Dusty Hill Anchored ZZ Top And Put A Texas Spin On Power Trios

DALLAS, TX —Rock music would not be what it is without ZZ Top, and ZZ Top would not have been what it was without the late bassist Dusty Hill.

And now with his passing (Hill died in his sleep overnight Wednesday), the world is left to access what he left behind. One thing's for sure: Honky Tonks, Juke Joints, stadiums and even pole dancers will never be the same.

ZZ Top was formed in Houston at a time when the guitar hero — Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page — ruled the newly spawned medium of FM radio. Albums took on a new caché and replaced singles at the way a young rock fan wanted to absorb his music. ZZ Top was a favorite, because they always delivered.

Unlike their contemporaries in Cream and Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top held steadfast to economy. They got in, made their statement and were gone before you knew what hit you.

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And among bass players, Hill had a reputation for the same. He wasn't flashy or obtrusive. He didn't take long solos, and he liked to keep the band at locomotive pace, fast or slow, whenever possible.

While many of the '70s bands who drew from blues idioms faded with the arrival of MTV, it was ZZ Top who made the medium of music video work for them. They grew their beards to Gandalf length, found a way to spin their guitars onscreen in sync, and always had a bevy of pretty (and short-skirted) women strutting through their tunes. They became wildly popular.

I saw them at the dawn of the '80s at the Cotton Bowl in the blazing heat, and had come down with the flu on my trip from Austin to see The Rolling Stones. As I recall, the Stones were terrible, and any bar band could have covered their material better. But, hot and sick, when ZZ Top took the stage, their energy crackled throughout the venue, and for a few blissful moments, I was better than fine.

Your favorites of theirs will depend on which angle you approach them from, of course. For me, it's hard to beat "Tush" and "La Grange" as songs that announce who they were and what they could do with a riff and a beat. They also have a terrific cover of Sam & Dave's soul hit, "I Thank You," and paid tribute to the over-the-border radio station that blasted Wolfman Jack into immortality: "Heard It On the X."

In their second heyday on MTV, you couldn't cruise with the windows down in the mid-to-late '80s without hearing "Sharp Dressed Man," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Cheap Sunglasses" and "Legs."

And while it's strictly NSFW to say so, they had a few tongue-in-cheek observances about sex that will likely live on for generations to come: "Pearl Necklace" and "Tube Snake Boogie."

Rest In Peace, Dusty Hill. Job well done.

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