Arziel “Z.Z.” Hill
September 30, 1935 – April 27, 1984
ZZ Hill was a Texas blues singer whose soulful style was also sometimes referred to as Southern Fried Soul. Hill began his career singing gospel in the late ’50s and moved to California in the early ’60s to begin making R&B records for Kent Records. His career continued to grow through the ’60s, ’70s but by the ’80s it began to sputter. And then in 1982, he released Down Home, which not only sparked new life into his career, but into the entire soul-blues genre. It remained on the soul charts for almost two years and spawned a couple of singles, “Down Home Blues,” and “Somebody Else Is Steppin’ In,” which are considered to be blues standards. But success was short-lived and Hill suffered a fatal heart attack on April 27, 1984.
What You Should Own
