ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Dies at 77 in Richmond, Texas

Texas rock band mourns the drummer whose backbeat defined ZZ Top

RICHMOND, Texas — Frank Beard, the longtime drummer and founding member of ZZ Top, died Monday at age 77 while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, the band confirmed to CBS News. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

Beard was surrounded by family members when he died, according to a statement from the band’s publicist. His death marks the loss of another member of ZZ Top’s original trio, following the 2021 death of bassist Dusty Hill. Guitarist Billy Gibbons is now the sole surviving founding member of the Houston-rooted rock group.

“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,” Gibbons said in a social media statement, referring to current bassist Elwood Francis. “His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.”

Tour dates canceled as band plans Austin return

ZZ Top said it had canceled its two upcoming concerts in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs following Beard’s death. The group said it still expected to resume the tour this weekend at Austin City Limits, a venue described by the band as one of Beard’s favorites in a city that had become “something of a second home” to him.

Beard had stepped away from touring earlier because of foot and ankle problems. In March 2025, the band announced that he would temporarily leave the road to address those health issues, and ZZ Top later canceled an Aug. 5 performance at the Hollywood Bowl because of his condition.

Born June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, Beard was raised in Irving. He first played with Hill in several early Texas bands before joining Gibbons in The Moving Sidewalks. In the final months of 1969, Beard encouraged Gibbons to audition Hill, helping create the lineup that would become ZZ Top.

Although Gibbons and Hill became globally recognizable for their long beards, hats and sunglasses, Beard was famously the member with no beard, generally appearing clean-shaven or with a mustache. Gibbons recalled that the trio’s first session together at a club called The Catacombs turned into an extended jam after Hill arrived to audition.

A defining rhythm in a five-decade career

Beard’s drumming was central to ZZ Top’s blend of Texas blues, hard rock and funk. The band released its debut, ZZ Top’s First Album, in 1970 and broke through commercially with “La Grange” from 1973’s Tres Hombres. It later scored enduring hits including “Tush,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.”

ZZ Top’s 1983 album Eliminator pushed the trio into a new commercial stratosphere, pairing their stripped-down blues foundation with synthesizers, drum machines and MTV-ready videos. The album sold more than 10 million copies and earned Diamond certification, according to the band’s publicist.

The group sold more than 50 million albums, placed six songs at No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart and received three Grammy nominations, according to The Associated Press. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Beard had previously spoken publicly about entering rehab in the late 1970s, a period that led the band to take a three-year break. Gibbons later said replacing Beard was never considered, calling him the group’s only drummer.

Beard is survived by his wife, Debbie Meredith, and three children. ZZ Top has not announced funeral arrangements or said who will handle drums when the tour resumes.