Dusty Hill

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Dusty Hill

Background information
Birth name Joseph Michael Hill
Also known as "Duster", "The Dust"
Born May 19, 1949 (age 61)
Origin Dallas, Texas, USA
Genres Hard rock, blues-rock, rock, Blues
Occupations Entertainer, Bassist, Singer, Songwriter
Instruments Bass guitar
keyboard
Vocals
Years active 1969 – present
Labels Rhino/WEA, RCA, Warner Bros., London
Associated acts ZZ Top, el willy & the wolves, The Warlocks, The Cellar Dwellers, The American Blues
Notable instruments
Fender Precision,
Dean"sheep wool"Explorer

Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill (born May 19, 1949) is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top. Hill is noted for his solid, unadorned bass playing, "leather-lung" vocal stylings and his love of Elvis Presley.

Contents

[edit] History

Hill was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas. He attended Woodrow Wilson High School.

Hill landed membership with ZZ Top in late 1969, joining drummer Frank Beard (with whom Hill had played in the bands American Blues, the Warlocks, and the Cellar Dwellers) and Moving Sidewalks' guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons.

Dusty Hill's on-screen appearances in "Back To The Future III", "Mother Goose's Rockin' Rhyme", "WWE's RAW",and "Deadwood" were bolstered by appearing as himself in the 11th season episode of King of the Hill, "Hank Gets Dusted", in which Hank Hill is said to be a cousin of Dusty's.

Hill's characteristic grin, wit, and quick-on-the-trigger staccato stylings lay the strident underpinning to ZZ Top's powerhouse brand of blues rock. On special occasions, Hill joins in with bandmate, Billy F Gibbons, lending his tasty talents creating additions to Gibbons' famed Hollywood appearances where the two entertainers frequently make their guest chef rounds about town.

[edit] Musical equipment

Preferring the Fender bass-guitar, Hill also uses many different basses and amplifiers in different combos, and maintains a large collection of vintage as well as custom basses by noted luthier, John Bolin of Bolin Guitars USA. Hill is noted for designing simple and non complicated basses with a single pickup with a single volume knob, with the sometime rare addition including a specially powered knob for tone control.[1][2]

[edit] Bass guitars

"Since I play in a three-piece group, my job is not to play too much, but you still have to play all the time. I've always loved Thelonius Monk and that style of playing as he moved around on the keyboard in a mesmerizing manner. The zz style maintains a hard-edge low register, preferring staying way down, there in a low register for a solid foundation, then move in and around with extra sauce. With the songs on 'Eliminator', it's all about time, tuning, and simplicity. That's the badboy tuff-stuff... that's enjoyable"

[edit] Effects

"My sound is big, heavy, and a bit distorted because it has to overlap the guitar. Someone once asked me to describe my tone, and I said it was like a rhino farting in a trash can. What I meant is it’s raw, but you’ve got to have the tone in there."

[edit] Amplifiers

[edit] Discography

[edit] American Blues albums

[edit] ZZ Top albums

[edit] References

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