Drummer for ZZ Top Frank Beard has died at the age of 77.
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A representative for Beard confirmed his death to Variety, saying that he died while in hospice care at his home in Richmond, Texas. His family was by his side.
Last week, ZZ Top canceled their Hollywood Bowl performance because of Beard’s health issues. Beard, who was the band’s drummer for 56 years, temporarily stepped away from touring last year because of his health.
“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. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished,” ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons said in a statement shared with Variety.
Frank Beard was notably the only member of ZZ Top without a long beard. “Frank’s beard is on his driver’s license,” Gibbons famously quipped.
Beard is the second member of the band to pass away. Dusty Hill, the group’s bassist, died in 2021. Elwood Francis, the band’s longtime guitar tech, took over as bassist after Hill’s death, at his request.
While technically not a founding member of the group, Frank Beard took over drumming from Dan Mitchell around the time of the band’s first album. He was an integral part of recruiting Hill for the band.
Best known for their 80s hits including “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs,” the group celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2020. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.
In the band’s 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas, Beard recalled the first time he met Gibbons.
“I was jacked up on speed,” Beard said, as reported by Rolling Stone. “So I made him jam for about eight hours ’til his tongue just fell out.”
“It didn’t take 30 minutes, it didn’t take 30 seconds — I knew that Frank Beard had the kind of chops that I was looking for,” Gibbons said of the meeting. “He played fiercely. He played with determination.”
Beard said of his time in the band, “I would say, for me, I have found the people that I want to play with. And I was able to do that at a very early age.”
He went on to say “I’m still satisfied with them. I’m satisfied with Dusty and I’m satisfied with Billy. With these two guys, I’ve never wanted to quit, and I’ve never wanted to get fired.”