Z. Z. Hill - 'Down Home'

Z.Z. Hill’s influence on Blues fans is so strong that a Texas Rock band even took his moniker and became ZZ Top.  They had a tiny apartment covered in concert posters, and Billy Gibbons noticed that many performers used initials.  He especially liked B.B. King and Z. Z. Hill and thought of combining them into "ZZ King". But he thought it was too similar to the original name. Then he thought, “King is at the top,” and that gave him the idea of naming the band "ZZ Top".

Born in Naples, Texas, in 1935, Z.Z. Hill began his music career by signing with the Gospel group The Spiritual Five.  However, it was his exposure to the sounds of B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and Sam Cooke that truly transformed him into a Soul Blues singer.  His big brother, Matt, played a pivotal role in launching Hill’s Blues career by founding the MH label. Hill’s debut single on MH, the energetic shuffle “You Were Wrong,” made its mark on the Billboard Pop chart in 1964.

Throughout his career, Hill achieved relative success by recording singles for various labels, including the Atlantic, Mankind, Kent, United Artists, and Hill Record labels.  In 1977, he released his most commercially successful hit up to that point with, "Love Is So Good When You’re Stealing It".

After a period of relative obscurity, Z.Z. found a new home at Malaco Records and joined forces with George Jackson, a renowned songwriter in both R&B and Pop circles. George Jackson had previously gained recognition as a recording artist for Pram and Decca labels in the 1960s.  However, it was his songwriting that catapulted him to fame, with hits like "Too Weak To Fight" (Clarence Carter), "A Man And A Half" (Wilson Pickett), "One Bad Apple" (The Osmond Brothers), and "Old Time Rock & Roll" (Bob Seger) to his credit.

Released in 1982, ‘Down Home’ was Z.Z.’s second album on the Jackson, Mississippi-based Malaco record label.  ‘Down Home’ spent almost two years on the Billboard Soul album chart, an unheard-of run for a Soul Blues album.

The track "Down Home Blues" penned by George Jackson was immediately christened a Blues standard.  Z.Z. Hill’s grisly vocals and smooth guitar made the song a Blues favorite.  The song also dominated the charts for over a year, spending months in the R&B Top 10.  The song also brought the Blues back to the African American throughout the South in a way that combined nostalgia for the blues of the old days with the enjoyment of a good time party song. "Down Home Blues” has been called the best-known blues song of the 1980s. 

Vocals – Z. Z. Hill 
Keyboards – Carson Whitsett

Guitars – Dino Zimmerman and Leroy Emmanuel

Bass – Ray Griffin

Drums – James Robertson
Horns – The Muscle Shoals Horns: Harrison Calloway (trumpet), Harvey Thompson (saxophone, flute), Charles Rose (trombone), Ronnie Eades (baritone saxophone).

Backing Vocals – Charlotte Chenault, Jewel Bass, Thomasine Anderson
Strings – Jackson Symphony Orchestra.

Z.Z. Hill died of a heart attack at the apex of his career in 1984, but his song ‘Down Home Blues’ carries on the spirit of this native Texan.

'Down Home' is one of my favorite albums of the 1980s.

For the freeload, what are some of your favorite Blues/Soul/R&B albums of the 1980s?