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ZZ Top Cancels Shows After Frank Beard’s Death

8/20/2026

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Summary

Frank Beard Dies

Frank Beard, ZZ Top’s drummer, died at 77 in hospice at his Richmond, Texas ranch.
The cause of Beard’s death was not disclosed.
ZZ Top canceled its August 18 Salt Lake City and August 19 Colorado Springs shows.
The band will resume touring with two Austin City Limits dates using a substitute drummer.
Beard had drummed for ZZ Top for 56 years, joining in 1969.

Summary

Frank Beard Inducted

ZZ Top entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, honoring Frank Beard’s five-decade impact.
Frank Beard was born June 11, 1949, in Frankston, Texas, and grew up in Irving.
Beard recruited bassist Dusty Hill after meeting him in Dallas bands, forming ZZ Top’s classic trio.
In the 1970s he battled heroin, cocaine and pills, even selling his drum kit to fund the habit.

History

Historical Context

Billy Gibbons formed ZZ Top in late 1969 with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard after both left American Blues, releasing ZZ Top’s First Album on London Records in 1971. The trio entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and stayed active for more than 50 years before Beard’s death and Hill’s 2021 passing, leaving Gibbons as the sole surviving member of the classic lineup.

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Frank Beard Dies

Frank Beard, ZZ Top’s drummer, died at 77 in hospice at his Richmond, Texas ranch.
The cause of Beard’s death was not disclosed.
ZZ Top canceled its August 18 Salt Lake City and August 19 Colorado Springs shows.
The band will resume touring with two Austin City Limits dates using a substitute drummer.
Beard had drummed for ZZ Top for 56 years, joining in 1969.

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