Z.Z. Hill
Texas-born singer Z.Z. Hill managed to resuscitate both his own semi-flagging career and the entire genre at large when he signed on at Jackson, Mississippi-based Malaco Records in 1980 and began growling his way through some of the most uncompromising blues to be unleashed on Black radio stations in many a moon. His impressive 1982 Malaco album Down Home Blues remained on Billboard's soul album charts for nearly two years, an extraordinary run for such a blatantly bluesy LP. His songs "Down Home Blues" and "Somebody Else Is Steppin' In" have graduated into the ranks of legitimate blues standards.
Arzell Hill started out singing gospel with a quintet called the Spiritual Five, but the output of B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and especially Sam Cooke made a more indelible mark on his approach. He began gigging around Dallas, fashioning his distinctive initials after those of B.B. King. When his older brother Matt Hill (a budding record producer with his own label, M.H.) invited Z.Z. to go west to Southern California, the young singer did.
His debut single on M.H., the gutsy shuffle "You Were Wrong" (recorded in an L.A. garage studio), showed up on the pop chart for a week in 1964. With such a relatively successful showing his first time out, Hill's fine subsequent singles for the Bihari Brothers' Kent logo should have been even bigger. However, "I Need Someone (To Love Me)," "Happiness Is All I Need," and a raft of other deserving Kent 45s (many produced and arranged by Maxwell Davis) went nowhere commercially for the singer. Excellent singles for Atlantic, Mankind, and Hill (another imprint operated by brother Matt, who served as Z.Z.'s producer for much of his career) preceded a 1972 hookup with United Artists that resulted in three albums and six R&B chart singles over the next couple of years.
From there, Z.Z. moved on to Columbia, where his 1977 single "Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It" became his biggest-selling hit of all. But Hill's vocal grit was never more effective than on his blues-soaked Malaco output. From 1980 until 1984, when he died suddenly of a heart attack, Z.Z. bravely led a personal back-to-the-blues campaign that doubtless helped to fuel the subsequent contemporary blues boom. It's a shame he couldn't stick around to see it blossom.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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The Complete Hill Records Collection/United Artists Recordings, 1972-1975
Blues - Lançado por Capitol Records em 01/01/1996
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Make Me Yours / Love Is Gonna Get You
Soul - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 26/10/2018
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Southern Soul Brothers
Soul - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 29/06/1992
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The Brand New Z.Z. Hill
Blues - Lançado por S.D.E.G. Records em 01/01/1971
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Northern Soul Legend
Soul - Lançado por Master Classics Records em 01/06/2011
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The Brand New Z.Z. Hill
Soul - Lançado por HHO em 19/07/2018
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Thrill on The (Z.Z.) Hill [Digitally Remastered]
Blues - Lançado por Essential Media Group em 10/09/2013
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The Down Home Soul of Z Z Hill
Soul - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 28/09/1992
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Z.Z. Hill's Ha Ha (Laughing Song)
R&B - Lançado por Charly Records em 25/06/2006
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The Brand New Z.Z. Hill (Digitally Remastered)
Blues - Lançado por Essential Media Group em 03/09/2013
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Valentine's Soul
Soul - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 10/02/2023
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Valentine's Soul
Soul - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 09/02/2024
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Turn Back The Hands Of Time
Soul - Lançado por Night Train International em 01/01/1991
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Faithful And True (Original)
Blues - Lançado por 12 Bar em 09/10/2006
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The Chokin' Kind
Blues - Lançado por 2013 Autarc Media GmbH, CH. em 06/01/2014
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Z.Z. Hill Blues Legends
Blues - Lançado por StreamWorld Entertainment Classics em 23/10/1971
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The Choking Kind
Soul - Lançado por Jukebox Entertainment em 22/04/2008
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The Brand New Z.Z. Hill
R&B - Lançado por HHO em 10/06/2022
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Ben E. King Meets Z Z Hill
Pop - Lançado por 2014 Autarc Media GmbH, CH. em 29/09/2014
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Second Chance
Soul - Lançado por Vanilla OMP em 28/02/2011
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Knock on Wood / Midnight Hour
Soul - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 16/12/2022
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