Frank Beard, Longtime ZZ Top Drummer, Dies at 77

Guitarist and bandmate Billy Gibbons, currently touring with bassist Elwood Francis, remembered Beard as irreplaceable.

Published: 8/18/2026, 5:04:09 PM EDT

Frank Beard, Longtime ZZ Top Drummer, Dies at 77 — ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard performs in Boston on Aug. 28, 2016. (Winslow Townson/Invision/AP)

Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for Texas rock band ZZ Top for more than five decades, died Aug. 18 at his ranch in hospice care, according to the band's publicist Bob Merlis. He was 77.

Family members were at his side when he passed, according to Merlis.

Beard joined the group in 1970, debuting with the band at the Knight of Columbus Hall in Beaumont, Texas, according to a statement from the artist shared by the Sandy Amphitheater in Utah.

The amphitheater also said the concert “ZZ Top and Special Guest Cheap Trick” scheduled at the venue for Aug. 18 has been canceled. Ticketmaster purchasers will receive automatic refunds, while those who bought through third-party resellers such as StubHub, SeatGeek or VividSeats were advised to contact their point of purchase.

His steady shuffle beat anchored decades of ZZ Top's biggest songs, including "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," and "Gimme All Your Lovin'." The band sold more than 50 million records over its run, with six singles reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, seven albums cracking the Billboard 200's Top 10, and three Grammy Award nominations to its name.

Guitarist and bandmate Billy Gibbons, currently touring with bassist Elwood Francis, remembered Beard as irreplaceable.

"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. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top," Gibbons said.

Beard's death also forced the cancellation of Wednesday's scheduled stop in Colorado Springs. The tour is expected to resume this weekend with two shows at Austin City Limits, a venue Sandy Amphitheater described as one of Beard's favorites.

When ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Beard reflected on his unlikely career path. "All I have to say is that most of my life has been a pleasant surprise, and so is this," he said previously in a statement shared by Sandy Amphitheater. He echoed that sense of belonging in the 2019 documentary "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas," saying, "I've found the people I was meant to play with. I never wanted to quit, and never wanted to get fired."

Tributes poured in from musicians online. Foghat wrote on Facebook that Beard was "an incredible drummer and great guy," adding that the band had shared the stage with ZZ Top many times over the years and sent love to Gibbons, Francis, and Beard's family and friends.

ZZ Toppd, a tribute act, called him "the heartbeat of ZZ TOP for over 53 years" in its own Facebook post, adding that Beard made a famously difficult drumming style look easy and that the group would perform in his memory Sunday at A New Day Festival.

Musician Tommy Taylor recalled first seeing Beard perform with Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill in the summer of 1970, calling it a monumental night. Taylor praised Beard's "unique style," singling out his double-tracked flams on "Neighbor, Neighbor" and his double shuffle on "La Grange," which Taylor said almost everyone who tries to replicate gets wrong. "ZZ TOP would never have been the same thang without Frank," Taylor wrote in his own social media post, adding that he spent much of 1973 studying Beard's fills.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.