RIP Dusty Hill

RIP - a great Rocker and loved his "Texas Goatee".
 
Also my first concert. Dallas County Convention Center. I guess that was 1974 or 5.

And before that when I rode around with older buddies the 8 track playing was often Tres Hombres or Rio Grande Mud.

Just remembered that the Charlie Daniels Band opened for them. RIP Charlie Daniels 2020.

I saw them again a few years ago. 40 years in between seeing them. They had added some material in those 40 years....but mostly they played the same, to their great credit.

Saddened.
 
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That is way too young... I still have the Tres Hombres album, their best album ever in my opinion. RIP Dusty
 
Hate to hear this. I always enjoyed the band. They were scheduled to play in Jackson, Mississippi on August 1st.
 
Very sad news and too young for sure. I can’t say I was a fan but I was reminded of this video a friend sent me a while ago.

If you haven’t yet been convinced to not move to Texas by posts here, you may at least want to be careful to stay away from flying drumsticks.

https://youtu.be/6DVbt5W-DNc
 
Sad news. ZZ Top was the one hand I didn’t get to see. We had tickets for their 2014 tour and Dusty Hill broke his hip the week before our show date. We got tickets for their make up tour, but missed it due to a bad storm (outdoor venue).

Their music video “Legs” back in ‘84 was one of the first we ever saw, my children were toddlers / pre-schoolers at the time, just arrived to the US, and we bonded over those early music videos. Legs still ranks among the top 5 favorites for all my children.


 
One of my favorite bands, sad news for sure. I mostly listen to classic rock, and ZZ Top is always great to hear.
 
I saw this on another forum, and am truly bummed at this news...

I have to admit that I grew up in their "era" and never really appreciated them.

Never saw a live show, and I regret it. Hopefully Billy still keeps touring....
 
Bummer. I have their first album and more. Like Jimi, amazing that 3 guys could make all that sound.
 
La Grange (1973)

First of all, I never knew the name of that song, and I never did understand a word of the lyrics (except for maybe "that Texas town"). Just heard all the rocking and hawing going on. I think I first heard it years after it was released.

Had no idea is was about the infamous Chicken Ranch (brothel) in La Grange
In July 1973, Marvin Zindler exposed what was going on at the Chicken Ranch, in La Grange, Texas.
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Marvin Zindler was a TV news reporter from Eyewitness News in Houston. He was still there when I co-oped in Houston for a few semesters late 70s. I think I saw the musical Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1978) then too.

Hmmm - I'm sure the timely subject matter helped get a lot of airplay!

Have driven through La Grange many a time......

Learn something new every day!
 
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I got the lyrics and knew it was a cat house, but not "the" cat house - :)
 
audreyh1 said:
La Grange (1973)

First of all, I never knew the name of that song, and I never did understand a word of the lyrics (except for maybe "that Texas town"). Just heard all the rocking and hawing going on. I think I first heard it years after it was released.

Had no idea is was about the infamous Chicken Ranch (brothel) in La Grange

Marvin Zindler was a TV news reporter from Eyewitness News in Houston. He was still there when I co-oped in Houston for a few semesters late 70s. I think I saw the musical Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1978) then too.

Hmmm - I'm sure the timely subject matter helped get a lot of airplay!

Have driven through La Grange many a time......

Learn something new every day!
Click to expand...

That's in your wheelhouse and your stomping grounds Audrey. I'm a bit surprised. Of course there are few lyrics and they are hard to make out. Except clues like, "...they got a lot of nice girls..."

Another ZZTop song with intriguing lyrics is "Master of Sparks". Good song! Listen to it a few times, try to make out the words, and then go to the Wikipedia for the song and read what it's all about and the backstory. It's a wild one from "...out in the sticks down Highway 6..."
 
So many ZZ Top songs going through my head now. Catchy riffs, but so much more. They really are/were unique. As an amateur musician, I think one of the toughest things is to take these simple songs (just a few chords, basic beat), and keep them interesting and fresh. That in some ways is much tougher than some "flash" piece. ZZ Top were masters at it.

I just read that that line "Jesus just left Chicago, And he's bound for New Orleans" may have been partly inspired by them hearing the AM radio stations and Gospel music out of Chicago, that would carry down to Texas in certain atmospheric conditions (skipping).

I saw this from the OP link:

John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival tweeted a remembrance of his own: “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 & roll heaven, I don’t know what is. The show we did together just last week would be his last. So heartbreaking.”
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I saw a Fogerty/ZZ Top youtube just a week or so ago. Pretty funny, as they were doing "Sharp Dressed Man", and laughed about the irony of that song and Fogerty's iconic blue jeans and flannel shirt look! :)


Where the heck is HFWR? He has to be a big ZZ fan! (edit/add: last post 01-27-2020, 11:22 AM; last activity 04-16-2020 11:51 AM)

-ERD50
 
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ERD50 said:
So many ZZ Top songs going through my head now. Catchy riffs, but so much more. They really are/were unique. As an amateur musician, I think one of the toughest things is to take these simple songs (just a few chords, basic beat), and keep them interesting and fresh. That in some ways is much tougher than some "flash" piece. ZZ Top were masters at it.
-ERD50
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Some amateur musicians (I'm not referring to you) mistakenly think that just because a song might only have 3 chords that it's easy to play. I was guilty of this in the past. Anyone can play 3 chords but it takes skill and talent to capture the feel of the song.

I remember learning Breakdown by Tom Petty a few years ago. Our very talented classically trained keyboard player said: "This is the hardest 3 chord song I've ever played." I've heard hundreds of bands play a ZZ Top song but only ZZ Top sounds like ZZ Top.
 
Montecfo said:
That's in your wheelhouse and your stomping grounds Audrey. I'm a bit surprised. Of course there are few lyrics and they are hard to make out. Except clues like, "...they got a lot of nice girls..."
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“Heard they got a lot of nice girls down there” could have been referring to Brazil as far as I knew!
 
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Music Lover said:
Some amateur musicians (I'm not referring to you) mistakenly think that just because a song might only have 3 chords that it's easy to play. ... .
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And then, there are the one-chord songs (I couldn't find a ZZ Top version of this, but I imagine they *must* have played this classic at some point):


I saw Muddy Waters play that live in the late 70's at a smallish club. It was just indescribable how powerful that song was delivered, and how it mesmerizes the audience for 5 minutes, on one chord, one simple riff, and simple lyrics. But WOW! As soon as he started with that "Oh yeah, Oh Yeah, - Everything, everything, everything gonna be all raaaght this mornin'" the tension is there, the crowd is into it, and it just never stops until that last note fades.


Music Lover said:
... I've heard hundreds of bands play a ZZ Top song but only ZZ Top sounds like ZZ Top.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's all in the details, some pretty subtle stuff is what elevates it. Damn, they are good!

-ERD50
 
I just read the NYT obituary. Well done, as usual, and closes with this
People ask how we’ve stayed together so long,” he told The Charlotte Observer in 2015. “I say separate tour buses. We got separate tour buses early on, when we probably couldn’t afford them. That way we were always glad to see each other when we got to the next city.”
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I like ZZ Top. In my waning radio/party DJ years I would mix in "Sharp Dressed Man" into the format as one of my "theme" songs :). RIP.
 
ZZ Top is coming to Tampa this fall. A shame.
Also another example relating to the other thread about retiring at 65; would only had 7 years of retirement. Just one example amongst many.
 
Remember years ago when we first moved to Houston . We were at a Hartz Fried Chicken when he drove up to the drive thru.in a custom Cadillac . Everyone was all excited of course my wife ran out with the other women . He was alright . Frank Beard lives in the Ft Bend area , my nephew plays a lot of golf with him . He says Frank is the most laid back guy you ever met.
 
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