Frank Beard, ZZ Top‘s longtime drummer for the past 56 years, has died. He was 77.
\n\nA representative for Beard confirmed that he died while in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, with his family by his side. Just last week, ZZ Top abruptly canceled their performance at the Hollywood Bowl due to Beard’s health issues. Last year, Beard temporarily stepped away from touring for similar reasons.
\n\nIn a statement shared with Variety, ZZ Top founder Billy Gibbons said, “Today, Elwood [Francis] 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. The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished.”
\n\nThe band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. The band’s co-founder, bassist Dusty Hill, died in 2021.
\n\nWhile ZZ Top was best known for their synthesizer-powered 1980s hits, they were a thoroughly Texan, heavy rock-blues band at heart, spawned from the same psychedelic scene that birthed Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor…
Original source: https://variety.com/