ZZ Top’s longtime bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill has passed away at the age of 72. No cause of death was given.
“We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston,” bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard announced in a statement . “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,’” noting, “You will be greatly missed, amigo.”
After announcing the news the band canceled their show last night in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Hill had left the tour just last week “to address a hip issue,” athough at his request the band continued the tour, and they said they had expected him to make a “speedy recovery.”
- Gibbons formed ZZ Top in 1969, with Hill and Beard joining him soon after. They played together for more than five decades.
- ZZ Top had their first major hit with 1973’s “Tres Hombres,” but are probably best known for the hits from their 1983 smash album “Eliminator,” including “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Gimmie All Your Lovin’” The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
