Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for rock trio ZZ Top, has died at the age of 77.
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’s website.
“Beard, together with guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill were one of music’s most enduring line-ups continuing until 2021 when Hill’s passing saw Elwood Francis join the band, who have continued to tour throughout North America, Europe and South America to this day,” the statement added.
ZZ Top band co-founder and guitarist Billy Gibbons shared a statement following Beard’s death.
“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,” Gibbons said.
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 “one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him,” the statement posted to the band’s website said.
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ZZ Top sold more than 50 million records and had six singles that reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Seven of their albums have been in the Billboard 200’s Top 10 and they earned three Grammy Award nominations.
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.
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.
ZZ Top songs were popular in Hollywood, which used Gimme All Your Lovin’ 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.
ZZ Top were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Beard’s death leaves singer and guitarist Gibbons as the only sole surviving core member following Hill’s death in 2021.
Many drummers and musicians took to social media to pay tribute to Beard after news of his passing spread.
Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk wrote, “I 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… he was the only one in the band without one.”
Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum said Beard was “the backbone of ZZ Top for 57 years with the best shuffle known to man.”
“It might sound easy but possibly one of the hardest things I’ve ever try to learn and still trying …… that being said he was born with it in his blood with that Lil Ol Band from Texas they had a name for it … The Texas shuffle !! Maybe most folks wouldn’t appreciate it as much as us drummers,” Sorum added.
Rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote, “Frank was one of a kind. A hell of a drummer, a true original, and most importantly to us, a great friend. Our hearts are with Frank’s family, Billy, and the entire ZZ Top family. We’re gonna miss you, brother. Give Dusty and all our brothers & sisters hugs for us.”
Slash, lead guitarist of band Guns N’ Roses, shared a photo of Beard on Instagram, writing, “RIP #FrankBeard.”
Beard is survived by his wife, Debbie Meredith, and three children.
—With files from The Associated Press
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