ZZ Top bassist Elwood Francis revealed he still can’t wrap his head around being the replacement for Dusty Hill – even though he’s been in that role for three years.
Francis was called up to stand in for a few shows in 2021 while Hill was expected to recover from illness. But the co-founder died a few weeks later, leaving the longtime band roadie in a position he still believes isn’t his own.
“When I first started doing it, Dusty was just sick and going home for a few weeks,” Francis told Guitar World in a new interview. “It was entirely different; I was just helping out.”
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He continued: “I didn’t have to worry about the weight of the crown, because I was just helping. They pulled me aside and said, ‘Can you honestly say you can’t play his parts?’ I said, ‘I can do it – but I don’t think people would enjoy me doing it.’ They said, ‘You can cover him for a few weeks.’”
Having previous played harmonica in Billy Gibbons’ solo band, Francis was the obvious permanent replacement – in fact, Hill had chosen his own successor, Gibbons reported. But Francis said it felt very different when he first took the stage on a full-time basis.
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“We’d done some gigs when Dusty passed… by that time, I wouldn’t say I was comfortable – because I’m still not fucking comfortable,” Francis said. “I had a piece of paper on the riser for the first two shows if I got in trouble; and by the third show I got rid of that, and just did the show.”
He added: “It’s just weird. Dusty is their bass player. I’m not the bass player. I’m not in the band. I’ll never be in the band. I shouldn’t be… It’s Dusty’s thing. Sure, I’ll still play with them – but it’s a weird thing, man.”
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