needed tending to (they had a sub step in for him the last few shows). I hope it’s not another Tom Petty-type situation.

He also was diagnosed with Hepatitis-C 21 years ago.

ABlairican Pie · 07-28-2021, 10:35 PM

The band were about to play at Tulalip Casino here in Washington. ZZ Top were legends. Dusty Hill was sort of the "quiet one" of the trio, not making as much "noise" as guitarist Billy Gibbons, but now without him, it's not the same.

Never forgot in junior high to have that epiphany listening to 'Fandango!' for the first time in 1976. The live first side, "Heard It On the X", and of course, "Tush".

I always thought "TV Dinners" was a cool song from their 80's era.

Bonniegirl · 07-28-2021, 11:55 PM

So sad!! ZZtop are such a cool, fun band!! I love them!! Very sorry about Dusty Hill's passing!

May he rest in peace!!

Dude111 · 07-29-2021, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wawwie

I'm guessing he must have had some kind of terminal illness or some kind of bad sickness since 72 is not terribly old.

Ya its very sad honey..... I like ZZTOP...

I had thier 1983 album on 8track and its goregous sounding!!

MA · 07-29-2021, 05:30 AM

According to USA Today, Hill has struggled with hip issues since falling on the band’s tour bus in August 2014, followed by surgery and extensive physical rehab.

Dude111 · 07-29-2021, 12:20 PM

Yea its horrible...... My moms having alot of problems also MA

AB · 07-29-2021, 11:21 PM

Heard it on the radio, so sad. We saw them in concert in the 80's. May he rest in peace.

TMC · 07-30-2021, 04:42 AM

How ZZ Top conquered MTV in 1983 to become the unlikeliest music video stars

The recent death of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill at age 72 has prompted Rolling Stone to look back at how the band became pop-culture icons with three music videos released in 1983. "The world is mourning today for the late, great Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, who died Tuesday," says Rob Sheffield. "He was a beer drinker, hell-raiser, sharp-dressed broom duster, and bassist in the same trio for more than 50 years. But Dusty was more than just a legendary bluesman — he and ZZ Top helped define music videos in the early Eighties, conquering MTV with their Eliminator Trilogy. The little ol’ band from Tejas, the most proudly unfashionable rockers around, became MTV’s unlikeliest superstars ever. And they did it without cleaning up their look: beards, hats, cheap sunglasses. As Billy Gibbons said, shrugging, 'Dusty and I don’t fit too well with Giorgio Armani.' ZZ Top had a long career before MTV even existed. (The channel turns 40 this Sunday.) But they changed everything about their story with their synth-y reinvention on Eliminator and the classic video trilogy of 'Gimme All Your Lovin’,' 'Sharp Dressed Man,' and 'Legs,' made with director Tim Newman. Against all odds, the weird beards turned out to be the old-school rockers who best adapted to the Eighties music-video revolution. ZZ Top reveled in the humor and ridiculousness of it all, busting their synchronized dance moves and spinning their white-fur guitars. These guys always got the joke, at a time when other bands were still just nervously lip-syncing in front of brick walls."

07-28-2021, 07:09 PM	#3
Ohio8 Member Forum Star Join Date: Jul 29, 2003 Location: Wherever you aren't. Posts: 18,912	Attached Images
	__________________ "Shorter of breath and one day closer to death." -- Pink Floyd

07-28-2021, 08:38 PM	#4
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,349	ZZ Top Bassist Dusty Hill (1949-2021) Link Dusty Hill, Long-Bearded Bassist for ZZ Top, Dies at 72 The band, known for its hard-charging, blues-inflected rock, was one of the biggest acts of the 1980s, selling more than 50 million albums. Dusty Hill, the quiet, bearded bass player who made up one third of ZZ Top, among the best-selling rock bands of the 1980s, has died at his home in Houston. He was 72. His bandmates Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons announced the death on Wednesday through Facebook and Instagram. They did not provide a cause or say when he died. Starting in the early 1970s, ZZ Top racked up dozens of hit records and packed hundreds of arenas a year with their powerful blend of boogie, Southern rock and blues. But the band really took off in the 1980s, when Mr. Gibbons, the lead singer and guitarist, and Mr. Hill grew their signature 20-inch beards and the band released a series of albums that added New Wave synthesizers — often played by Mr. Hill — to their hard-driving guitars, producing MTV-friendly hits like “Legs” and “Sharp-Dressed Man.” The band paired their grungy sound and innuendo-filled lyrics with a knowing, sometimes comic stage act — Mr. Hill and Mr. Gibbons, in matching sunglasses and Stetson hats, would swing their hips in unison, spinning their instruments on mounts attached to their belts. (Despite his name, Mr. Beard, the drummer, sports just a mustache.) Their stage sets might include crushed cars and even livestock. Though in public Mr. Hill and Mr. Gibbons were often mistaken as twins, their musical styles differed — Mr. Gibbons a showy virtuoso, Mr. Hill a grinding, precise musical mechanic. Mr. Hill rarely gave interviews, preferring to let Mr. Gibbons speak for the band. And he gladly accepted his supporting role for his bandmate’s masterful lead guitar playing. “Sometimes you don’t even notice the bass,” he said in a 2016 interview. “I hate that in a way, but I love that in a way. That’s a compliment. That means you’ve filled in everything and it’s right for the song, and you’re not standing out where you don’t need to be.” Joseph Michael Hill was born in Dallas on May 19, 1949. He started his musical career singing and playing cello, but he switched instruments at 13, when his brother, Rocky, who played guitar, said his band needed a bassist. One day Dusty came home to find a bass on his bed; that night, he joined Rocky onstage at a Dallas beer joint. “I started playing that night by putting my finger on the fret, and when the time came to change, my brother would hit me on the shoulder,” he said in a 2012 interview. In 1969, Dusty was living in Houston and working with the blues singer Lightnin’ Hopkins when Mr. Beard, a friend from high school, suggested that he audition for an open spot in a trio, called ZZ Top, recently founded by Mr. Gibbons. They played their first show together in February 1970. The band’s humor was evident from the start: They named their first album “ZZ Top’s First Album.” Real success came in 1973 with their third release, “Tres Hombres,” which cracked the Billboard top 10. That same year they opened for the Rolling Stones in Hawaii. Many of their early songs leaned heavily on sexual innuendo, though sometimes they set the innuendo aside completely. “La Grange,” their big hit on “Tres Hombres,” was about a bordello. In 1976, after a string of hit albums and nearly seven years of constant touring, the band took a three-year hiatus. Mr. Hill returned to Dallas, where he worked at the airport and tried to avoid being identified by fans. “I had a short beard, regular length, and if you take off the hat and shades and wear work clothes and put ‘Joe’ on my work shirt, people are not expecting to see you,” he said in a 2019 interview. “Now, a couple of times, a couple of people did ask me, and I just lied, and I said: ‘No! Do you think I’d be sitting here?’” The band reunited in 1979 to release “Degüello,” their first album to go platinum, and the first time Mr. Gibbons and Mr. Hill grew out their beards. It was also the first sign that they were going beyond their Texas roots by adding a New Wave flavor to their sound, with Mr. Hill also playing keyboard. They achieved superstar status in 1983 with “Eliminator,” which included hit singles like “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Give Me All Your Lovin.’” It sold 10 million copies and stayed on the Billboard charts for 183 weeks. In 1984, Mr. Hill made headlines when he accidentally shot himself in the stomach. As a girlfriend was taking off his boot, a .38 Derringer slipped out, hit the floor and went off. The band’s success continued through the 1980s, and while later albums — in which they returned to their Texan blues roots — didn’t climb the charts, the trio still packed stadiums. And despite their raunchy stylings, they began to draw grudging respect from critics, who often singled out Mr. Hill’s subtly masterful bass playing. “My sound is big, heavy and a bit distorted because it has to overlap the guitar,” he said in a 2000 interview. “Someone once asked me to describe my tone, and I said it was like farting in a trash can. What I meant is it’s raw, but you’ve got to have the tone in there.” ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Mr. Hill married his longtime girlfriend, Charleen McCrory, an actress, in 2002. He also had a daughter. Information on survivors was not immediately available. In 2014 he injured his hip after a fall on his tour bus. He required surgery, and part of the tour had to be canceled. On July 23, he left their latest tour, citing problems with his hip. It is unclear whether that had any connection to his death. Contrary to their image — and the hard partying that their music seemed to encourage — Mr. Hill and his bandmates kept a low, relatively sober profile. And they remained close friends, even after 50 years of near-constant touring. “People ask how we’ve stayed together so long,” he told The Charlotte Observer in 2015. “I say separate tour buses. We got separate tour buses early on, when we probably couldn’t afford them. That way we were always glad to see each other when we got to the next city.”

07-28-2021, 10:35 PM	#9
ABlairican Pie Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 12, 2001 Location: Living where cats reign more Supreme than a pizza. Posts: 31,620	Rock in peace, Dusty Hill. The band were about to play at Tulalip Casino here in Washington. ZZ Top were legends. Dusty Hill was sort of the "quiet one" of the trio, not making as much "noise" as guitarist Billy Gibbons, but now without him, it's not the same. Never forgot in junior high to have that epiphany listening to 'Fandango!' for the first time in 1976. The live first side, "Heard It On the X", and of course, "Tush". I always thought "TV Dinners" was a cool song from their 80's era.
	__________________ Release the kitties. --Nathan Explosion

07-29-2021, 05:30 AM	#12
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,300	According to USA Today, Hill has struggled with hip issues since falling on the band’s tour bus in August 2014, followed by surgery and extensive physical rehab.
	__________________ ~-Mikaela-~

07-28-2021, 03:16 PM	#2
AKA Member Forum Star Join Date: Dec 17, 2001 Posts: 15,746

07-28-2021, 08:51 PM	#5
Dude111 Forum Legend Join Date: Nov 05, 2013 Posts: 35,853	Very sad......

07-28-2021, 08:54 PM	#6
PhoenixAcres Member Moderator Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 26, 2016 Location: United States Posts: 6,824

07-28-2021, 09:27 PM	#7
Wawwie Member Forum Star Join Date: Jul 26, 2006 Location: New York Posts: 14,376	I'm guessing he must have had some kind of terminal illness or some kind of bad sickness since 72 is not terribly old.

07-28-2021, 11:55 PM	#10
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,576	So sad!! ZZtop are such a cool, fun band!! I love them!! Very sorry about Dusty Hill's passing! May he rest in peace!!

07-29-2021, 12:20 PM	#13
Dude111 Forum Legend Join Date: Nov 05, 2013 Posts: 35,853	Yea its horrible...... My moms having alot of problems also MA

07-29-2021, 11:21 PM	#14
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,429	Heard it on the radio, so sad. We saw them in concert in the 80's. May he rest in peace.

07-30-2021, 04:42 AM	#15
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,301	How ZZ Top conquered MTV in 1983 to become the unlikeliest music video stars The recent death of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill at age 72 has prompted Rolling Stone to look back at how the band became pop-culture icons with three music videos released in 1983. "The world is mourning today for the late, great Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, who died Tuesday," says Rob Sheffield. "He was a beer drinker, hell-raiser, sharp-dressed broom duster, and bassist in the same trio for more than 50 years. But Dusty was more than just a legendary bluesman — he and ZZ Top helped define music videos in the early Eighties, conquering MTV with their Eliminator Trilogy. The little ol’ band from Tejas, the most proudly unfashionable rockers around, became MTV’s unlikeliest superstars ever. And they did it without cleaning up their look: beards, hats, cheap sunglasses. As Billy Gibbons said, shrugging, 'Dusty and I don’t fit too well with Giorgio Armani.' ZZ Top had a long career before MTV even existed. (The channel turns 40 this Sunday.) But they changed everything about their story with their synth-y reinvention on Eliminator and the classic video trilogy of 'Gimme All Your Lovin’,' 'Sharp Dressed Man,' and 'Legs,' made with director Tim Newman. Against all odds, the weird beards turned out to be the old-school rockers who best adapted to the Eighties music-video revolution. ZZ Top reveled in the humor and ridiculousness of it all, busting their synchronized dance moves and spinning their white-fur guitars. These guys always got the joke, at a time when other bands were still just nervously lip-syncing in front of brick walls."