ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard dies after 50 years
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Frank Beard, ZZ Top's drummer since 1969, has died aged 77 in hospice care at his Texas ranch, with his family by his side, according to his representative. Band founder Billy Gibbons paid tribute, calling Beard "one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas" whose "signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top," and confirmed the band intends to continue touring as Beard had wished.
The death followed a recent history of health difficulties: Beard stepped away from the band last March to address a health issue, returning to performing five months later, and ZZ Top cancelled a Hollywood Bowl show just over a week before his death citing "unforeseen personnel matters." In response, the band cancelled upcoming dates in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs, but resumed its "The Big One!" tour with two shows at Austin City Limits, a venue and city that had special significance for Beard. He never officially co-founded ZZ Top but had played with the group, alongside Gibbons and the late Dusty Hill, since 1969; the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
- ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died aged 77 in hospice care.
- He had played with the band since 1969, inducted into Rock Hall in 2004.
- Band cancelled some shows but resumed touring at Austin City Limits.
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Frank Beard was the drummer for ZZ Top, the American blues-rock band best known for hits like "Sharp Dressed Man", "La Grange" and "Legs". He played alongside guitarist and singer Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill, and the trio's lineup had remained unchanged since the band's first album in 1971, an extraordinary run of stability for a rock band.
Dusty Hill died in 2021, after which the band continued touring with new members Elwood Francis on bass and Michael Monahan on drums, though the original trio still performed together when possible. Beard's death means Billy Gibbons is now the only original member left, and it marks the end of that unbroken 50-year lineup, with the final performance by all three original members having taken place last month.
ZZ Top has been a fixture of American rock since the early 1970s, and Beard's death matters to fans and the wider music world both as the loss of a respected musician and as a symbolic close to one of rock's longest-running original lineups.