Renowned for his drumming prowess with the iconic blues rock band ZZ Top, Frank Beard has passed away at 77 years old.
A statement released on Tuesday by the band’s publicist confirmed the news of Beard’s passing, revealing he was in hospice and surrounded by family at his Richmond, TX ranch. The cause of his death has not been disclosed.
In March 2025, the band shared on their official X account that Beard had taken a temporary break from their ongoing tour due to an undisclosed health concern, expressing optimism for his swift recovery.
Born on June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, Beard became part of the Houston music scene in 1969 with The Moving Sidewalks, which included Billy Gibbons as a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. Soon after, the band rebranded to ZZ Top, launching their career after a lineup change that brought in bassist Dusty Hill. Their debut record, fittingly called “ZZ Top’s First Album,” was released in 1971.
Recalling their initial encounter, Billy Gibbons shared in the 2019 documentary “ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas” that he immediately recognized Beard’s drumming skills as exactly what he was seeking, saying, “It didn’t take 30 minutes; it didn’t take 30 seconds.”
“He played fiercely. He played with determination,” Gibbons said.The band’s follow-up, 1972’s “Rio Grande Mud,” featured the modest chart hit “Francine.” But it was ZZ Top’s breakout third album, 1973’s “Tres Hombres,” that put them on the map, largely on the strength of the album’s lead single, the blues rock boogie “La Grange.”
Featuring Beard’s signature snare-rim-tapping triplets intro beneath Billy Gibbons’ sly, growling vocals, then dropping into a hard-pounding shuffle groove two dozen bars in, “La Grange” helped propel “Tres Hombres” into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 all-genre albums chart on the way to becoming RIAA-certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 units.With a lineup unchanged for over half a century, the “Little ‘Ol Band from Texas” released 15 studio albums during Beard’s tenure, the latest being 2012’s “La Futura,” with nine of them reaching RIAA gold or platinum status. Of those, however, the biggest-selling remains 1983’s “Eliminator,” which sold more than 10 million units in the U.S. alone and includes the hits “Sharp-Dressed Man” and “Gimme All Your Lovin'” – both propelled by Beard’s hammering, driving backbeat – and “Legs.” The latter, the band’s highest-charting single, featured neither Beard nor bassist Hill, though they were credited.Other signature ZZ Top songs on which Beard played include “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Tush,” “Tube Snake Boogie,” “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “I Thank You,” “Beer Drinkers