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ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Dies Aged 77
August19
Longtime ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died at the age of 77, the band has confirmed.
Beard died on Monday in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with members of his family at his side. A cause of death was not disclosed.
His death has resulted in changes to ZZ Top’s current touring schedule, with shows in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, cancelled.
The band said it intends to resume its The Big One! Tour over the weekend with two shows at Austin City Limits, a venue described as one of Beard’s favourites.
Six decades with ZZ Top
ZZ Top was formed in Houston in 1969 by guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons. Beard joined shortly after the release of the band’s first single, Salt Lick, and subsequently helped bring bassist Dusty Hill into the line-up.
The trio went on to become one of the most enduring rock bands in touring and recording, releasing 15 studio albums and four live albums during a career spanning more than five decades.
Their catalogue includes tracks such as La Grange, Tush, Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, Legs and Sleeping Bag.
The band’s 1983 album Eliminator became its biggest commercial success, selling more than 10 million copies in the US and later receiving diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Band plans to continue
Following Beard’s death, Gibbons paid tribute to his longtime bandmate and said ZZ Top intends to continue performing.
“Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas,” Gibbons said.
“His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished.”
ZZ Top continued touring after bassist Dusty Hill died in 2021, with longtime guitar technician Elwood Francis subsequently taking over bass duties.
In recent years, the group has maintained an extensive international touring schedule across North America, Europe and South America.
Beard was also known within the band as “The Man With No Beard”, as he was the only member of the classic ZZ Top line-up not to wear the long facial hair that became one of the group’s trademarks.
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