During the break, Hill worked at the Dallas airport to keep himself grounded and busy. Exhausted - and, in Beard’s case, in need of a stint in rehab - the band took an extended hiatus toward the end of the decade. ZZ Top spent the mid-1970s cranking out albums and relentlessly touring. The trio's other members, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard, announced Hill's death in a. Hill also had a heavy vocal presence on 1976’s “Tejas,” taking the lead on “ Ten Dollar Man” and duetting with Gibbons on “ It’s Only Love.” The late Dusty Hill, husband of actress Charleen McCrory / Flickr Elvis Kennedy. Dusty Hill, bassist for the enduring Texas blues rock band ZZ Top for over half a century, has died at age 72. Soon, they earned the nickname of “That Little Ol’ Band From Texas” and set out on their Worldwide Texas Tour in support of 1975’s “Fandango!,” an album that featured Hill singing lead on “ Tush,” a ribald rocker that became their calling card. The boogie-rock groove of “La Grange” brought them their first hit - the single just missed Billboard’s Top 40 -and a photograph of a Tex-Mex feast from Houston’s Leo’s Mexican Restaurant, splashed across the album’s inner gatefold sleeve, launched ZZ Top as de facto ambassadors for Texas culture.

“ZZ Top’s First Album” arrived in 1971, but the band hits its stride on 1973’s “Tres Hombres,” honing its heavy blues and amplifying its Texas roots in both words and image. Beard and Hill joined ZZ Top in rapid succession, after which the group signed with London Records. Gibbons had just formed ZZ Top, releasing the “ Salt Lick'/' Miller’s Farm” single in 1969.

Dusty zz top