ZZ Top: Bearded bassist Dusty Hill dies in his sleep at 72
Posted July 28, 2021 7:00 am
HOUSTON (AP) - ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures, died at his Houston home, the band announced Wednesday on Facebook. He was 72.
In their post, guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard said Hill died in his sleep. They didn't give a cause of death, but a July 21 post on the band's website said Hill was 'œon a short detour back to Texas, to address a hip issue.'ť
At that time, the band said its longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis, would fill in on bass, slide guitar and harmonica.
Born Joe Michael Hill in Dallas, he, Gibbons and Beard formed ZZ Top in Houston in the late 1970s.
FILE - Dusty Hill of ZZ Top performs during the VH1 Rock Honors concert in Las Vegas on May 12, 2007. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 29, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - Dusty Hill, of ZZ Top, performs before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series auto race in Concord, N.C., May 24, 2015. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 29, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - Dusty Hill of U.S. rock band ZZ Top performs on stage during their first concert in Germany in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Oct. 8, 2002. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 29, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (AP Photo/Christof Stache, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - Dusty Hill of ZZ Top performs during the Stagecoach Festival on April 25, 2015, in Indio, Calif. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 29, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - Bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill, from the US rock band, ZZ Top performs at the F1 Rocks concert on Sept. 25, 2009, in Singapore. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 29, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (AP Photo/Joan Leong, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - Dusty Hill, of ZZ Top, performs during the Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 26, 2010, in Chicago. ZZ Top has announced that Hill, one of the Texas blues trio's bearded figures and bassist, has died at his Houston home. He was 72. In a Facebook post, bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard revealed Wednesday, July 29, 2021, that Hill had died in his sleep. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
The Associated Press
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