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ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard died at the age of 77 at his ranch in Richmond, Texas.<\/p>\n
Jimmy Steinfeldt for Frank Beard<\/p>\n
USA TODAY Network, Reuters<\/p>\n
Fort Worth<\/p>\n
Frank Beard, a native Texan and longtime ZZ Top drummer, has died. He was 77.<\/p>\n
Beard died on Aug. 17 while in hospice care surrounded by his family on his ranch in Richmond, Texas, according to USA Today<\/a>. Just last week, Beard exited ZZ Top\u2019s ongoing tour amid health issues.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, 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,\u201d ZZ Top frontman Billy F Gibbons wrote on Instagram<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Frank Beard\u2019s Fort Worth ties<\/p>\n Beard was born in the small Texas town of Frankston, about 130 miles southeast of Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Cowtown actually played a role in Beard\u2019s musical upbringing, as his father purchased a drum set from Leonard\u2019s Department Store in downtown, according to the Star-Telegram archives. Beard and ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill also performed across the Metroplex as part of the Warlocks and American Blues in the 1960s.<\/p>\n In 1969, Beard joined ZZ Top. The band\u2019s trio of Beard, Gibbons and Hill, who died in 2021,<\/a> wouldn\u2019t play their first concert together until Feb. 10, 1970, which came at a show held at a Knights of Columbus Hall outside Houston, according to KZPS (Lone Star 92.5).<\/a><\/p>\n Just 10 days later, ZZ Top opened for the Grateful Dead<\/a> in Fort Worth at the defunct Panther Hall.<\/p>\n ZZ Top went on to play a few more times in Cowtown that year, including at Will Rogers Memorial Center and The Circus nightclub in downtown. In fact, the band made an almost yearly pilgrimage to Fort Worth in the 1970s to play at the Tarrant County Convention Center (now known as the Fort Worth Convention Center).<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac In case you missed it: <\/p>\n In 1981, ZZ Top made its Billy Bob\u2019s Texas debut<\/a> and returned the venue more than 25 years later in 2009 for a show.<\/p>\n Beard\u2019s final Fort Worth performance with ZZ Top came in 2023, when the band played Dickies Arena.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n
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