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Remembering ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill
Dusty Hill, who passed away on July 28, was born Joseph Michael Hill in Dallas on May 19, 1949. He and his older brother Rocky were raised by their mother, Myrl, who moved the family to Memphis when Dusty was five. By night she was a nightclub singer and by day and she worked in a café that was frequented by a talented youngster named Elvis Presley. As Dusty tells it, “When I was about seven, we moved back to Dallas. My mother brought one of Elvis’ 45s with her and put it in the jukebox where she worked as a waitress. So I started to get influenced by Elvis right away. “I started singing professionally when I was about eight – in front of the jukebox and people would give me money.” Soon after, Rocky learned to play guitar and Dusty picked up the bass when he was 13. He explained, “Rocky p...
Remembering Dusty Hill
Dusty Hill, who passed away on July 28, was born Joe Michael Hill in Dallas on May 19, 1949. He and his older brother Rocky were raised by their mother, Myrl, who moved the family to Memphis when Dusty was five. By night she was a nightclub singer and by day and she worked in a café that was frequented by a talented youngster named Elvis Presley. As Dusty tells it, “When I was about seven, we moved back to Dallas. My mother brought one of Elvis’ 45s with her and put it in the jukebox where she worked as a waitress. So I started to get influenced by Elvis right away. “I started singing professionally when I was about eight – in front of the jukebox and people would give me money.” Soon after, Rocky learned to play guitar and Dusty picked up the bass when he was 13. He explained, “Rocky play...
Three Men and a Good Time, Baby: Our 1991 ZZ Top Cover Story
A version of this story was originally published in the February 1991 issue of SPIN. In light of Dusty Hill’s passing, we’re republishing it here. Overheard speaking in the nasal twang of the Great Southwest, during the finale of a ZZ Top concert: “Well, talk about your everlovin’ son et lumiere! Hot damn, Vietnam!” The speaker, standing just behind me, was a lank and leather-skin English professor from the University of Texas. We had exchanged a few words earlier, when he had remarked of the similarity of the ZZ sound to that of the Rolling Stones, in such a way as to invite my response, which I didn’t deny him: “It’s probably safe to say,” I ventured in my most scholarly tones, “hurmph, hurmph, that they both come from the same bag, but have remained distinct … if you garner my innu...
The 40 Greatest Music Video Artists
Music videos are the perfect bastard child of art and commerce, even more than pop music itself. A promotional visual accompaniment to a popular song doesn’t need a coherent narrative (although on rare occasions, they do). It just needs to suit the song, sell the record, and possibly make the artist look cool. But since the launch of MTV 40 years ago this week, a select few recording artists have helped raise music videos to an art form — sometimes by accident, and sometimes by carefully curating the work of brilliant directors like Mark Romanek, Hype Williams, and Spike Jonze. Here are 40 artists from the last four decades that helped video kill the radio star. 40. Lil Kim [embedded content] Although earlier female MCs like Salt-N-Pepa and Queen Latifah used music videos to help launch th...
Dusty Hill, ZZ Top Bassist, Dies at 72
Dusty Hill, the bassist for legendary Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top, has died at the age of 72. The surviving members shared the news in a post on their Facebook page on Wednesday. “We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. 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 post said. “You will be missed greatly, amigo,” which was signed by Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard. Hill had been with the band since 1970. A few days ago, the band announced on Facebook that Hill would be taking a break from the band’s current tour ...
