Frank Beard, ZZ Top's Longtime Drummer, Dies at 77
Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for ZZ Top known for his precise, driving grooves on classics like "Tush" and "La Grange," has died at 77.
Beard died Monday while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side, according to a statement from the band's publicist, Bob Merlis. A specific cause of death was not given.
A Band Built From a Single Suggestion
Beard formed ZZ Top in 1969 alongside guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons, having first played together in the Houston-based band The Moving Sidewalks. It was Beard who suggested that Gibbons, then a frontman searching for a rhythm section, bring in bassist Dusty Hill, a musician Beard had already played alongside in earlier bands. That suggestion led to the classic ZZ Top lineup, which released its debut album, "ZZ Top's First Album," in 1971 and went on to record 15 studio albums together.
Gibbons recalled in a 2019 CBS Sunday Morning interview that he knew almost immediately Beard had the skill he was looking for, saying it took no time at all to recognize his talent. In the documentary "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas," Beard offered his own recollection of that first jam session, joking that he had been "jacked up on speed" and kept Gibbons playing for hours.
A Beardless Beard
Despite his surname, Beard was known for typically going clean-shaven or wearing only a mustache, in contrast to the long, distinctive beards worn by Gibbons and Hill that became one of the band's most recognizable visual trademarks. Fans and bandmates often noted the irony over the decades, and it became a recurring point of humor associated with the group's identity.
Musically, Beard was widely regarded as a master of the Texas shuffle, a steady, inch-perfect drum groove that anchored the band's blues rock boogie sound throughout its career. Gibbons paid tribute to that legacy in a statement following Beard's death, calling him one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a true son of Texas, and crediting his signature backbeat as central to keeping the band together.
The End of an Era for ZZ Top
Beard's death leaves Gibbons as the sole surviving member of ZZ Top's original trio. Hill, the band's longtime bassist, died in 2021 at age 72, and at his request was replaced by his longtime bass technician, Elwood Francis, who has played bass with the band ever since.
Beard had dealt with serious health issues in recent years. In March 2025, the band announced he was temporarily stepping away from touring to address an unspecified health issue, expressing hope for a speedy recovery at the time.
ZZ Top canceled scheduled shows in Salt Lake City on Monday and in Colorado Springs on Tuesday following news of Beard's death, with the band's current tour expected to resume this weekend in Austin. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, cementing its place among the most enduring acts in American rock history.
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