Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for rock trio ZZ Top, has died at the age of 77.<\/p>\n
Beard was in hospice care when he died Tuesday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side, according to a statement posted to the band\u2019s website.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeard, together with guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill were one of music\u2019s most enduring line-ups continuing until 2021 when Hill\u2019s passing saw Elwood Francis join the band, who have continued to tour throughout North America, Europe and South America to this day,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
ZZ Top band co-founder and guitarist Billy Gibbons shared a statement following Beard\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, 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,\u201d Gibbons said.<\/p>\n
The band also announced it would cancel its shows on Aug. 18 and 19. They will resume their tour Aug. 22 at ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin Texas at \u201cone of Frank\u2019s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him,\u201d the statement posted to the band\u2019s website said.<\/p>\n
ZZ Top sold more than 50 million records and had six singles that reached No. 1 on Billboard\u2019s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Seven of their albums have been in the Billboard 200\u2019s Top 10 and they earned three Grammy Award nominations.<\/p>\n
Beard met Gibbons in a band called The Moving Sidewalks and was later introduced to bassist and vocalist Hill, who had been in several bands with Beard.<\/p>\n
The trio formed ZZ Top in 1969, naming themselves in part after blues singer Z.Z. Hill and influenced by the British power trio Cream and Jimmy Reed. They maintained their original lineup for more than five decades.<\/p>\n
ZZ Top songs were popular in Hollywood, which used Gimme All Your Lovin\u2019 in Happy Feet, Sharp Dressed Man in Evan Almighty, Legs in Air, Sleeping Bag in I, Tonya, Tush in Dazed and Confused, Mexican Blackbird in From Dusk Till Dawn and La Grange in Armageddon.<\/p>\n
ZZ Top were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.<\/p>\n
Beard\u2019s death leaves singer and guitarist Gibbons as the only sole surviving core member following Hill\u2019s death in 2021.<\/p>\n
Many drummers and musicians took to social media to pay tribute to Beard after news of his passing spread.<\/p>\n
Rage Against the Machine\u2019s Brad Wilk wrote, \u201cI first experienced ZZ Top at the LA forum in high school for the eliminator tour. My mind was BLOWN! Watching his two hand shuffle live was immense. I love that Franks last name was Beard\u2026 he was the only one in the band without one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Guns N\u2019 Roses drummer Matt Sorum said Beard was \u201cthe backbone of ZZ Top for 57 years with the best shuffle known to man.\u201d<\/p>\n