ZZ Top's legendary bassist dies at 72 after more than a half century as the steward of Texas Boogie.
When Dusty Hill passed away on July 28, 2021, the world lost an icon of American music. It's hard to encapsulate the enormity of ZZ Top's impact on the canon of American rock music, but there's a moment in the 2019 Banger Films documentary, ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas, where the band's early producer, Robin Brians, perhaps puts it best: "ZZ Top plays the blues, but they don't sing the blues. They turned blues into party music."
The magnitude of that singular act can be traced directly to bands like Van Halen, the Anglo-American versions of Whitesnake, and countless others—that's how deeply embedded in popular music ZZ Top's influence has become. Not only are they quite possibly Texas's most successful musical export—with more than 50 million records sold worldwide and more than 50 years as a band—they are one of America's, too.
ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag (Official Music Video)
Hill's role in ZZ Top has always been understated and underrated. Upon hearing the news of his untimely passing yesterday, a colleague asked if I'd ever met him, to which I replied, "Only through his bass lines." Though I never got to interview him personally, there's an intimacy in learning someone else's music and bass parts. Dusty's Texas groove was undeniably delicious, and an exercise in restraint. It's tempting to want to overplay, but his bass lines represent a masterclass in the age-old musical mantra, "less is more." His performances are seemingly simplistic, but copping his indelible feel is another matter entirely. His deep-pocketed, hard-hitting grooves on now-classic tunes like "La Grange," "Tush," "Cheap Sunglasses," and "Tube Snake Boogie," were based on a simple, yet effective strategy.
"Sometimes you don't even notice the bass," he said in a 2016 article by Gary Graff in For Bass Players Only. "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." Ultimately, his spin on the blues, and attitude about bass, created the perfect foil for Billy Gibbons' masterful guitar playing and Frank Beard's rock-infused Texas Shuffle.
Born Joseph Michael Hill on May 19, 1949, in Dallas, Texas, Dusty grew up a self-professed Elvis Presley fanatic. He retells the story of his musical origins in the Banger documentary, recalling that he got into music by singing along to an Elvis record his mother brought home from the diner where she worked. When he was 8 years old, he decided to sing a song in public, at a restaurant presumably, which resulted in the patrons at a nearby table giving him change. That was it—he got money in exchange for singing and essentially never looked back. He played cello for a bit in high school but switched to bass at the behest of his older, guitar-playing brother, Rocky Hill, who decided that their band, in which Dusty was solely a vocalist at the time, needed a bassist. And so, from 1966 to 1968, along with future ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, the Hill brothers played locally in Dallas with the Warlocks, the Cellar Dwellers, and American Blues.
ZZ Top's bassist Dusty Hill and guitarist Billy F. Gibbons played together for 52 years. Atop Hill's shoulder is his main bass at the time this photo was taken in 2013: a John Bolin-built chambered slab body with a Seymour Duncan stacked P-bass pickup for Texas blues tone with a dash of nastiness.
Photo by Ken Settle
In 1968, tired of the straight blues, and wanting to embrace a bit more of the British Invasion-style rock music that was infiltrating America at the time, Dusty and Beard moved to Houston, where they subsequently teamed up with guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons of psychedelic-rockers Moving Sidewalks. Together, the trio took their combined Freddie King, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf influences, cranked up their amps, imbued them with a rock 'n' roll attitude, and ZZ Top was born.
They released their first album, the cheeky-titled, ZZ Top's First Album, in 1971, which captured their fledgling rock-infused blues sound. But it was their third album, Tres Hombres, released in 1973, featuring the songs, "La Grange," "Waitin' for the Bus," and "Jesus Just Left Chicago," that cemented their reputation as innovators. Perhaps it was Hill's early foundation in singing that allowed him to hone a bass skill set that embodies the instrument's most fundamental role: supporting the melody. His vocal ability, best represented on the 1975 Fandango! single, "Tush," the band's first Top 20 hit, and one of their most enduring songs, seems to have placed emphasis on indelible feel, rather than technical prowess. He used that same approach when playing bass. Check out any of the aforementioned tunes for a sample of his nasty grooves and dynamic tone. What he's playing may seem simple, but try to capture that feel. That's not something you just pick up. That comes from being steeped in a particular lifestyle and culture, comprised primarily of incessant touring, and growing up provincially, in Texas.
Dusty Hill circa 1975 playing the cornerstone of his sound: a vintage 1970s Fender P bass he bought in a Dallas pawnshop.
Photo by Phil McAuliffe / Frank White Photo Agency
ZZ Top had a successful '70s run before taking a three-year hiatus and reemerging in the early '80s with long beards and new records into a burgeoning, yet welcoming, MTV music-video era. If Tres Hombres put them on the map as musical innovators in 1973, it was 1983's Eliminator that turned them into cultural icons a decade later. Though the production was chastised by blues purists for having synthesizers and drum machines, the band's authentic blues roots still undergird the material, and tunes like "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Gimme All Your Lovin'" solidified their place within the annals of pop culture. And, after all, as Dusty Hill says himself in the Banger documentary: "We never said we were a blues band. We are interpreters of the blues." In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
It appears the band will carry on with longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis taking over bass duties, as he did on July 23 at the Village Commons in New Lenox, Illinois, when Dusty was forced to sit out due to a hip injury.
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Guitarist Billy Gibbons’ and bassist Dusty Hill’s toys can be summed up by three Bs: bold, Bolin-made, and because they said so.
On the current ZZ Top tour, Billy Gibbons starts the night with a John Bolin-made purple telecaster. The guitar was made in 2012 and has a 24 3/4 scale, a chambered mahogany body with a flamed-maple top, a set mahogany neck with painted maple fretboard, Glendale saddles, a Cream T BFG Banger pickup with LED pole pieces, and checkerboard binding. According to Gibbons’ tech Elwood Francis, this guitar is “feather light.” Like all of Gibbons’ guitars, it’s strung with .07-.038 strings.
ZZ Top approaches gear like they approach facial hair: Go big or go home. Billy Gibbons’ tech Elwood Francis and Dusty Hill’s tech Ken “TJ” Gordon give us the behind-the-scenes rundown of the current touring setup.
Billy Gibbons’ Gear
Here’s a glimpse at what Billy’s been using live, but let it be known that it’s already changed. “We started the tour using the Les Pauls for the encores, but that gave way to whatever guitars we happened to pick up along the way,” said Billy Gibbons’ tech Elwood Francis from the road in mid-November. “Things change at the drop of a hat. In the past week, we've acquired four guitars and six fuzz boxes—and the tour only has three more gigs.”
Dusty Hill’s Gear
Tech Ken “TJ” Gordon describes Dusty Hill’s bass tone as, “Texas blues with a little nastiness and a lot whoooo!” Here he guides us through Hill’s gear, including a collection of basses that were custom-made to match the guitars of bandmate Billy Gibbons.
Fender Announces Rosewood Telecaster and Signature Model Basses From Geddy Lee, Dusty Hill, and Sean Hurley
The Fender Custom Shop announces its 2013 collection of limited and artist series models. These include the return of the ever-popular Rosewood Telecaster guitar, as well as Geddy Lee, Dusty Hill and Sean Hurley signature artist series bass guitars.
Scottsdale, AZ (September 6, 2013) -- The Fender Custom Shop is pleased to announce its 2013 collection of limited and artist series models. These include the return of the ever-popular Rosewood Telecaster guitar, as well as Geddy Lee, Dusty Hill and Sean Hurley signature artist series bass guitars.
Limited Edition – Closet Classic Rosewood Telecaster
In the late ’60s, Fender built several instruments made completely from hand-selected rosewood. These instruments were not built for long and are highly collectible on the vintage market now. Jimi Hendrix reportedly had one of the first Rosewood Stratocaster guitars and George Harrison of the Beatles used one of the original rosewood Telecaster guitars on Let It Be, and for the infamous concert on the roof of Apple Records.
The Rosewood Telecaster guitar is once again offered as a limited edition for 2013. Each guitar comes with a limited edition decal, certificate case and neck plate, and is a replication of one of the most desirable guitars in Fender history. Other features include: rosewood body and neck with satin finish, late ’60s Telecaster neck profile, no skunk stripe or plug, “Fender” decal, vintage hardware, 9.5” radius, 6105 frets, modern wiring, Twisted Tele® pickups and a satin urethane closet classic finish.
Limited Edition – Limited Geddy Lee 1972 Jazz Bass
One of the world’s most recognizable Fender Jazz basses has to be Geddy Lee’s famous black ’72 Jazz Bass, purchased circa 1977 from a pawnshop in Kalamazoo, Mich. Lee bought it as is, with no original case, for $200.
Lee first used it for a couple songs on enormously successful 1981 Rush album Moving Pictures. At the sessions for that album, he used the Jazz Bass to record “Vital Signs,” “Witch Hunt,” and two of Rush’s biggest and most enduringly popular hits, classic rock staples “Limelight” and “Tom Sawyer” (the bass also appeared in the “Limelight” and “Vital Signs” videos).
After that, Lee used the Jazz only sparingly on various Rush tracks throughout the rest of the ’80s and into the early 1990s. When it came time to record 1993’s Counterparts, however, engineer Kevin “the Caveman” Shirley insisted that Lee return to the black Jazz Bass rather than use the more contemporary basses of the era that Lee had experimented with. Lee fell in love with his Jazz Bass’s tone and feel all over again; this time for good—ever since, he’s played it full-time as his number-one bass on all Rush albums and tours. For Lee, it remains the benchmark against which all other basses are judged.
Lee’s beloved Jazz Bass is now on its third neck, crafted in the Fender Custom Shop and featuring white binding and pearl inlays (as opposed to the original black), and the original tuners, bushings and string tree. When the neck was replaced, Lee opted for an oil finish on the back (instead of poly) because it’s smoother and faster (and indeed all his touring basses are now set up that way).
Now, the Custom Shop has meticulously replicated every detail in neck shape, wiring, pickups and more in creating the Limited Edition Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, including the wear and tear of nearly 35 years of touring. Additional features include a nitrocellulose-lacquered alder body, maple neck with a Custom Oval “C” back shape, bound maple fingerboard with a 9.5” radius and medium jumbo frets, custom ’75 hand-wound single-coil Jazz Bass pickups, Leo Quan Badass II bridge, custom Jazz Bass wiring, and Nickel/Chrome hardware.
Limited Edition – Gold Top Dusty Hill Precision Bass
After selling more than 50 million records, ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill knows a thing or two about Fender bass tone. The new Dusty Hill signature Precision Bass is a thumping tone machine and is not just another P Bass® guitar. A custom designed Seymour Duncan pickup, unique custom neck shape, and rear routed controls add to the low-down sound and playability of this instrument.
This special Gold Top Limited Edition is exactly like the one Dusty is currently on tour with, and only 50 of these basses will be available worldwide. The bass features an okume body with binding on the top and a unique nitrocellulose lacquer metallic gold Relic® finish. Additional features include a one-piece quartersawn maple neck with reverse headstock, a 9.5” radius fingerboard and vintage frets, rear-load volume/tone controls, and vintage wiring and hardware.
Artist Collection – Sean Hurley Signature 1961 Closet Classic Precision Bass
Bassist Sean Hurley has certainly made his mark in Los Angeles, playing bass for Vertical Horizon and co-writing Robin Thicke hit “Lost Without U” (covered by Marcus Miller on 2008 album Marcus) while maintaining an astonishing pace as an in-demand studio bassist with artists including: Ringo Starr, Annie Lennox, Miley Cyrus, Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette and Colbie Caillat. Hurley has also won acclaim as John Mayer’s bass player on several of the superstar singer/songwriter’s world tours and recordings. He has accomplished all of this with his well-worn Fender Precision Bass guitar.
The Fender Custom Shop now replicates Hurley’s favorite Precision Bass in three colors – Three-color Sunburst, Olympic White and Charcoal Frost. And when we were spec’ing out Hurley’s original bass, we noticed a piece of foam he’d stuffed under the strings in front of the bridge to deaden the strings, so we designed a special Fender string mute that can easily be engaged at any time during a song – and which has never been offered on a Fender bass. Additional features include a select nitrocellulose-lacquered alder body, quartersawn maple neck with a custom “C” back shape, rosewood fingerboard with a 7.25” radius and vintage frets, handwound Precision Bass pickups, vintage wiring, and Nickel/Chrome hardware.
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