Local musician Tony Hill says ‘Goodbye’ to an uncle and an inspiration

Fans of ZZ Top recently mourned the loss of founding member and bass player “Dusty” Hill at the age of 72 to an “unspecified” cause. Tribute posts on social media were common place, and our favorite was generated locally on YouTube under the heading “Dusty Hill tribute by Tony Hill and friends”.

Dusty, Tony – Hill, do we have a family connection right here in Warren County, Virginia?!? “He was my daddy’s brother,” Tony told us of the family connection to “Uncle Dusty”. And while a few may dispute a connection between the Shenandoah Valley and Texas plains Hills, supported by a number of long-time friends and musical associates, Tony stands by the family connection and Virginia Hill ties to the Texas Hills. Okay, this is starting to sound like geography class, so let’s get back on topic, the tribute performance.

An accomplished singer-songwriter-musician in his own right, Tony decided to go into the ZZ Top catalogue upon the July 28^th announcement of Dusty Hill’s passing in his sleep after leaving a tour with cited “hip problems”. Some conversation with PoeTown Studio proprietor Donne Poe led to arranging logistics for filming Tony and rhythm section accomplices Lee Cameron on bass and Gary Peacemaker on drums in studio for posting the tribute medley online on YouTube.

From left, Warren County, Va.-based musicians Tony Hill, Gary Peacemaker, and Lee Cameron launch into 5-song ZZ Top medley in memory of Tony’s Uncle ‘Dusty’ Hill. Screenshot Photos from PoeTown Music YouTube video

Despite battling some health issues of his own, Tony made the initially scheduled recording date at PoeTown Music on September 9^th sporting a five-song list comprised of Cheap Sunglasses, Sharp-Dressed Man, LaGrange, Waiting for the Bus, and Jesus Left Chicago.

And while we probably wouldn’t have noticed it, mostly in the final song of the five-song set, if he hadn’t mentioned it before we first viewed the YouTube-posted tribute performance, Tony said the recording date almost hit a snag.

“I feel bad because I was just getting over being pretty sick and was still having a lot of trouble breathing (uh oh, lot of that going around these pandemic days), which made it extremely hard for me to do vocals. But I didn’t want to postpone it because it would have taken me another month or two to get back in there to do it. One guy had to come down from Harrisonburg to record the music. And then there was a different guy coming in to do the video. And then I had a drummer and bass player both scheduled. I didn’t want to have to put them all off, you know,” Tony said of booking studio time, arranging videotaping of the performance, not to mention the potential availability of his rhythm section on an as-yet-to-be-determined future date.

“But I’m really grateful to PoeTown Music for the recording. They’ve got a good staff, Kevin and Gordon, and of course Donnie (Poe). And I couldn’t ask for two better musicians to do it with me than Lee Cameron and Gary Peacemaker. They’re excellent musicians, and they’re great guys,” Tony said in spreading the love around for realization of his tribute to “Uncle Dusty”.

Tony and friends seem to have a kibitzer on stage over Cameron’s right shoulder – and it appears to be a Blues Brothers Dan Aykroyd mannequin. Dan, where’s Belushi, he’d want to be a part of this, wouldn’t he?!? Below, flanked by his rhythm section, Tony opens the tribute video with a nod to his Uncle ‘Dusty’s’ musical and inspirational influence on his own life and music.

“It’s something I really, truly wanted to do for Dusty,” Tony said of acknowledging his uncle’s life and musical career. And speaking of careers, in 2004, Dusty Hill, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as ZZ Top.

And just in case anybody was wondering when they view the YouTube musical-video tribute – remember type in “Dusty Hill tribute by Tony Hill and friends” – we note that Tony, Lee and Gary did not have to work to cultivate their own ZZ Top look for the tribute performance. This trio brought their stage-appearance ambience with them from way back in the outer corners of Warren County, in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

His rhythm section of drummer Gary Peacemaker and bassist Lee Cameron help propel Tony through part two of that final medley of ‘Waiting for the Bus’ and ‘Jesus Left Chicago’ as lingering breathing issues from a recent illness begin to catch up. – But the Show Must Go On, and it did, just the way Uncle ‘Dusty’, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard always did those two songs, in tandem.

Of the tribute’s last two songs when he struggled with his voice holding up, Tony pointed to an acknowledgement of ZZ Top’s original recording and subsequent performances of “Waiting for the Bus and Jesus Left Chicago: “They are actually two different songs, but on the “Tres Hombres” album in 1973, the first album those songs came out on, they’re played together as one song. And ZZ Top’s always done it that way and so did I,” Tony said of the two-song medley to close the show.

“The show must go on,” we were reminded of the old performance maxim – “That’s right, the show must go on,” Tony agreed.

So, punch that YouTube search – “Dusty Hill tribute by Tony Hill and friends” – and get ready to help Tony, Lee, Gary and PoeTown Music bid farewell to an uncle and a musical career inspiration.

ZZ Top on stage at Glastonbury Festival 2016, from left Dusty Hill, Frank Beard and Billy Gibbons. Photo Wikipedia Commons originally posted on Flickr by beanmunster