Drummer Frank Beard (L) and Dusty Hill of the band ZZ Top perform during halftime of the NCAA Orange Bowl football game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Virginia Tech in Miami, January 3, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Sullivan (UNITED STATES)

Dusty Hill, bassist for ZZ Top for their entire 50 plus year career, has died at age 72.

Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard issued a statement that says, “We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston. We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’ You will be missed greatly, amigo.”