Joseph Michael Hill (1949 - 2021)

Born 19 May 1949 in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States

Ancestors

Died 28 Jul 2021 at age 72 in Houston, Harris, Texas, United States

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Biography

Dusty Hill is Notable.

American musician, singer, and songwriter who was the bassist, keyboardist, and co-vocalist of the rock band ZZ Top.

Joseph "Joe" Michael "Dusty" Hill was born on 19 May 1949 in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, USA ^[1] and was the son of Floy Myrl (Ward) and James Earnest Hill. ^[2]

His mother Floy Myrl (Ward) was a talented singer and a devotee of blues artists such as Bessie Smith, while his older brother Rocky was a guitar player and blues fan.

It was their third album, Tres Hombres (1973), that broke ZZ Top through to a wide audience, boosted by the US Top 50 single La Grange. The latter, based on a traditional blues-boogie beat used by John Lee Hooker and others, was the perfect showcase for ZZ Top’s skills, opening with a simple, minimal beat before the trio exploded into full-tilt life. The fact that the song was about the Chicken Ranch brothel in Texas (also the subject of the 1978 Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) aptly reflected the faintly dissolute aura ZZ Top liked to project. Dusty Hill and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. The band remained together for more than 50 years, keeping their famous lineup of Hill, Gibbons, and drummer Frank Beard intact. Their most recent album was 2012’s “La Futura,” though they had reportedly planned a follow-up. Dusty Hill made on-screen appearances in Back to the Future Part III, Deadwood, and The Drew Carey Show, as well as doing a voice role for an episode of King of the Hill in which Hank Hill was said to be his cousin.

ZZ Top's last concert with Dusty Hill was on 18 July 2021 at the Iroquois Amphitheater in Louisville, Kentucky. Dusty Hill passed away on 28 July 2021 in Houston, Texas. He is survived by his wife, the actor Charleen McCrory, whom he married in 2002, and a daughter, Charity.

Research Notes

Another person with the same name was born in Texas a year later than him. That person was the son of Eugene Franklin Hill (1922-2004)

"Texas Birth Index 1903-1997" on FamilySearch database (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VD63-RKX : 05 Dec 2014) citing ancestry.com; Texas Department of State Health Services; for Joseph Michael Hill, 25 Feb 1950; from "Texas Birth Index 1903-1997"

Sources

1. ↑ "Texas Birth Index 1903-1997" on FamilySearch database (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8C3-8ST : 01 Jan 2015) citing ancestry.com; "Texas Birth Index 1903-1997" Texas, Department of State Health Services; for Joe Michael Hill, b: 19 May 1949
2. ↑ Dusty Hill on ethnicelebs.com

See Also

1. Find A Grave: Memorial #230022255
2. Legacy.com Article
3. The Guardian's Obituary
4. Dusty Hill on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia