ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died at 77, just weeks after the band canceled a Hollywood Bowl concert due to his health issues.
Beard, 77, died August 17 after a stay in hospice, the Fort Bend County Medical Examiner’s Office in Rosenberg, Texas, confirmed. His cause of death remains unclear, and an autopsy will not be performed, the medical examiner said.
Billy F Gibbons, 76, the band’s frontman and founding member, issued a heartfelt statement following Beard’s death. “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,” he said.
The drummer’s death came less than two weeks after ZZ Top was forced to scrap a high-profile performance at the Hollywood Bowl. The band had been scheduled to play the Los Angeles landmark on August 5 but canceled only hours before showtime.
“The ZZ Top tour has unforeseen personnel matters that have forced the band to cancel its appearance at the Los Angeles landmark,” the group said in a statement posted to its website on August 4.
Gibbons also addressed the last-minute cancellation directly. “Insurmountable obstacles require canceling our Hollywood Bowl performance. Friends, fans and followers of ZZ Top are the best in the business and the band is counting on everyone to bear with us for this brief interruption,” he wrote.
Fans were issued refunds for their tickets, as well as transportation and parking passes.
Beard’s health struggles had become increasingly apparent in recent months. In March 2025, the band announced via Instagram that Beard would be “taking time off” their Elevation Tour for an unspecified “health procedure.” At that time, longtime tech member John Douglas filled in on drums. Beard had previously stepped away in 2002 when Douglas covered for him during an appendectomy in Paris.
When ZZ Top returned to the road for their 2026 The Big One! Tour, Beard initially remained in the lineup alongside Gibbons and Elwood Francis, the longtime guitar tech who joined the group following the death of co-founder bassist Dusty Hill at 72 in 2021. However, the drummer’s condition apparently deteriorated rapidly.
In the viral moment that foreshadowed the tragedy, ZZ Top’s August 5 Hollywood Bowl cancellation marked the second time in months that Beard’s health had disrupted the band’s touring schedule. The group had already tapped replacement drummer Michael Monahan for upcoming dates, and now faces the permanent loss of the only drummer it had known for more than five decades.
Gibbons formed ZZ Top in 1969 in Houston, Texas, before bringing in Beard, who in turn introduced him to Hill. The trio remained together for more than 50 years, becoming one of rock’s most enduring and recognizable acts with hits including “La Grange,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’.”
ZZ Top has canceled upcoming shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs following Beard’s death. However, the band plans to resume its The Big One! Tour with two performances at Austin City Limits, one of Beard’s favorite venues in a city he considered a second home.
ZZ Top is scheduled to perform in Ridgefield, Washington, on August 14.