The rock world has lost another absolute legend.
Frank Beard, the longtime drummer of ZZ Top and the man whose unmistakable groove helped power the Texas rock giants for more than five decades, has died at the age of 77.
Beard passed away on Monday, 17 August 2026, while receiving hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, surrounded by his family.
For 56 years, Frank sat behind the kit for ZZ Top, providing the rock-solid backbeat beneath some of the most recognisable guitar riffs ever committed to record.
No unnecessary fireworks. No twenty-minute drum solos while everyone disappeared for a pint.
Just groove, feel, power and impeccable timing. 🥁🔥
And without Frank Beard behind the kit, ZZ Top simply wouldn’t have sounded like ZZ Top.
🖤 Billy Gibbons Pays Tribute
Following the news of Frank’s death, ZZ Top guitarist and frontman Billy F Gibbons paid an emotional tribute to his longtime bandmate and friend.
“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.”
That final line says everything.
His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.
Because while Billy Gibbons’ guitar tone and Dusty Hill’s bass helped give ZZ Top their unmistakable swagger, Frank Beard was the bloke keeping the whole machine rumbling down the highway.
🤘 The Classic ZZ Top Line-Up
Frank Beard joined guitarist Billy Gibbons before helping bring bassist Dusty Hill into the fold, creating the classic ZZ Top line-up in 1969.
Gibbons.
Hill.
Beard.
Three musicians who would go on to create one of the most enduring line-ups in rock history.
While countless bands have survived revolving doors of members, arguments, break-ups, reunions and enough backstage drama to fill several seasons of reality television, the classic ZZ Top trio remained together for more than five decades.
That’s absolutely bonkers when you think about it.
Frank remained behind the kit until health issues forced him away from touring, with drummer John Douglas stepping in for live performances.
🥁 The Engine Room of ZZ Top
Frank Beard wasn’t necessarily the drummer who demanded your attention.
He didn’t need to.
His genius was in serving the song.
Listen underneath those filthy Billy Gibbons guitar riffs and you’ll find Beard sitting right in the pocket, providing the kind of effortless swing that made ZZ Top instantly recognisable.
That Texas shuffle became part of the band’s DNA.
Blues.
Boogie.
Hard rock.
Southern swagger.
And enough groove to make even the bloke standing at the back of the venue holding four pints start nodding his head.
Frank could make something sound deceptively simple while giving it exactly the feel it needed.
That takes serious skill.
🎸 From Texas Blues to Global Rock Royalty
ZZ Top’s journey from Texas blues-rock outsiders to international superstars remains one of rock’s greatest stories.
Through the 1970s, the trio steadily established themselves with records including ZZ Top’s First Album, Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres, Fandango! and Degüello.
Then came the 1980s.
And things went completely bloody massive.
Eliminator, released in 1983, transformed ZZ Top into MTV-era superstars without sacrificing the band’s unmistakable identity.
Tracks including “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” became enormous hits.
The beards got longer.
The cars got hotter.
The videos got bigger.
And Frank kept everything moving from behind the drums.
🥁 THUD. CRACK. GROOVE. REPEAT.
Proper job.
😂 The Greatest Beard Joke in Rock History
Of course, we can’t celebrate Frank Beard without mentioning one of rock music’s greatest pieces of accidental comedy.
His surname was Beard.
He played in ZZ Top.
And he was famously the only member of the classic trio who didn’t have the enormous beard.
Billy Gibbons? Massive beard.
Dusty Hill? Massive beard.
Frank Beard?
Nah, mun. 😂
You couldn’t write it.
Well, technically we just did.
But you know what we mean.
It became one of those brilliant little pieces of rock trivia that generations of fans discovered and immediately went:
“Hang on… WHAT?”
🏆 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
After decades of albums, tours and unmistakable Texas boogie, ZZ Top received one of rock music’s biggest honours when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
It recognised not simply a collection of hit records, but a band whose sound, image and attitude had become woven into rock culture.
Frank Beard was a huge part of that story.
The sunglasses.
The hot rods.
The spinning guitars.
The gigantic beards.
Billy Gibbons’ riffs.
Dusty Hill’s bass.
And behind all of it…
Frank Beard’s drums.
💔 Another Goodbye for ZZ Top
Frank’s death comes five years after the passing of bassist Dusty Hill, who died in July 2021 aged 72.
Following Hill’s death, ZZ Top continued with longtime guitar technician Elwood Francis stepping into the bass role.
Now the ZZ Top family has suffered another enormous loss.
For generations of fans, the combination of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard wasn’t simply a line-up.
It was ZZ Top.
Three Texans creating an enormous sound that travelled around the planet.
🎟️ Upcoming Shows Cancelled
Following Frank’s passing, ZZ Top cancelled upcoming performances in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs.
The band plans to resume its current The Big One! Tour with two shows at Austin City Limits, a venue that held special significance for Frank and in a city that had effectively become a second home for him.
There is inevitably going to be enormous emotion surrounding those performances.
Because this isn’t simply continuing a tour.
It’s musicians, crew and fans walking onto a stage knowing someone who had been part of the ZZ Top machine for more than half a century is no longer there.
🥁 56 Years Behind the Kit
Just think about that number for a second.
Fifty-six years.
Bands can struggle to survive six months without someone throwing a guitar case across a rehearsal room.
Frank Beard spent more than half a century powering one of America’s greatest rock bands.
He witnessed musical trends arrive, explode and disappear.
Psychedelic rock.
Disco.
Punk.
New wave.
Hair metal.
Grunge.
Nu-metal.
Streaming.
TikTok.
And through all of it, ZZ Top remained unmistakably ZZ Top.
That’s legacy.
🖤 Farewell to a Texas Original
Frank Beard didn’t need to dominate the spotlight.
His drums did the talking.
For 56 years, that backbeat travelled through arenas, theatres, festival fields, car stereos, jukeboxes, bedrooms, garages and probably more questionable dive bars than anybody could possibly count.
He helped turn three musicians from Texas into genuine global rock icons.
He helped create songs that will continue blasting from speakers long after all of us have left the building.
And somewhere tonight, somebody will inevitably turn up “La Grange”, hear that groove kick in and crank the volume another couple of notches.
That’s not a bad legacy to leave behind.
From all of us at The Riff Report, our thoughts are with Frank Beard’s family, friends, Billy Gibbons, Elwood Francis, the extended ZZ Top family and everyone who ever found themselves tapping their foot to that unmistakable Texas groove.
Rest easy, Frank Beard. 🖤🥁
1949–2026
One of rock’s great drummers.
One third of one of its greatest line-ups.
And forever the only bloke called Beard in ZZ Top who didn’t need one.
R.I.P. Frank. 🤘🖤
🎸 The Riff Report
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies.
What’s your favourite Frank Beard-era ZZ Top song, album or memory? Get involved and raise the horns for one of Texas rock ‘n’ roll’s finest. 🤘🥁🔥
