ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died at the age of 77, the band announced. He passed away on Monday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, while in hospice care, surrounded by family; no cause of death was given. His death forced the cancellation of tour dates this week in Utah and Colorado, though the band plans to resume its "The Big One!" tour at the weekend with shows at Austin City Limits, one of Beard's favourite venues.

Beard co-founded ZZ Top in 1969 alongside Billy Gibbons, later joined by bassist Dusty Hill, and the trio played together for over five decades until Hill's death in 2021. Known as "The Man With No Beard" for being the only member without the band's trademark facial hair, he drummed on hits including La Grange, Tush, Cheap Sunglasses and tracks from the 10-million-selling 1984 album Eliminator. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, and Gibbons paid tribute to Beard as "one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas."