Frank Beard, ZZ Top drummer, dies at age 77

Frank Beard, longtime ZZ Top drummer, has died, the band confirmed to CBS News. He was 77.

A cause of death was not immediately provided, but the band's publicist said in a statement, "He was in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, TX with family members at his side." He died on Monday.

Beard, along with guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill, formed ZZ Top in 1969. Hill died in 2021, and at his request, was replaced by his longtime bass tech, Elwood Francis.

"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," Gibbons said in a statement posted on social media.

The band said it has canceled its two upcoming shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs, but that the tour would continue this weekend at Austin City Limits, "one of Frank's favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him."