ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard dead at 77 as bandmate pays tribute to ‘great friend and collaborator’

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died at age 77.

In a statement posted by the band, ZZ Top founding member Billy F. Gibbons paid tribute to a ‘great friend and collaborator’ who he says was a key part of their success.  

‘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,’ Gibbons said in a statement posted to the band’s Instagram account. 

The band will now be cancelling its shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs. However, the group will be moving forward with upcoming performances at Austin City Limits, a venue which held a special place in Beard’s heart.  

‘The band will resume its current The Big One! Tour this weekend with two dates at Austin City Limits, one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him,’ the statement said. 

Beard was in hospice care at his Richmond, Texas, ranch at the time of his death, a representative for the late drummer confirmed to Variety. He had family by his side. 

Beard joined the iconic band shortly after it was formed in 1969 but his health issues were becoming more apparent this past year. 

The band were set to perform at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this month but were forced to cancel due to ‘unforeseen personnel matters.’

Rolling Stone later reported that they had actually cancelled due to Beard’s health. 

A year earlier, Beard’s health also led to him stepping away from the band’s tour.  

A statement from the band’s management, Shelter Music Group, announced that Beard ‘temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term.’

‘Beard, along with fellow ZZ Top members Billy F Gibbons and Elwood Francis, presently on the Elevation tour since March 5, have engaged fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer, John Douglas, for the interim.’

The post added that Douglas ‘has maintained a close relationship with Beard and the bandmates’ and previously replaced Beard in a Paris performance in 2002 when the drummer had an emergency appendectomy.

The statement concluded: ‘He is looking forward to a speedy recovery.’

ZZ Top formed in 1969 and Beard joined shortly thereafter. It now consists of bassist Elwood Francis and Gibbons. 

The group have forged a bond that has lasted for decades.  

‘I would say, for me, I have found the people that I want to play with. And I was able to do that at a very early age. I’m still satisfied with them. I’m satisfied with Dusty and I’m satisfied with Billy,’ Beard said in the 2019 documentary, That Little Ol’ Band from Texas, according to Rolling Stone. 

‘With these two guys, I’ve never wanted to quit, and I’ve never wanted to get fired.’

Beard also grappled with substance abuse, admitting drugs ‘f**ked up’ relationships and led to him selling a drum kit to buy more substances. 

‘All the money I pissed off, that’s a regret,” he said in the documentary. “I sold my original Ludwig kit to buy drugs with it. Relationships I f**ked up … In the back of my mind, I knew I needed to kick heroin. I needed to stop doing cocaine. I had done it all, and I couldn’t go any further.’

Beard eventually sought treatment at rehab, during which time the band entered a three year hiatus. 

‘I just wanted to get sober,’ he recalled in the documentary. ‘I wanted to be like people I admired that could sit at home and watch TV and go to bed.’

The band went on a break for three years as Beard became sober.  

‘In the late ’70s, I entered rehab. Somebody asked Dusty what he was gonna do. ‘Hey what are y’all gonna do, you know? Frank’s in rehab.’ And Dusty said, ‘Well, I’m goin’ fishing!'”  Beard recalled during an interview with CBS News. 

Gibbons said he never considered replacing Beard with another drummer: ‘There is no other drummer. There’s one guy!’ he said.

Beard is just the latest death the band has had to cope with in recent years. 

In 2021, founding member Dusty Hill passed at age 72. He was replaced by Elwood Francis. 

ZZ Top became popular in the 1970s and did very well in the 1980s. Their signature was very long beards on two of the band members, Hill and Gibbons.

ZZ Top released Tres Hombres in 1973, which reached the No. 8 position on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Their top hits from that were La Grange and Jesus Just Left Chicago.

On their album Eliminator, they had the massive hits Gimme All Your Lovin’ and Sharp Dressed Man as well as Legs.

ZZ Top’s discography spans 15 albums, several of which won awards.

In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.