Joseph 'Dusty' Hill, ZZ Top Bassist, Dead at 72

Joseph 'Dusty' Hill, <br />ZZ Top Bassist, , Dead at 72.<br />News of Hill's death emerged and was <br />confirmed on July 28.<br />The cause of the iconic bassist's death <br />has not been revealed.<br />ZZ Top band members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard released a statement in reaction to the news.<br />We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX. , ZZ Top Statement, via 'Variety'.<br />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.’ , ZZ Top Statement, via 'Variety'.<br />We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’, ZZ Top Statement, via 'Variety'.<br />You will be missed greatly, amigo, ZZ Top Statement, via 'Variety'.<br />ZZ Top played earlier this month without Hill <br />for the first time in 50 years.<br />A statement cited Hill's need for medical attention <br />"to address a hip issue" as the reason he missed the show. .<br />Per Dusty’s request the show must <br />go on!, ZZ Top Statement, via 'Variety'.<br />Hill's first performance with ZZ Top occurred <br />in Texas in 1970. The band became a major <br />concert attraction by the end of the decade.<br />In 1994, ZZ Top left Warner Bros. and signed <br />with RCA Records for a deal worth $35 million.<br />ZZ Top was inducted into the <br />Rock and Roll Hall of Fame <br />ten years later in 2004