ZZ Top’s Final Performance With Dusty Hill Shows Late Bassist’s Condition Before Death

ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill died last week, and there is now a new report about the late musician’s condition before his death. According to TMZ, a video from Hill’s final performance with the band has emerged and shows the bass player having a difficult time on stage. The clip is from the band’s July 18 at the Iroquois Amphitheater in Louisville, Kentucky.

In the video, Hill could be seen playing while sitting on a large speaker, as he was having a hard time standing. The outlet noted that concert attendees stated Hill sat for essentially the entire performance and then had to be helped off stage, unable to walk on his own. Days later, ZZ Top announced that Hill would be taking a break due to a medical issue with his hip. Sadly, Hill passed away in July, with no official cause of death having yet been reported.

The remaining members of ZZ Top — singer and guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard — subsequently issued a statement on their late bandmate’s death. “We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston,” the statement read. “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.’ We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’ You will be missed greatly, amigo.”

In the wake of Hill’s death, many fans and peers have taken to social media to honor his memory. “If you weren’t there, you can’t comprehend how BIG ZZ Top were in the 1980s and 1990s,” wrote music journalist Eric Alper. “‘Gimme All Your Lovin’,’ ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ and ‘Legs’ were on staples on MTV, concerts sold out, and brought the blues + FUN into music that hasn’t been seen since. Rest in peace, Dusty Hill.”

Iconic actress Morgan Fairchild shared that she knew Hill for much of her life, and that she was sad to hear about his passing. “Just devastated to hear of the death of Dusty Hill. We knew each other since high school, when my then-boyfriend was the drummer in [one] of Dusty’s early bands w his brother, Rocky,” Fairchild tweeted. “Spent many an evening at those early gigs together. RIP Dusty.”