Can ZZ Top Continue Without Dusty Hill?

Despite facing the biggest loss of the band’s history, ZZ Top doesn’t seem to make any plans to slow down.

Last week was no doubt heavy and sombre for the music community. On Monday the 26th July founding Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison passed away at the early age of 46, leaving the metal world shaken and heartbroken. While Jordison made his departure from Slipknot in 2013, his passing has had a tremendous impact on his fans as well as his former bandmates. Needless to say, the week continued to get worse. Just a day later the rock and blues world was shook at the sudden passing of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill. Hill passed away in his sleep at the age of 72.

Not only is ZZ Top down a bass player, they have lost a bandmate who has stood by their side for over five decades. Forming in 1969, ZZ Top became a staple of bluesy, old school rock n’ roll, and from the very beginning it has always been the same three musicians. Billy Gibbons on the guitar, Frank Beard on the Drums and of course Dusty Hill on the bass. Not only have ZZ Top managed to jam, record and tour together after half a century, but to have done it all with the same three members throughout. Most bands are lucky if they make it to 10 years without a single lineup change.

As previously mentioned ZZ Top quickly became a staple of that gritty hard rock sound with a blues infused feel, but it was their 1983 record ‘Eliminator’ that truly made them a household name. With iconic tracks like ‘Gimme All Your lovin’, ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ and ‘Got Me Under Pressure’ ‘Eliminator’ quickly shot up the billboard charts and to date has sold more than 13 million copies. This, alongside their cowboy western looks, with their beards, old cars and bizarre decorative guitars, turned them into pure pop culture icons.

With various cameos in films and TV ranging from ‘Back To The Future’ to ‘King Of The Hill’, everyone has become somewhat accustomed to the band and their look. Whether you’re a fan of the music or not, everyone has an image of long beards and old cars when they hear the name ZZ Top. Which ultimately makes this past week far more tragic. With tributes pouring in from all corners of the rock world, from Slash to Ozzy Osbourne it would appear the passing of Dusty marks the end of an era, and an end to ZZ Top.

The remaining band members however, plan to move forward. Where many believe that ZZ Top has met its end Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard seem to remain optimistic about the future, and plan to play on in Dusty’s name. The big question is how? Many fans speculated if it is even possible for the band to continue touring, but on Friday 30th July they proved they can.

Shortly before his passing, Dusty took a step back away from touring and let long time guitar tech Elwood Francis fill his shoes while he was recovering from an undisclosed hip issue. However, since his passing Francis seems to have taken Dusty’s place permanently as far as touring is concerned, and on the 30th July at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Alabama, less than a week after his passing, ZZ Top hit the stage once again.

Frontman and guitarist Billy Gibbons has revealed the band will continue with Francis, and claims they had full blessing from Dusty himself. In a recent interview with Variety Gibbons claimed;

“It was a direct directive from Mr. Dusty Hill. When he grabbed my arm and said, ‘I think I’m due to go visit the physician to see if I can bounce back,’ he said, ‘In the meantime, I want you to grab our guitar technician, Mr. Elwood, and take him out of that tech station and strap him up with my guitar and make him carry on with every single note.”

Well, with the blessing of Dusty, ZZ Top isn’t quite finished yet, and it looks like Francis might be there to stay for some time. From recent videos of their performance with Francis, fans are rather split, but so far most seem to support this decision in honour of Dusty. Francis himself is also a perfect fit for what the band do. He seems to have the slow blues feel down to tee and even seems to fit the look, sporting a suit, long hair, shades and of course a large beard. Not to mention he has been serving as a guitar tech for the band for the better part of thirty years, if there is one person to replace Dusty it’s him.

Gibbons has also revealed that ZZ Top plans to return to the studio once again, to finish work that they had started with Dusty. So far Dusty’s vocal’s have already been recorded, so it is merely a matter of time before we hear the rest. According to Gibbons, that could even be as early as Christmas, as he revealed in an interview with Express, “I think the luck of the draw was, I handed Dusty a couple of lyric sheets and I said, ‘Hey, see if you can make heads or tails out of this”.

So with a new album featuring the late Dusty Hill and Elwood Francis picking up the bass, there seems to be some element of hope for the fans. Should ZZ Top continue? Of course, after all it’s still their band and it is something that Dusty would have wanted. It will give them a chance to pay tribute to their fallen brother and allow fans the chance to celebrate his extraordinary life and career. Unfortunately, despite Francis’ efforts and even a potential new album no one can deny that this truly the end of a very long era, and ZZ Top will never be the same again.