ZZ Top’s longtime bassist Dusty Hill passed away in July of last year at the age of 72. Elwood Francis, the group’s longstanding guitar tech, took Hill’s place in the group in accordance with the late bassist’s desires.
Even though ZZ Top is well known for their use of colorful guitars throughout their long career, the audience at one of the band’s most recent performance was a little surprised by what they saw when Francis first joined the band on stage.
Francis held a bass that was neither a six-string bass guitar nor a four-string bass guitar, but a 17 string bass! The fan-shot video below of the band’s first song that evening, “Got Me Under Pressure,” demonstrates it in action.
Not to be a downer, but it appears that Francis is only using three or four of the beast’s strings when you spin the video.
Even so, it takes some pretty exceptional technique to switch from the low notes at the top of the bass to the middle and higher notes all the way at the bottom. After all, The Little Ol’ Band From Texas has always been adept at making the most of straightforward components, in this case, a steady-grooving bass line.
Another noteworthy aspect of this specific performance was the band’s use of purple “fuzz” guitars for their hit song Legs.
Visit the band’s website to learn more about upcoming performances and to purchase tickets .
