Dusty Hill (left) and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top perform at The Warfield in San Francisco on Oct. 2, 2016. Brandon Jernigan/STAFF.

Dusty Hill, the cofounding bassist of ZZ Top, died on Wednesday at the age of 72, the band announced on social media.

Hill, born Joseph Michael Hill on May 19, 1949 in Dallas, died in his sleep in Houston, the city where he and drummer Frank Beard had started the band that would become ZZ Top before being joined by guitarist-vocalist Billy Gibbons.

Wearing their signature beards and beanies, Hill and Gibbons, along with Beard became one of the biggest bands in the world during the early MTV years, with their image of hot-rod-driving, woman-chasing rockers perfectly suited for the bourgeoning music video era.

The onstage chemistry between Dusty Hill and Gibbons, and their synced choreography—shuffling in-step, dipping or flipping their instruments in unison—soon became another hallmark for the band. ZZ Top may have been pegged by some as gimmicky pop-rock cowboys in the ’80s, but that’s a nearsighted take. The veneer was just for show. ZZ Top’s pre-MTV catalog is incredible in its own right. The trio was Texas’ version of Led Zeppelin, and anyone who tried to cover their music quickly learned just how complex the music is. 

Yet Hill and ZZ Top were extremely talented musicians, blending blues with psychedelia to make something that was new at the time. Hill and Beard started the band in the late 1960s, soon meeting Gibbons. As Moving Sidewalks, the band that preceded ZZ Top, they toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. After they added synths to their sound in the ’80s, they exploded with hits like “Legs,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “La Grange,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’.”

The band’s story is told in 2019 documentary “ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas.”

“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,'” the band said on social media.

Hill and ZZ Top were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

They released their first record as ZZ Top in 1971. They would taste success for the first time with 1873’s Tres Hombres, which included single “La Grange,” and was certified Gold and reached No. 8 on U.S. charts. Each of their next eight albums would be certified Gold, Platinum or Diamond, including 1979’s Degüello, 1983’s Eliminator and 1985’s Afterburner. ZZ Top last released a studio album in 2012. Their last live album was 2016’s Tonite at Midnight: Live Greatest Hits from Around the World.

 

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Columnist Tony Hicks contributed to this story. Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.