Mourning in the rock world: ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has passed away
Frank Beard, the drummer for ZZ Top for over five decades, has passed away at the age of 77 at his home in Texas. Just days earlier, he had retired from the band's tour due to health issues.
Frank Beard, the veteran drummer of the American rock band ZZ Top, has passed away at the age of 77, following 56 years as a member of the ensemble. A representative for the band stated that Beard died on August 17 while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with his family by his side.
His death comes just days after he was forced to retire from the band's current tour due to health issues. In early August, ZZ Top announced that drummer Michael Monahan would replace him for upcoming performances. During 2025, Beard had also been temporarily absent from a tour due to an unspecified medical issue, which reports suggested was related to his foot and ankle.
Following his passing, the band announced the cancellation of concerts scheduled for August 18 and 19. The tour is expected to resume on August 22 and 23 at the ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin, Texas — a venue the band defined as one of Beard's favorite halls, in a city that served as a second home to him.
Ironically, Beard was the only member of the blues-rock trio, so closely associated with long beards, who did not adopt the famous look himself. For most of his career, he was content with curly hair and a mustache. His death leaves the vocalist, guitarist, and founder of the band, Billy Gibbons, as the only remaining member of the lineup associated with the great success years of ZZ Top. Bassist and singer Dusty Hill passed away in 2021.
Beard, born on June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, joined ZZ Top shortly after its formation. He played on the band's debut album from 1971, "ZZ Top's First Album," although he was credited under the name "Rube Beard" on that album and the third album, "Tres Hombres." Even before ZZ Top, Beard played alongside Hill in several groups, including The Outlaws, The Cellar Dwellers, The Warlocks, and American Blues. The connection between him and Gibbons soon became one of the foundations upon which the band's signature sound was built.
In the 2019 documentary "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas," Beard recounted that shortly after meeting Gibbons, he took him to a rehearsal room, and the two played for about eight hours. Gibbons himself described Beard as someone who "played with power and determination" and said that he decided right then that he was the new drummer for ZZ Top.
Beard, Gibbons, and Hill together created a blend of blues, boogie, and rock that made ZZ Top one of the bands most identified with American rock. In the 70s, the band established its status with hits like "La Grange" and "Tush." In the early 80s, the band expanded its sound and reached a wider audience, but the big breakthrough came in the middle of the decade with the albums "Eliminator" and "Afterburner." The music videos for "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," and "Rough Boy" turned the trio into massive stars of the MTV era.
In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after a career that spanned decades and made the three members of the ensemble one of the most recognizable symbols of American rock.
