Down Home was a historic breakthrough album for Z.Z. Hill, Malaco Records, and the whole blues genre, setting a record by staying on the Billboard charts for almost two years after its release in 1982. The album has been credited with reviving the blues among African-American listeners and it paved the way for Malaco to become the leading company in the soul/blues field. Its success also cemented the legendary status of Dave Clark, the veteran promotion man who got it played on so many radio stations at a time when airplay for blues records was at a low ebb. The track Down Home Blues, a composition by George Jackson (the same man who penned Old Time Rock & Roll), became an instant standard in the repertoires of countless blues, soul, and even rock bands. Z.Z. Hill, a journeyman singer from Dallas who had toiled for years on the chittlin’ circuit, unfortunately had little time to enjoy his sudden and unexpected stardom. He died of a heart attack on April 27, 1984, at the age of 48.
