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JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS

Z. Z. Hill



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ZZ Hill



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Blues Critic -- ZZ HillBlues Critic -- ZZ Hill


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Texas-born singer Z.Z. Hill, born September 30, 1935 in Naples Texas, and died April 27, 1984 in Dallas Texas, managed to resuscitate both his own semi-flagging career and the entire genre at large when he signed on at Jackson, Mississippi's 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 (and there haven't been many of those come along over the last couple of decades).

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. But "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.

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 current contemporary blues boom. It's a shame he couldn't stick around to see it blossom. -- Bill Dahl of All Music Guide.
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LINKSYEARTITLE
1969Lot Of Soul
1971Brand New Z Z Hill
1972Dues Paid In Full
1972The Best Thing That�s Happened To Me
1975Keep On Loving You
1978Let�s Make A Deal
1979The Mark Of Z Z Hill
1981Z Z Hill
1982Down Home
1982The Rhythm And The Blues
1983I�m A Blues Man
1984Bluesmaster
1985Z Z Hill: In Memorium 1935 - 1984
1986A Man Needs A Woman
1986Whoever Is Thrilling You
1993Final Appearance
1993When A Man Loves A Woman
1994Faithful & True
1996Love Is So Good When You�re Stealing It
1997Blues Business


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1969 Lot Of Soul



1971 Brand New Z Z Hill

01. It Ain't No Use
02. Ha-Ha (laughing song)
03. Second Chance
04. Our Love Is Getting Better
05. Faithful And True
06. Choking Kind
07. Hold Back (one man at a time)
08. A Man Needs A Woman
09. Early In The Morning
10. I Think I'll Do It
11. Suppertime
12. Just As I Am
13. Touch 'Em With Love
14. Put A Little Love In Your Heart
15. Just As I Am (collector's version)
16. Faithful And True (collector's version)
17. It's A Hang Up Baby
18. Put A Little Love In Your Heart (c-v)
19. Hold Back (one man at a time c-v)
20. Early In The Morning (c-v)
21. I Think I'll Do It (c-v)



1972 Dues Paid In Full

01. Happiness Is All I Need
02. Hey Little Girl
03. I Need Someone To Love Me
04. You Don't Love Me
05. If I Could Do It All Over
06. Everybody Has To Cry
07. Kind Of Love I Want
08. That's It
09. What More
10. Oh Darling
11. Have Mercy Someone I Found Love
12. Set Your Sights Higher
13. You Got What I Need



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1972 The Best Thing That's Happened To Me



1975 Keep On Loving You

01. I Created A Monster
02. That Ain't The Way You Make Love
03. Steppin' In The Shoes Of A Fool
04. Two Sides To Every Story
05. Am I Groovin' You
06. I Keep On Lovin' You
07. Who Ever's Thrilling You (is killing me)
08. Look What You've Done
09. My Turn
10. I Don't Need Half A Love


1978 Let's Make A Deal

01. Universal Love
02. This Time They Told The Truth
03. Stop By And Love Me Sometime
04. That's All That's Left
05. You Got Me Doing The Disco
06. A Message To The Ladies
07. Let's Make A Deal
08. Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It
09. Need You By My Side
10. Near But Yet So Far


1979 The Mark Of Z Z Hill



1981 Z Z Hill

01. Separate Ways
02. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
03. Something Good Going On
04. Bring It On Home To Me
05. Please Don't Make Me(do something bad to you)
06. Chained To Your Love
07. Rolling Stone
08. Bump And Grind
09. Blue Monday



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1982 Down Home

01. Down Home Blues
02. Cheatin' In The Next Room
03. Everybody Knows About My Good Thing
04. Love Me
05. That Means So Much To Me
06. When Can We Do This Again
07. Right Arm For Your Love
08. When It Rains It Pours
09. Woman Don't Go Astray
10. Givin' It Up For Your Love


1982 The Rhythm And The Blues

01. Someone Else Is Steppin' In
02. What Am I gonna Tell Her
03. Open House At My House
04. Who You Been Giving It To
05. The Fire Is Hot
06. Wang Dang Doodle
07. Outside Thang
08. You're Gonna Be A Woman
09. Help Me, I'm In Need
10. Get You Some Business


1983 I'm A Blues Man

01. I'm A Blues Man
02. Three Into Two Won't Go
03. Cheatin' Love
04. Shade Tree Mechanic
05. It's Been So Long
06. Get A Little, Give A Little
07. Please Don't Let Our Good Thing End
08. Steal Away
09. Blind Side
10. I Ain't Buying What You're Selling


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1984 Bluesmaster

01. You're Ruining My Bad Reputation
02. Bottom Line woman
03. She Got The Goods On Me
04. Breakdown
05. Personally
06. Champagne Lady
07. Be Strong Enough To Hold On
08. I'm Gonna Stop You From Giving Me The Blues
09. Friday Is My Day
10. I'll Be Your Witness
11. Why Don't You Spend The Night



1985 Z Z Hill: In Memorium 1935-1984

01. Down Home Blues
02. Bump And Grind
03. Wang Dang Doodle
04. When It Rains, It Pours
05. Givin' It Up For Your Love
06. Someone Else Is Steppin' In
07. I'm A Blues Man
08. Please Don't Make Me Do Something Bad To You
09. Everybody Knows About My Good Thing
10. Get You Some Business


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1986 A Man Needs A Woman

01. It Ain't No Use
02. Faithful And True
03. The Chokin' Kind
04. Early In The Morning
05. Second Chance
06. Hold Back
07. I Think I'll Do It
08. Our Love Is Getting Better
09. A Man Needs A Woman
10. Ha Ha (the laughing song)
11. Take Me (just as I am)
12. Touch 'Em With Love


1986 Whoever Is Thrilling You



1993 Final Appearance



1993 When A Man Loves A Woman



1994 Faithful & True



1996 Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It

01. Universal Love
02. This Time They Told The Truth
03. Stop By And Love Me Sometime
04. That's All That's Left
05. You Got Me Doing The Disco
06. A Message To The Ladies
07. Let's Make A Deal
08. Love Is So Good when You're Stealing It
09. Need You By My Side
10. Near But Yet So Far
11. Let's Have A Party
12. I Wanna Dance With You
13. Just Because We're No Longer Lovers
14. I Want To Be Your Every Need
15. Whip It On Me Baby
16. I Don't Want Our Love To Be No Secret
17. I Will Understand
18. Tell It Like It Is


1997 Blues Business

01. Right Arm For Your Love
02. Please Don't Make Me Do Something Bad To You
03. Friday Is My Day
04. Get You Some Business
05. I'm A Blues Man
06. Outside Thang
07. Woman Don't Go Astray
08. You're Ruining My Bad Reputation
09. Everybody Knows About My Good Thing
10. She Got The Goods On Me


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