Dusty Hill was born Joseph Michael Hill in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Lakewood, East Dallas. With his brother
Rocky Hill and future fellow member
Frank Beard, he began his career playing with local bands from Texas like the Warlocks, the Cellar Dwellers, and American Blues. Dusty then moved to Houston with Frank Beard and joined
Billy Gibbons to form
ZZ Top in 1969. Since then, Dusty has been the bassist and also the vocalist of a small number of their songs, Billy Gibbons performed the lead vocals of almost all of them. In addition, Dusty has also appeared in films and television series including
Back to the Future Part III (1990) and as himself in an episode of the eleventh season of
King of the Hill (1997), in which Hank Hill is said to be Dusty's cousin.