FORT BEND COUNTY, TX. (THECOUNT) — Frank Beard, the longtime drummer of legendary rock band ZZ Top and a member of the group for more than five decades, has died at age 77, according to the Fort Bend County Medical Examiner.
Beard died August 17 at his Texas ranch with family by his side following a stay in hospice care. A cause of death has not been disclosed.
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Beard’s death comes less than two weeks after health concerns forced ZZ Top to cancel its August 5 performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
At the time, frontman Billy Gibbons said the band was dealing with “insurmountable obstacles” and asked fans to bear with the group during the interruption.
Beard had also been absent from several recent ZZ Top performances, with drummer Michael Monahan filling in behind the kit. ZZ Top performed without Beard in Saratoga, California, just days before news of his death emerged.
Beard joined ZZ Top in 1969, becoming part of the lineup that would transform the Texas blues-rock trio into one of the most recognizable bands in American music.
Alongside Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill, Beard helped establish the band’s unmistakable sound, combining blues-based guitar riffs with a hard-driving rhythm section that became a defining feature of ZZ Top’s music.
Beard played on all 15 of ZZ Top’s studio albums during his career. His drumming powered some of the band’s biggest songs, including “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.”
ZZ Top’s success extended well beyond the recording studio. The band’s distinctive image, blues-rock sound and elaborate music videos helped make Gibbons, Hill and Beard international rock stars, particularly during the group’s commercial peak in the 1980s.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, cementing its place among the most influential rock acts of its generation.
Beard remained with ZZ Top through decades of changes in the music industry and continued performing with the group long after many of its contemporaries had retired from touring.
The band’s classic lineup remained together until Hill died in July 2021 at age 72. Following Hill’s death, Gibbons and Beard continued ZZ Top’s touring career with longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis taking over bass duties at the band’s performances.
Beard’s death leaves Gibbons as the only surviving member of ZZ Top’s classic trio.
For more than 50 years, Beard’s steady presence behind the drum kit helped provide the foundation for a catalog that crossed generations and made ZZ Top one of the most enduring bands in rock history.
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