Frank Beard, the longtime drummer of ZZ Top, has died at the age of 77.
Band founder and lead singer Billy Gibbons confirmed his bandmate’s death on Instagram on Tuesday, shortly after Beard’s death in hospice on Monday. The band had previously canceled a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles scheduled for Aug. 5, citing Beard’s health issues.
“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 shared. “His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.”
Beard drummed for the band for nearly 60 years and contributed to some of their biggest songs, such as “La Grange,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Tush,” “Bugs” and “Velcro Fly.”
The drummer was born June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas. He spent the earliest years of his music career playing across the state with Gibbons. Beard and Gibbons teamed up with bassist Dusty Hill – who died in 2021 – to form ZZ Top in late 1969. The trio hit it big with “La Grange” in 1973 and quickly became one of the most in-demand blues rock performances in America.
The group took a two-year hiatus in 1977 but returned with the 1979 album “Deguello.” Soon after they exploded into mainstream success. With the rise of MTV in the 1980s, ZZ Top built their famous, long-bearded public image with music videos for hits like “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Give Me All Your Lovin’.”
ZZ Top kept the band together with no lineup changes for well over 50 years – with Beard, Gibbons and Hill playing until Hill’s death in 2021. The group released 16 albums together.
In the wake of Beard’s death, the band also announced it was canceling its upcoming shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs.
“The band will resume its current The Big One! Tour this weekend with two dates in at Austin City Limits, one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him,” their statement noted.
