ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Dies at 77 at His Texas Ranch

Frank Beard, the drummer who kept ZZ Top’s rhythm section locked in place for 56 years, died Monday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas. He was 77. The Fort Bend County Medical Examiner confirmed his passing. He died in hospice care with his family at his side. No cause of death was given. His health had been declining for some time. Just two weeks earlier, ZZ Top canceled a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles because of his condition.

Billy Gibbons’ Statement

ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons shared the news in a statement released through the band’s representative. He said that he and guitarist Elwood Francis had lost a great friend and collaborator, and that the world had lost one of the most naturally inventive drummers in rock history. He described Beard as a great and true son of Texas. He said the band planned to continue performing, adding that continuing was what Beard himself had wanted. ZZ Top canceled shows scheduled for Monday night in Salt Lake City and Wednesday in Colorado Springs. Their current tour is set to resume this weekend in Austin.

His Career

Beard joined ZZ Top in 1969, shortly after guitarist Billy Gibbons formed the group in Houston. He appeared on every ZZ Top studio album, from their 1971 debut through their most recent recordings. The band’s sound — rooted in Texas blues and boogie rock — depended on Beard’s steady, hard-shuffling backbeat more than most listeners realized. He drove the rhythm on every major ZZ Top hit, including Sharp-Dressed Man, Legs, Gimme All Your Lovin’, La Grange, and Tush.
In the early 1980s, ZZ Top returned from a near-three-year hiatus and released Eliminator in 1983. That album sold more than ten million copies in the United States. The accompanying videos, featuring the band’s long beards and vintage cars, became staples on MTV and made ZZ Top one of the defining acts of the decade.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Beard had stepped back from ZZ Top’s touring schedule in early 2025 due to undisclosed health issues and never returned to the road. His absence from the band’s recent shows had led to widespread speculation about his condition.

The Man Behind the Irony

ZZ Top’s two founding members, Billy Gibbons and the late bassist Dusty Hill, were famous for their long beards. Frank Beard — whose surname is Beard — wore only a mustache throughout his career. The band and Beard himself found humor in the contradiction for decades.
Dusty Hill, the band’s bassist and Beard’s bandmate since the beginning, died in his sleep at his Houston home in July 2021. Elwood Francis stepped in as bassist after Hill’s death. Beard is the second ZZ Top original member to die.

Source: Variety, Rolling Stone, ABC News, TMZ, KTRH, WGN TV