ZZ TOP Drummer FRANK BEARD Dead At 77

Frank Beard, ZZ TOP's drummer for the past 56 years, has died at the age of 77. He was in hospice care when he passed away on August 17 at his ranch in Richmond, Texas with family members at his side.

In early August, Beard dropped off ZZ TOP's "The Big One!" tour due to health issues, with ZZ TOP guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons and bassist Elwood Francis continuing to play shows with drummer Michael Monahan filling in for Beard.

The band announced it would cancel its August 18-19 shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs and resume the tour August 22-23 at ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, "one of Frank's favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him."

Gibbons commented: "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."

Nearly a year and a half ago, Beard "temporarily stepped away" from ZZ TOP's tour due to an unspecified "health issue". Fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer John Douglas filled in for Beard, a position John previously held back in 2002 when Frank underwent an emergency appendectomy.

Beard had been a member of ZZ TOP for over 55 years, having played on all of the band's albums, starting with "ZZ Top's First Album" in 1971.

When ZZ TOP started, Beard was known by the nickname "Rube" and was credited as "Rube Beard" on the first album and on "Tres Hombres", the band's third album, but is listed under his real name on "Rio Grande Mud", ZZ TOP's second album. After "Tres Hombres", he was credited as "Frank Beard" on all the band's albums. Ironically, Beard was the only member of ZZ TOP who did not have a beard, usually wearing only a mustache (though he went through a phase in the 1990s with a tidy beard).

Frank resided in Richmond, Texas, where he owned and operated the Top 40 Ranch. He was a scratch golfer, renowned locally for participation in tournaments and community events.

ZZ TOP's longtime bassist Dusty Hill died in July 2021 at age 72.

ZZ TOP was founded by Gibbons in 1969, and both Hill and Beard signed on in 1970.