Frank Beard, ZZ Top’s Steady Texas Beat, Dies at 77 - Legendary drummer’s passing marks the loss of a defining figure in American rock

For more than five decades, Frank Beard sat behind the drum kit and supplied the unmistakable rhythm that powered ZZ Top’s Texas sound. On Monday, Aug. 17, that beat came to an end.

Beard, the longtime drummer for the legendary rock trio, died at age 77 at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, while receiving hospice care and surrounded by family members. His cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.

“His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top,” guitarist Billy Gibbons said in a statement posted by the band.

Gibbons, now the last surviving original member of ZZ Top, mourned Beard as “a great friend and collaborator” and praised him as one of the most naturally innovative drummers in music. He also said the band would continue performing, honoring Beard’s wish that ZZ Top keep moving forward. (ZZ Top’s official announcement)

The band canceled scheduled appearances in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs following Beard’s death. ZZ Top said it planned to resume its current tour with two performances at Austin City Limits on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23—an especially meaningful return, since Austin had long been regarded as a second home for Beard.

Born June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, and raised in Irving, Beard joined the group that would become ZZ Top in 1969. He played alongside Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill as the trio developed a hard-driving blend of blues, rock and boogie that became one of America’s most recognizable musical identities.

Beard also played an important role in bringing Hill into the lineup. According to the band’s publicist, Beard suggested that Gibbons audition Hill during the group’s early formation. The partnership would produce one of rock music’s most durable trios.

There was also a famous visual joke at the heart of ZZ Top. Gibbons and Hill became known for their enormous beards, hats and sunglasses, while Beard—despite his last name—was typically clean-shaven or wore only a mustache.

Behind that image was a remarkable body of work. Beard performed on ZZ Top’s 15 studio albums, including Tres Hombres, Eliminator, Afterburner and La Futura. His drumming helped drive enduring songs such as “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.”

The 1983 album Eliminator introduced ZZ Top to a new generation through MTV, combining the band’s blues-based guitar sound with synthesizers, memorable music videos and a larger-than-life Texas style. ZZ Top went on to sell more than 50 million albums, score six No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart and earn induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Hill died in 2021. At his request, Elwood Francis, his longtime bass technician, joined Gibbons and Beard onstage. With Beard’s passing, the classic ZZ Top lineup has now lost two of its three members.

Still, the band has made clear that the music will continue. The guitars, bass and drums that carried ZZ Top across generations will return to the stage in Austin this weekend, where the group will perform in the city Beard loved.

Frank Beard may have been the only man in ZZ Top without a famous beard, but his musical signature was impossible to miss. For six decades, he was the pulse beneath the hat, the sunglasses and the Texas swagger—and the drummer who helped keep ZZ Top on top.