Longtime ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Dies At 77

Frank Beard, longtime drummer of legendary rock group ZZ Top, has died. He was 77.

Beard was born on June 11, 1949 in Frankston, Texas. He died on Monday (August 17). TMZ confirmed in a report on Tuesday (August 18) that Beard returned to his ranch in Texas after a hospice stay, and he died surrounded by family, per the Fort Bend County Medical Examiner. His cause of death as not been publicly confirmed as of publication time.

"Today, Elwood [Francis] 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," ZZ Top founder Billy F. Gibbons said in a statement to news outlets. "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."

Beard joined the legendary rockers in 1969, and the band released ZZ Top's First Album in 1971. Though he temporarily steeped away from touring because of health issues, Beard did not officially announce leaving the group. He remained a part of the band for more than five decades with Gibbons and Dusty Hill (Hill died in July 2021 in Houston, Texas. He was 72). Fellow musician Keith Richards inducted ZZ Top into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Over the years, ZZ Top has become known for "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man," and other iconic anthems.