Dusty Hill

Dusty Hill

Joseph Michael "Dusty" Hill (born May 19, 1949) is the bassist and vocalist with the American rock group ZZ Top.

History

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

Along with his brother Rocky Hill and future fellow ZZ Top member Frank Beard; Dusty Hill played in local Dallas bands the Warlocks, the Cellar Dwellers, and American Blues. From 1966 to 1968, American Blues played the Dallas-Fort Worth-Houston circuit.

In 1968, the band decided to leave the Dallas–Fort Worth area and relocate to Houston. At this time, however, guitarist Rocky Hill wanted to focus on "straight blues", while Dusty wanted the band to rock more. Rocky left the band and Dusty and Beard moved to Houston, joining guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons of Houston psychedelic-rockers Moving Sidewalks to become the band ZZ Top in 1969.

Dusty Hill's on-screen appearances in "Back To The Future Part III", "Mother Goose's Rockin' Rhyme", "WWE 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.

Musical equipment

Main article: ZZ Top equipment

"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"

"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 low hanging cloud. It’s raw, yet that tone is there."

Discography

American Blues albums

Main article: American Blues

• American Blues
• American Blues 'Is Here' (1968)
• Do Their Thing (1969)

ZZ Top albums

Main article: ZZ Top discography

• ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
• Rio Grande Mud (1972)
• Tres Hombres (1973)
• Fandango! (1975)
• Tejas (1977)
• Degüello (1979)
• El Loco (1981)
• Eliminator (1983)
• Afterburner (1985)
• Recycler (1990)
• Antenna (1994)
• Rhythmeen (1996)
• XXX (1999)
• Mescalero (2003)