Dusty Hill, bassist for ZZ Top, dies at 72

Dusty Hill, the bassist for ZZ Top for over five decades, has died at 72.

The rock band's members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard confirmed the death of their longtime bassist in a statement to Variety. Hill, a founding member of ZZ Top, died in his sleep at home in Houston, Texas, they said.

"We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the 'Top,'" they said. "We will forever be connected to that 'Blues Shuffle in C.' You will be missed greatly, amigo."

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The band behind songs like "Gimme All Your Lovin'" was founded in 1969 and in 2004 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "The rough and gruff Texan band had a reverence for their roots," the Rock and Hall of Fame website notes, "but never took themselves too seriously."

ZZ Top recently announced that Hill was taking a "short detour" to Texas "to address a hip issue," TMZ notes. The band said at the time that Elwood Francis would fill in for him, as "per Dusty's request 'The show must go on!'"

Tributes quickly poured in for Hill on Wednesday, with Jason Isbell remembering him as an "all-time great bass player, and a rock and roll institution."