Frank Beard, the drummer who helmed the equipment in ZZ High for 56 years, has died. Beard was in hospice care when he died Monday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas together with his household at his aspect, a rep confirmed to the Related Press. He was 77.
Beard is the second member of ZZ High’s traditional lineup to die following bassist Dusty Hill, who handed away in 2021. That leaves founding singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons as the only remaining musician from the group’s half-century run as kings of Texas boogie-rock, a massively influential stint that yielded hits like “Sharp Dressed Man,” “La Grange,” “Legs,” “Tush,” and “Gimme All Your Lovin.”
Beard had been touring with Gibbons and bassist Elwood Francis till earlier this month, when he dropped off the tour and substitute drummer Michael Monahan stepped in. He beforehand stepped away in 2025 attributable to an undisclosed well being ailment. The band introduced it might cancel its reveals tonight and Wednesday in Salt Lake Metropolis and Colorado Springs and would return to the stage Aug. 22 and 23 at ACL Dwell at The Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, “certainly one of Frank’s favourite venues and in a metropolis that had been one thing of a second residence for him.”
“Immediately, Elwood and I misplaced an amazing good friend and collaborator, and the world misplaced one of the naturally modern drummers and an amazing and true son of Texas,” Gibbons wrote in a assertion. “His signature backbeat was key to preserving ZZ on prime. The band of which he was half for six many years goes to maintain on preserving on as he had wished.”
Beard was born in Frankston, Texas in 1949. Rising up within the Dallas space, he took to the drums and performed in a lot of fledgling storage bands alongside future ZZ High bandmate Dusty Hill. In 1969, the 2 of them have been additionally a part of a pretend model of the Zombies assembled by a promoter to play the British Invasion band’s hits on tour. That very same yr, he additionally joined the Houston-based Transferring Sidewalks, fronted by Gibbons, and launched him to Hill. By the beginning of 1971, they’d rebranded to ZZ High and launched their debut album, ZZ High’s First Album.
The band was off and operating on a profession that may see them develop into rock radio staples with their hard-hitting mix of smokin’ blues-rock and Southern boogie. Within the late ’70s, the band went on hiatus for 3 years whereas Beard went to rehab for varied drug addictions. In 1981, he and his first spouse Catherine Alexander divorced after three years. He married Debbie Meredith in 1982 and went on to lift three kids together with her.
When ZZ High returned from hiatus, Gibbons and Hill adopted the matching hats, sun shades, and chest-length beards that turned the group’s visible signature. (Beard, mockingly, was the one member and not using a beard.) Within the ’80s, they advanced their music considerably, weaving components of punk and new wave into their sound on albums like El Loco, Eliminator, and Afterburner, even incorporating synths and drum machines in a style the place guitars dominated the day. By the ’90s, they have been transitioning to legacy-act standing, however they continued flaunting most showmanship and musicianship for a lot of many years to come back. In 1997, they performed the Tremendous Bowl halftime present with the Blues Brothers and James Brown, certainly one of many moments that confirmed their endurance presence in popular culture.
Beard’s hard-swinging backbeats (and light-weight contact when wanted) have been important to the group’s enchantment. It is onerous to think about a music like “La Grange” working almost as properly with out his musical intelligence and stylistic aptitude. In keeping with the AP, ZZ High offered greater than 50 million data, racked up six #1 hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, put seven albums within the Billboard 200 prime 10, and earned three Grammy nominations. Extra importantly, they constructed up a fame as one of many biggest energy trios in rock historical past, rooted in American classics however unafraid to experiment. Under, revisit a few of their largest hits.
