Frank Beard, ZZ Top’s Legendary Drummer, Dead at 77

For more than half a century, Frank Beard sat behind Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill and supplied the backbeat that helped turn a little ol’ band from Texas into one of rock music’s most recognizable acts.

The longtime ZZ Top drummer died August 17 at age 77 while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with members of his family by his side. A cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.

Beard had recently stepped away from ZZ Top’s The Big One! tour because of health issues, with drummer Michael Monahan filling in. He had also taken time away from touring in 2025 while dealing with foot and ankle problems. Following Beard’s death, ZZ Top canceled two shows before announcing plans to return to the stage August 22 and 23 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin—a venue the band described as one of Beard’s favorites.

For Billy Gibbons, Beard’s death marks another enormous loss. Bassist Dusty Hill, the third member of ZZ Top’s classic lineup, died in 2021 and was replaced by longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis.

Gibbons remembered Beard not simply as his drummer, but as a friend whose playing was fundamental to the band.

“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 following Beard’s death. “His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.”

And according to Gibbons, ZZ Top isn't finished.

The band intends to “keep on keeping on,” honoring Beard’s wishes by continuing to perform.

The Rhythm Section That Defined ZZ Top

Born June 11, 1949, in Texas, Beard crossed paths with Hill long before either became internationally famous. The two played together in several Texas bands before Beard eventually connected with Gibbons.

The chemistry apparently didn't take long to reveal itself.

In the 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band from Texas, Beard recalled an early marathon jam with Gibbons that lasted roughly eight hours. Gibbons remembered something more important than the duration: the intensity.

“He played fiercely. He played with determination,” Gibbons recalled.

Beard soon became ZZ Top’s drummer and helped bring Hill into the fold, completing the trio that would remain remarkably intact for more than five decades.

That consistency became part of ZZ Top’s identity.

Behind Gibbons’ guitar and Hill’s bass was Beard: rarely flashy for the sake of being flashy, but unmistakably locked into the groove. His shuffle and backbeat became a fundamental part of the band’s mixture of Texas blues, boogie and rock.

It powered songs including “La Grange,” “Tush,” “Cheap Sunglasses” and “Tube Snake Boogie.”

Then the 1980s changed everything.

From Texas Blues to MTV Superstars

ZZ Top was already a major rock band before MTV arrived. But 1983’s Eliminator transformed the trio into something bigger.

The band blended its Texas blues foundation with synthesizers, sequencers and a more polished production style without completely abandoning the groove underneath it. Songs such as “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” became massive hits.

Then came the videos.

The beards. The sunglasses. The spinning guitars. The Eliminator hot rod. The women who seemed to materialize whenever some poor guy desperately needed a wardrobe upgrade.

ZZ Top became one of MTV’s most unlikely—and most recognizable—superstars.

Through all of it, Beard remained behind the kit, driving the machine.

Eliminator eventually sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, and ZZ Top would sell more than 50 million albums during its career. The band earned six No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Only Guy in ZZ Top Without a Beard

Of course, there was always one visual joke that followed the band everywhere.

The guy named Beard was the one without one.

While Gibbons and Hill eventually became inseparable from their chest-length facial hair, Frank Beard generally stuck with a mustache.

The famous ZZ Top beards weren't actually part of the band's original image. Gibbons and Hill grew theirs while the group was on an extended break in the late 1970s. When the band reunited, the look stuck.

Beard went the other direction.

It became one of rock’s longest-running inside jokes: two guys with enormous beards standing beside a clean-shaven drummer whose actual last name was Beard.

More Than Five Decades Behind the Kit

The humor and MTV imagery sometimes overshadowed just how unusual ZZ Top’s longevity was.

Gibbons, Hill and Beard weren't simply three musicians who occasionally reunited to tour behind old hits. They remained a working band for decades, with the same core lineup surviving enormous changes in rock music and the music business itself.

That run finally ended with Hill’s death in 2021.

At Hill’s request, longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis took over on bass, allowing ZZ Top to continue. Now, following Beard’s death, Gibbons is the last surviving member of the trio that created the records, songs and image most people associate with ZZ Top.

But Beard’s place in the band was never simply about longevity.

It was about feel.

Plenty of drummers can play a backbeat. Frank Beard made one instantly sound like ZZ Top.

For more than five decades, he sat behind one of rock’s most recognizable guitarists and one of its most recognizable bass players without needing to fight either of them for attention. His job was to make the whole thing move.

And it did.

From Texas bars to arenas, from dirty blues shuffles to MTV, Frank Beard kept ZZ Top rolling for more than half a century.

Now Gibbons intends to do exactly what his longtime drummer wanted.

Keep on keeping on.