ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Dies at 77

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died at the age of 77.

According to a press release, Beard "was in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with family members at his side" on Aug. 17.

“Today, (bassist) Elwood (Francis) and I lost a great friend and collaborator," guitarist and singer Billy Gibbons wrote in a press release announcing the news. "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."

In March 2025, it was announced that Beard was stepping away from the group's current North American tour to focus on unspecified health issues.

He was replaced by the band's longtime tech team member John Douglas, who also filled in for an ailing Beard on a 2002 European tour. Beard returned in September 2025 but has reportedly been absent from all of ZZ Top's 2026 tours, this time replaced by Michael Monahan.

Beard joined guitarist and singer Billy Gibbons in ZZ Top barely a year after Gibbons formed the group from the ashes of his previous band, the Moving Sidewalks.

"I drove down to Houston, I hunted all over the place, found Billy Gibbons, made him go — I mean, just threatened him — made him go to the rehearsal studio," Beard recalled in the band's 2020 documentary That Little Ol' Band From Texas. "I made him jam for about eight hours till his tongue just fell out."

It didn't take Gibbons long to be convinced. "It didn't take 30 minutes, didn't take 30 seconds," the guitarist recalled in the same documentary. "I knew that Frank Beard had the kind of chops that I was looking for. He played fiercely, he played with determination."

Beard helped recruit bassist Dusty Hill from his former band American Blues shortly thereafter, solidifying the three-man lineup that would stick together for over five decades and become one of the most beloved bands in rock history.

Read More: Top 10 Frank Beard ZZ Top Songs

Beard has appeared on all 15 of ZZ Top's studio albums, from 1971's ZZ Top's First Album to 2012's La Futura. The trio forged a unique blues-rock sound that featured influences from their home state of Texas and from Mexico, whose super-powered "border blasting" radio stations exposed the group to the "country Jesus and hillbilly blues" they sang about in their 1975 hit "Heard It on the X."

After becoming one of the most popular touring bands in the country, with hits such as "Tush" and "La Grange" under their belt, ZZ Top took what was supposed to be a 90-day break in 1977, in part to allow Beard to get a substance-abuse problem under control.

“Frank goes all out on what he does, and that includes the bad things," bandmate Dusty Hill later explained. "The pills thing came about just from the workload," a regretful Beard explained in That Little Ol' Band From Texas. For that and other reasons, the band's break lasted nearly two years. In 2020, Gibbons told CBS Sunday Morning that leaving Beard behind was never a consideration. "There is no other drummer. There's one guy."

Ironically, considering his last name, Beard was the only member of the trio not to emerge from the hiatus with the famous chin-length facial hair made famous by Gibbons and Hill.

The group returned stronger than ever with 1979's Deguello, which showed an experimental streak that they would pursue further on 1981's El Loco before striking unexpected mainstream superstardom with 1983's synthesizer and drum machine-heavy Eliminator.

ZZ Top remained one of rock's most popular touring attractions for another four decades, although their recording output slowed considerably after 1999's XXX.

Beard's death leaves Gibbons as the only surviving classic-era member of ZZ Top, as Hill died in July of 2021. Hill was replaced by the band's longtime guitar tech, Elwood Francis.