Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for blues-rock band ZZ Top, died Monday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas. He was 77. The band announced his death in a statement on its website, noting that family members were at his side. No cause of death was given.
Beard's death led to the cancellation of two tour dates, one in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Monday and another in Colorado Springs, Colorado, scheduled for Wednesday. The band said in its statement that Beard's passing "necessitates the cancellation" of those shows.
ZZ Top was founded in 1969 and played its first live concert the following year. The band released 15 studio albums and four live albums over more than five decades, with hit singles including Gimme All Your Lovin', Sleeping Bag, and Viva Las Vegas. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and has continued touring in North America, Europe, and South America.
Lead vocalist and founder Billy Gibbons paid tribute to his bandmate in the statement. "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. "His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished," he said.
According to Rolling Stone, Beard joined ZZ Top after the band released its first single, Salt Lick, and was later joined by bassist Dusty Hill. He anchored hits such as La Grange, Tush, and Cheap Sunglasses. Despite his last name, Beard became known as The Man With No Beard because he was the only member of the group who did not grow the lengthy facial hair the band became famous for.
The group's 1984 album Eliminator remains one of rock's landmark records. It included the hits Gimme All Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs, sold more than 10 million copies, and was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1996. The album also earned a Grammy Award nomination. The band received another Grammy nomination in 1987 for its Afterburner album.
Dusty Hill, the band's bassist, died in 2021 at age 72. Since then, ZZ Top has continued performing with Elwood Francis on bass. The band said it plans to resume its current The Big One! Tour over the weekend, with two dates at Austin City Limits, which it described as one of Beard's favorite venues in a city that had been "something of a second home for him."
