Blues rock bassist Dusty Hill of ZZ Top died at the age of 72 on Tuesday, members of the band said in an announcement.
“We are saddened by the news today that our compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep,” the band’s drummer Frank Beard and vocalist Billy Gibbons wrote in a joint statement Wednesday.
The cause of Hill’s death was not given.
Hill was a long-bearded member of the band for more than five decades, achieving global recognition as one of the best-performing blues outfits. His fellow band members said he died at his home in Houston.
Gibbons and Beard played their first performance in over 50 years without Hill earlier this month, stating that the bassist sought medical attention over “a hip issue,” according to Variety.
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“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,'” the band members added in their statement. “We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’ You will be missed greatly, amigo.”
John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, another rock band, said in a tweet that Hill’s death was “heartbreaking” news after they did a show together just last week.
We are devastated to hear about Dusty’s passing. We were so blessed to share the stage with the great Dusty and ZZ Top many times, and if that wasn’t Rock and Roll heaven, I don’t know what is. The show we did together just last week would be his last. So heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/oKKslJ2U9M
— John Fogerty (@John_Fogerty) July 28, 2021
“We are devastated to hear about Dusty’s passing. We were so blessed to share the stage with the great Dusty and ZZ Top many times, and if that wasn’t Rock and Roll heaven, I don’t know what is. The show we did together just last week would be his last,” Forgerty said.
Hill was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band in 2004.
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ZZ Top has performed at numerous festivals and big-league concerts over the past five decades. They headlined the Super Bowl XXXI halftime show in 1997 and also played at an inaugural concert when George W. Bush took office in January 2001.
