Frank Beard, the drummer of ZZ Top for more than 50 years running, has died. He was 77.
The band confirmed the news on Instagram, with Billy Gibbons writing, "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."
No cause of death has been reported, but Beard had stepped away from the band's touring commitments well over a year ago due to an unspecified health issue.
ZZ Top are currently in the midst of a US tour, and have cancelled shows tonight in Salt Lake City and tomorrow (August 19) in Colorado Springs. As of press time, they'll return to the road for Austin City Limits in October, which they referred to as "one of Frank's favourite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him."
Born in Frankston, TX, before joining ZZ Top, Beard was a member of a fake iteration of the British band the Zombies, which toured the US without authorization from the original band members. He was also part of the Outlaws with would-be ZZ Top member Dusty Hill (Beard was also the one to introduce him to Billy Gibbons) ahead of May 1969, when he entered the fold of the Moving Sidewalks — who became ZZ Top in July 1969.
The trio signed with London Records and released ZZ Top's First Album in 1971, showcasing their trademark Texas boogie blues rock stylings. Their subsequent LPs Tres Hombres (1973) and Fandango! (1975) — as well as the singles "La Grange" and "Tush" — went on to gain extensive radio airplay and become classic rock radio staples.
After gaining renown across North America for their live shows by the mid-'70s, ZZ Top rebranded in 1979, with Gibbons and Hill rocking sunglasses and matching chest-length beards. The transformation became sonic on 1981's El Loco, where they began incorporating synthesizers and drum machines prior to rising to international stardom with 1983's Eliminator and 1985's Afterburner, which drew influence from new wave, punk and dance-rock.
Their music videos' heavy rotation on MTV made them prominent in '80s pop culture, and the Afterburner tour was the highest-attended and highest-grossing tour of 1986. ZZ Top's experimentation continued with more mixed success after their 10th record Recycle (1990), but the band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 all the same.
In 2018, ZZ Top won the Guinness World Record for longest-running active group with no lineup changes prior to the release of a compilation album commemorating the band's 50th anniversary in 2019. Hill died in July 2021, and was replaced by longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis as per the late bassist-vocalist's wishes.
Beard's death leaves Gibbons as the only surviving original member of the band's lineup, with ZZ Top's most recent new music dating back to 2022's RAW: That Little Ol' Band from Texas soundtrack.
