ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, the steady engine behind one of rock’s most recognizable trios for more than 50 years, has died at age 77. The band confirmed the news on Tuesday via Instagram, saying Beard died on Monday, August 17, at his home in Richmond, Texas, while in hospice care. The cause of death was not given.
A Texan trio for the ages
Beard, guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill formed the band in Houston in 1969, and the three-man lineup’s beards, sunglasses and blues-derived boogie made legendary hits like ‘La Grange’, ‘Tush’ and ‘Sharp Dressed Man’. The group called Beard, in the confirmation shared with the press, one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas.
The last of the classic trio
With Dusty Hill’s death in 2021, Beard and Gibbons were the surviving original members, and even as health forced Beard off the band’s 2026 tour in March, the band kept the trio tradition thread. In the days after his death, ZZ Top canceled its scheduled shows through the weekend while the members process the loss, leaving fans and the band’s long run in a quiet moment of grief.
Beard is remembered not just as a drummer but as the rhythmic heartbeat of a band that sold tens of millions of records and stayed relevant for over five decades.
