More Info on ZZ HillSimilar Blues MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Refimprove|date=January 2008 Arzell "Z. Z." Hill (September 30, 1935 – April 27, 1984)Allmusic|class=artist|id=p366/biography|pure_url=yes Allmusic biography - accessed January 2008 was an United States|American blues singing|singer , in the soul blues tradition, known for his 1970s and 1980s sound recording and reproduction|recordings for Malaco Records|Malaco . His 1982 album, Down Home, stayed on the Billboard Top R& B/Hip-Hop Albums|soul album record chart|chart for nearly two years. The track "Down Home Blues" has been called the best-known blues song of the 1980s.cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher= Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | pages= 117 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X This track plus the songs "Taxi", "Someone Else Is Steppin' In", and "Open House" have become Rhythm and blues|R& B / Southern soul standards.
Life
Born in Naples, Texas , United States , Hill began his singing career in the late 1950s as part of a gospel music|gospel group called The Spiritual Five, touring Texas. Around 1960, he started collecting gramophone record|records by B. B. King , Freddie King , Sam Cooke , Bobby Bland|Bobby "Blue" Bland and Wilson Pickett and began singing and writing songs influenced by these styles.
In 1964, Hill moved to California and recorded "You Were Wrong" on his sibling|brother's M.H. record label . The single (music)|single charted and Hill released several more singles for Kent Records|Kent , but none of them charted. He moved labels several times, including signing with Phil Walden 's Macon, Georgia|Macon , Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia based Capricorn Records|Capricorn label, but Hill refused to record for Walden, and his recording contract was bought by Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams' Mankind label, where Hill finally fulfilled his end of the deal.
In 1971, Williams recorded Hill in Muscle Shoals, Alabama|Muscle Shoals , Alabama and they had hit record|hits including "Faithful & True" ( Cash Box Top 100) and "Chokin' Kind" (Cash Box R& B #50). With his brother's help, Hill then signed to United Artists , where he released several successful singles. During the United Artist period in the mid 1970s, he was aided by arrangement s and compositions by established R& B talents like Lamont Dozier and Allen Toussaint .
One of Hill's biggest selling hits came while signed to Columbia Records|Columbia , "Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It," which spent 18 weeks on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs|R& B chart in the summer of 1977. Signed to Malaco Records in 1979, Hill's next hit single was "I'm Gonna Stop You From Givin' Me The Blues," in 1980. Hill's recording of songwriter George Jackson's "Cheatin' In The Next Room," was released in early 1982 and broke into the top 20 nationally, spending a total of 20 weeks on the charts. He had a number of best-selling albums on Malaco, the biggest one being Down Home Blues , which sold in excess of one million copies.Citation needed|date=September 2011 Other Malaco sides that received airplay in the early 1980s were "Someone Else Is Steppin' In", "Bump And Grind", "Shade Tree Mechanic", and "Get You Some Business". George Jackson also wrote Hill's signature tune, "Down Home Blues", which label-mate Denise LaSalle later recorded.
Hill's song, "That Ain't the Way You Make Love", was sampled by Madvillain in their track, "Fancy Clown".
In 1984, Hill died in Dallas at the age of 48 from a myocardial infarction|heart attack after a road accident. http://users.efortress.com/doc-rock/1980.html Dead Rock Stars Club data - accessed January 2008
See also
List of Electric blues musicians
List of Soul-blues musicians
List of blues musicians
References
Reflist Persondata | NAME = Hill, Z.Z. | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Hill, Arzell | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American blues singer | DATE OF BIRTH = September 30, 1935 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Naples, Texas , United States | DATE OF DEATH = April 27, 1984 | PLACE OF DEATH = Dallas , Texas , United States DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Z.Z. Category:1935 births Category:1984 deaths Category:African American singers Category:American blues guitarists Category:American blues musicians Category:American blues singers Category:American male singers Category:Texas blues musicians Category:Soul-blues musicians Category:Kent Records artists Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction
de:Z. Z. Hill
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: ZZ Hill
