DUSTY HILL
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INSIDE THE WORLD OF ROCK
May 19, 1949 – July 27, 2021
The sudden death of bass player, singer, songwriter and keyboard player Dusty Hill at the age of 72 is especially devastating given the man’s robust, yet understated, presence on the rock star A-list over such a long period of time.
With his long, flowing beard, black shades and inevitable cowboy hats, Hill and his mirror-image bandmate, guitarist Billy Gibbons, along with drummer Frank Beard, created a sound, an image and a mythology that defined ZZ Top, the self-described little ol’ band from Texas, and turned them into one of the wonders of the rock’n’roll world. Like the heads carved out of stone on Mount Rushmore, these larger-than-life Methuselahs seemed destined to last forever. Indeed the band were touring right up to the day Hill died in his sleep at home in Houston, having gone to the city to seek treatment for an injury to his hip, with the band’s guitar tech Elwood Francis taking his place on stage. Gibbons has since stated that it is the band’s intention to play out the remaining shows on their current tour. “As Dusty said upon his departure: ‘Let the show go on!’ And… with respect, we’ll do well to get beyond this
