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Z. Z. Hill

 


Blues and Gospel singer Arzel J. “Z.Z.” Hill was born in Naples, Texas, on 30th September 1935. He started singing gospel music in the late 1950s as a member of The Spiritual Five. Encouraged to record by Otis Redding in 1963, he made his first single, which only touched the top 100 but was enough to tempt Kent Records to give him a contract. His singles on Kent were not particularly successful and he left them in 1968. He recorded for other labels with some success but his career really took off when he signed with Malaco. His album “Down Home” for Malaco (1982) stayed on the album chart for two years and was highly regarded.

Z Z Hill died on 27th April 1984 in Dallas, Texas from a heart attack caused by a blood clot caused by a road accident.

Image: Amazon

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