Dusty Hill, who was the bassist of legendary rock group ZZ Top for five decades, died at 72 years old, the band confirmed.
The band’s Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons shared a statement on the ZZ Top social media accounts today (July 28), writing, “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.”
ZZ Top recently kicked off their 2021 tour, and last week, the band performed without Hill for what is believed to be the first time since he joined the group. At the time, the band said in a statement that Hill returned to Texas “to address a hip issue.”
Hill was born in Dallas, Texas on May 19, 1949. After performing with local bands in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, he joined ZZ Top when he replaced founding member Billy Ethridge in 1969. He and the group went on to cement their place in rock history with a number of top-10 albums, including 1973’s Tres Hombres, which is often considered one of the best albums of all time. The band is also known for singles like “La Grange,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs.”
The most recent ZZ Top album is 2012’s La Futura, the band’s 15th LP. In 2019, Hill spoke about the possibility of another ZZ Top album, saying, “We’ve got a lot in the can. It depends on how we would want to put it together or re-do it or whatever, because it’s years of stuff. We just record everything, and then we go, ‘Well, no, this didn’t quite feel right right now.’ […] Suffice to say, we’ve got a lot in the can and we keep talking about it.”