MusicGoldmine.com recently acquired a stellar collection of ZZ Top awards, all presented to and personally owned by late ZZ Top bassist, co-lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter Joe Michael "Dusty" Hill.
Hill founded the group with bandmates Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard in 1968 and played an integral part in the group's recordings and live performances for over 50 years until his passing in 2021.
Hill was a prolific collector of his own and other memorabilia. The 2019 Banger Films/Eagle Rock ZZ Top documentary That Little Ol' Band From Texas showed many of these and other record awards and mementos displayed on the walls of his home.
Check out these fantastic, or should we say Fandango!, pieces of ZZ Top history (and click any title or first photo to visit the item page for more photos, details, and price of item, if still available):
Dusty Hill's Personally Owned 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Award. One of the rarest and most unique items we've ever carried is this Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame award presented to Dusty Hill commemorating ZZ Top's 2004 induction. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awards, made in the style of a gold record plaque, are rarely seen in the collector marketplace.
Check out none other than the Stones' Keith Richards inducting ZZ Top into the Hall in '04. In his induction comments he tells of a shared love for the blues, which became his connection with the Texas trio (just press play to watch right here):
RIAA Gold Video Award fo ZZ Top Greatest Hits: The Video Collection presented to and personally owned by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Released on April 14, 1992 as a companion to the band's Greatest Hits album, it was certified Gold by the RIAA for 50,000 units "or retail value over $2,000,000" sold on July 30, 1992.
The video release included music videos the group put out during 1979–1990, from the albums Degüello through Recycler. Included were infamous videos for the ZZ classics "Tush", "Cheap Sunglasses", "Gimme' All Your Lovin' ", "Sharp Dressed Man", and "Legs", which landed in heavy rotation on MTV no doubt in part due to Hill and Gibbons sporting rotating fur axes... Who doesn't remember that 80s classic video? (Just press play to watch right here):
RIAA Gold Album Award for ZZ Top album Greatest Hits, presented to and personally owned by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Released on April 14, 1992 , it was certified Gold by the RIAA for 500,000 copies sold on June 22, 1992. The video award shown above was for the companion video set released on the same date as this greatest hits album which included mostly tracks that the trio put out during 1979–1990, from the albums Degüello through Recycler.
CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association) Platinum Album Award for ZZ Top album Eliminator, presented to and personally owned by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Released on March 23, 1983, it was certified Platinum by the CRIA for 100,000 copies sold on June 13, 1984.
The album reached #2 on the Canada Top Albums chart, and the top 10 in many other countries around the world. A Platinum album in Canada represents 100,000 copies sold (in a country of then 36 million people). The album would later go on to achieve CRIA Diamond certification for over one million copies sold in Canada (it also achieved RIAA Diamond status).
ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) "double platinum" album award for ZZ Top album Eliminator, presented to and personally owned by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Released on March 23, 1983, it was certified "double platinum" by the ARIA in February 1987.
The release, which cemented ZZ Top's international superstardom, included classic tracks "Gimme' All Your Lovin' ", "Sharp Dressed Man", "Legs", "Got Me Under Pressure" and more. The album reached #2 on the Australian Top Albums chart, and the top 10 in many other countries around the world. It earned Diamond sales awards in the U.S. and Canada along with awards in many other territories.
This is a large (32" x 21.75") and impressive award with a great design (Note that the faint line running down the middle of the main photo is only a photography reflection--the award is not damaged in any way):
BPI (British Phonographic Industry) Silver Album Award for ZZ Top album Eliminator, presented to and personally owned by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Released on March 23, 1983, it was certified Silver by BPI for 60,000 copies sold on June 13, 1984.
The album reached #3 on the UK Album chart, and the top 10 in many other countries around the world. By 2004 the album was certified 4x Multi-Platinum by BPI.
Ampex Golden Reel award for ZZ Top album Afterburner presented to and personally owned by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top. Released on Oct. 28, 1985, the album was certified 5x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA by 1999 for five million copies sold. Featuring the hits "Sleeping Bag", "Roughboy", and "Velcro Fly" the album reached #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, and the top 5 in most world music markets. It became ZZ Top's second-biggest selling album in the U.S. and did well in many other markets around the world as well.
Ampex Golden Reel awards were presented by the Ampex Corp. from approx. 1977 through 1989 for albums recorded entirely on Ampex recording tape which attained at least Gold sales in their country of origin. One award was given to the artist and one to the recording studio at which the project was recorded. Ampex awards often have a tarnished reel or plate, but this one is in superb condition.
Don't miss this chance to get one these rare awards presented to and personally owned by a founding member of ZZ Top.
See a list of all our items currently in stock for ZZ Top here.
See all the pre-owned RIAA and other record awards MusicGoldmine.com currently has for sale here or visit our home page for other memorabilia collections.
*Interested in knowing more about RIAA and other record awards and what makes them great to add to your collection? Subscribe to our free bi-weekly newsletter and get our MusicGoldmine RIAA and Record Award Guide free plus a 15% discount code here.
