ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Dies at 77

Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for the legendary rock band ZZ Top, has died at age 77.

Beard died Monday in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, surrounded by family, according to the band’s representative, Bob Merlis. He had been dealing with a prolonged illness that recently forced him to miss several ZZ Top performances.

The band canceled its scheduled shows in Salt Lake City on Tuesday and Colorado Springs on Wednesday following Beard’s death. ZZ Top is expected to resume its tour this weekend at Austin City Limits, a place the band described as a “second home” for Beard.

“Today, Elwood Francis 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,” guitarist and band founder Billy Gibbons said in a statement. “His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.”

Beard was born in Frankston, Texas, on June 11, 1949. He began playing drums as a teenager and performed with several local bands, including the Cellar Dwellers, the Hustlers, the Warlocks and American Blues.

He joined ZZ Top in the late 1960s, forming the classic lineup with Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill. The three musicians went on to become one of rock music’s most recognizable groups, maintaining the same core lineup for decades.

ZZ Top released its first album in 1971, followed by Rio Grande Mud in 1972 and Tres Hombres in 1973. The latter helped establish the band nationally, while songs such as “La Grange” became enduring rock classics.

The group reached even greater commercial success in the 1980s. Hits including “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs” and “Sleeping Bag” helped turn ZZ Top into international stars, with Beard’s steady, powerful drumming providing the foundation for the band’s distinctive sound.

Over a career spanning roughly six decades, Beard toured around the world and helped ZZ Top sell more than 50 million albums. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2018, ZZ Top was recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-running band with no changes to its lineup.

Beard also faced serious personal struggles. He battled drug addiction for years, a period that contributed to a three-year break from the band.

He was married to Catherine Alexander from 1978 to 1981 and married Debbie Meredith in 1982. They had three children.

Beard was the second member of ZZ Top’s classic trio to die. Hill died in 2021 at age 72. Beard and Hill had known each other long before ZZ Top, playing together in American Blues after earlier performing with the Outlaws.

Their partnership with Gibbons helped define ZZ Top for generations. With Beard’s death, the band loses the drummer whose understated but unmistakable rhythm was at the heart of its sound for more than 50 years.