Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for ZZ Top and a key part of the Texas rock band’s sound for more than five decades, has died. He was 77.
Beard died while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members by his side, according to the band’s representatives. His cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
ZZ Top guitarist and singer Billy Gibbons announced Beard’s death Tuesday, calling him a “great friend and collaborator” and praising the drummer’s distinctive backbeat and influence on the band.
Gibbons said ZZ Top plans to continue performing, in line with Beard’s wishes. The band canceled shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs following his death but plans to return to the stage in Austin, Texas, this weekend.
Beard had faced health problems in recent months. ZZ Top canceled an Aug. 5 concert at the Hollywood Bowl after announcing that Beard had been diagnosed with pneumonia and had been told by doctors to recuperate. No link between that illness and his death has been announced.
Beard joined ZZ Top in 1969 and formed the group’s classic lineup with Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill. The trio remained together for more than 50 years, an unusually long run with the same core lineup, until Hill died in 2021. Elwood Francis later took over on bass.
Behind the drum kit, Beard helped power some of ZZ Top’s best-known songs, including “La Grange,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.” The band’s blend of blues, boogie and hard rock made it one of the most recognizable American rock acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Its popularity grew further during the MTV era with the 1983 album Eliminator.
ZZ Top sold more than 50 million records and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Beard remained the band’s drummer for 56 years.
His death leaves Gibbons as the only surviving member of ZZ Top’s classic three-man lineup.
