Frank Beard, the drummer whose unmistakable backbeat powered ZZ Top for more than five decades, has died aged 77 after receiving hospice care.
Beard died on 17 August at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with members of his family beside him. His cause of death has not been disclosed.
The musician had recently withdrawn from ZZ Top's The Big One! tour because of an unspecified illness. Despite losing a second member of its classic trio in five years, the band has confirmed that it will continue performing in accordance with Beard's wishes.
Will ZZ Top Continue Without Frank Beard?
ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons gave a direct answer while announcing his bandmate's death.
Gibbons said Beard's distinctive drumming had been essential to the group's sound and revealed that the band would 'keep on keeping on' because that was what Beard wanted.
ZZ Top cancelled concerts scheduled for 18 August in Sandy, Utah, and 19 August in Colorado Springs, Colorado. However, the tour is expected to resume with performances at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin on 22 and 23 August.
Austin held particular significance for Beard and had effectively become a second home to the musician. Restarting the tour there will allow the band to honour him in a city closely connected to his life and career.
A permanent replacement has not been announced. Drummer Michael Monahan had been filling in after Beard left the tour earlier in August.
Beard Left Tour Days Before His Death
Concern about Beard's health intensified when ZZ Top cancelled a planned Hollywood Bowl performance on 5 August because of what was initially described as a personnel matter.
It was later confirmed that Beard had stepped away from the tour while dealing with renewed health problems. No diagnosis or detailed explanation of his condition was released.
Beard had previously missed performances in 2025 to undergo treatment for problems affecting his foot and ankle. He also temporarily left the band's tour in 2002 after requiring an emergency appendectomy in Paris.
His latest absence was initially presented as another temporary break. However, he entered hospice care before dying at his Texas home.
The Backbeat Behind ZZ Top's Biggest Hits
Beard joined ZZ Top in 1969, shortly before bassist Dusty Hill completed the lineup alongside guitarist and singer Billy Gibbons.
The three musicians remained together for more than 50 years, creating one of rock music's most enduring lineups. Beard performed on all 15 of the band's studio albums.
His drumming helped define songs including La Grange, Tush, Sharp Dressed Man, Gimme All Your Lovin' and Legs. Although his playing was rarely flashy, its combination of blues, rock and the Texas shuffle gave ZZ Top its instantly recognisable momentum.
The group sold more than 50 million records and became a defining presence during the early years of MTV. ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Beard was also famously the only member of the classic trio who did not wear a long beard despite his surname.
Billy Gibbons Becomes Last Survivor of Classic Trio
Beard's death comes five years after Hill died in July 2021 aged 72. Hill had asked the band to continue, and longtime guitar technician Elwood Francis subsequently became ZZ Top's touring bassist.
Gibbons is now the only surviving member of the trio responsible for the band's most successful records. Continuing without both Beard and Hill will inevitably raise questions about whether the group can retain its identity.
However, ZZ Top has already survived one major lineup change and continued touring internationally following Hill's death. Beard's stated desire for the band to carry on gives Gibbons a similar mandate now.
The remaining concerts are therefore likely to become both a continuation of The Big One! tour and a public tribute to the drummer who kept ZZ Top moving for 56 years.
