Frank Beard Dead: ZZ Top Drummer Was 77

Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for ZZ Top, has died. He was 77.

A rep for the band confirmed the news on Tuesday. While he didn’t disclose a cause of death, the rep said Beard died in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, “with family members at his side.”

“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,” Billy Gibbons wrote in an Instagram post.
“His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.”

With Beard’s passing, Gibbons said the group would be canceling Tuesday night’s show in Sandy, Utah and Wednesday’s concert in Colorado Springs, and that they’d continue their tour this weekend with their date at Austin City Limits. The group referred to ACL as “one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him.”

Beard’s death comes just weeks after ZZ Top suddenly canceled their show at The Hollywood Bowl, citing “unforeseen personnel matters.” Rolling Stone had subsequently reported that Beard’s health was the cause of the cancellation.

Beard isn’t technically a founder of ZZ Top (that’d be Dan Mitchell), though he joined the group in its infancy in 1969 and led its rhythm section for over five decades.

Born on June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas. Beard grew up in the nearby Texas city of Irving. He met future ZZ Top member Dusty Hill there, and in 1969, Beard suggested to Gibbons that Hill join the group.

“When I was about fifteen I started to play and then I discovered all the blues joints in Dallas where you could hear a lot of great players like Freddie King,” Beard told Backpages of his start.

Together, ZZ Top was one of the most iconic rock groups of their generation, both with their Texas blues-rock sound — which spawned platinum records like Eliminator and Afterburner — and their distinct bearded look. Beard, ironically, was the lone beardless member of the outfit.

“If we played a soul song or a country song, whatever song we played, it would sound like ZZ Top,” Beard previously told Kerrang!

Beard is survived by his wife Debbie and three children.