[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 134 (Friday, July 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E857-E858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     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

[[Page E858]]

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.

                          ____________________