The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING DUSTY HILL AND ZZ TOP
______
HON. TROY E. NEHLS
of texas
in the house of representatives
Friday, July 30, 2021
Mr. NEHLS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of rock and roll hall of famer and ZZ Top member Dusty Hill. Dusty was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and began playing bass at the age of 13. He didn't take the conventional route of bass players who usually start as guitarists and transition, instead he was a vocalist and picked up a bass one day and started playing.
Embarrassment on stage was a ``great motivator'' for Dusty and he soon mastered the bass. From 1966 to 1968, Dusty played with fellow future ZZ Top bandmate Frank Beard in the Dallas based band American Blues.
In 1970, wanting to focus more on rock and roll and less on blues, Dusty moved to Houston and joined ZZ Top with Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons. The trio performed their first concert together just outside of my district at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Beaumont, Texas on February 10, 1970.
The trio of Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, and Dusty Hill would stay together for the next 50 years. The group produced their first charting single Francine in 1972 and again found success in 1973 with the release of a top 10 Billboard 200 album Tres Hombres. In 1975, Dusty sang lead on one of the band's most popular hits ``Tush'', before releasing their next album Tejas in 1976. Over the next two years, ZZ Top continued to tour and perform before Dusty took a two year hiatus to work at the DFW airport saying ``I did not want other people to think I thought I was full of myself, but the main thing is I didn't want to start feeling full of myself. So, I did it to ground myself.''--a mindset many members in this very Chamber could benefit from.
During this 2-year downtime is when Dusty and his band mate Billy Gibbons grew their trademark long beards. When Dusty, Billy, and Frank remerged together in 1979, the band found success with their album Deguello, which went platinum and had another one of their hits ``Cheap Sunglasses''.
But it wasn't until 1983 that ZZ Top really hit it big with their album Eliminator which introduced us to classic rock hits ``Gimme All Your Lovin'' and ``Sharp Dressed Man'' which remain staples on classic rock radio to this day.
Over the next three decades, the band stuck together touring all across Texas and the world, entertaining tens of millions of fans. They continued to find success playing together until Dusty's passing just three days ago.
I know Dusty is missed greatly, but his music and personality will live on forever as a staple of Texas and Rock and Roll history.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 134
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up