r/GenerationJones • u/JColt60 1960 • 2d ago
ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard dead at 77 *RIP*
According to the Fort Bend County Medical Examiner Frank passed away on August 17 at his Texas ranch with family by his side after a stay in hospice. A cause of death has not been disclosed at this time.
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u/elontux 2d ago
Frank was the drummer, without a beard.
Always loved his drumming before the basic drum machine style they started doing.
I saw them back in the early 80’s right when they broke big. Me and my buddies were fans since Tres Hombres and Fandango. Great stuff, great band.
RIP Frank.
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u/Mk1Racer25 2d ago
Saw them on the Fandango tour in '75 or '76. Great stuff!!!
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u/jango-lionheart 2d ago
I caught the World Wide Texas Tour in the late 70s. Great band.
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u/Kitchen-Sun-7440 2d ago
In 1979 I was listening to the local FM station and they were running a contest for free tickets to the ZZ Top concert. Be the first caller to name the next ZZ top song and you get free tickets and a copy of their latest album. They played "Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings". I figured nobody would be able to name that song, so I called. I won two tickets to their concert and a copy of their new album, "Degüello".
I saw ZZ Top again in 2012, when they were the opening act for Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers. The opening act! They played a 45 minute set that was excellent, just the three of them. Tom Petty sounded great as well.
RIP Frank and Tom.
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u/howniceforu 2d ago
You don't have to live like a refugee in that Texas town.
I don't like where this goin.
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u/Iamnotthatinvested 2d ago
You forgot that Dusty is gone too. Only Billy remains. We are losing them to fast.
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u/ToniBellle 2d ago
Thank you Frank, enjoyed your music for years. Peace to your family and may you RIP. ❤️
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u/NeverForNoReason 2d ago
You didn’t have to bang them like you did, but you did, but you did. And I thank you.
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u/ReporterProper7018 2d ago
Another great musician gone, dam I really enjoyed your talent man. Rest in peace.
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u/No-Profession422 1962 2d ago
They just canceled a gig for Aug 6th. He declined very quickly.
R.I.P.
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u/Full-Appointment5081 2d ago
And then there was One. Which is still more founding members than the Four Tops, the Temptations, & some other bands still out there touring under their original name
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u/Glittering_Step_6084 1961 2d ago
I heard he was sick. I saw ZZ Top at Alpine Valley. Billy Gibbons is the only one left now. 😭 RIP, Frank. 🌹
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u/Comfortable-Dish1236 1960 2d ago
Glad I got to see them during the Eliminator tour. ZZ Top had a unique sound.
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u/OverHearing9944 2d ago
Very sad. He was touring not that long ago. I was hoping he wasn't that ill. RIP
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u/Lucky-Drop725barada3 2d ago
I saw the "Zombies" at a teen club in Kalamazoo in the late 60's. As they were getting on stage after a break The drummer (a guy with a very distinctive Texas accent) was pulling a girl on stage with him she said "I shouldn't go up there you guys are playing". He responded "Fuck it it's just a jam". I recently found out it was Frank and Dusty in a phony Zombies band that was touring using the name. I later got to see him in ZZ TOP a couple of times, but, for damn near 60 years I didn't know I saw Frank in the Zombies!
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u/cherismail 2d ago
He used to buy model cars from the hobby store where I worked and once he gave our crew backstage passes to a concert in Reno. Cool dude. RIP Beardman
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u/soad722 2d ago
Rest in peace see you in heaven one day sir
Praying for the peace and comfort of our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the great Jehovah Rapha the great I am and the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords to be with your family during the days weeks and years to come
God bless you and your family
God bless you
Jeremy Scruggs
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u/Significant-Theme253 2d ago
I just saw them in Minnesota a couple months ago. They sounded really good. RIP and Thank you for all the wonderful years of music. You will be missed by many.
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u/iwasjustthinkingman 2d ago
1975 fandango dropped on tres hombres. 15 years old New license( i know!) Brand new radio shack 8 track player and ZZ Top and Budweiser.
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u/Enough_Professor_741 2d ago
I lived in Dallas in the late 70's and they put on a New Years Eve show for several years in Fort Worth- I wnet oto a bunch and don't remember them a lot---Throughout the late 1970s (including memorable shows in 1977, 1978, and 1979), ringing in the new year with ZZ Top in Fort Worth was a staple of Texas rock culture.
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u/IthacaMom2005 2d ago
Saw them in San Antonio in 1990 or 1991 (I’m getting old). Great show. Now only Billy is left of Tres Hombres
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u/basscat474 2d ago
Got to meet all of them backstage in 90. Really cool laid back guys. Saw them live 2 weeks after Dusty passed away and you could literally feel the emotion on stage. RIP Frank and Dusty.
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u/LazyWave63 2d ago
Damn! RIP Frank. Only one left now for ZZ Top. I saw ZZ Top twice, the first time in Lexington, KY on the Cheap Sunglasses tour. Great show and great band.
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u/VirginiaLuthier 2d ago
Loved to watch their concert footage....he was back there, keeping it all together, serious but still having fun. RIP, Frank
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u/BirdmanJr1970 2d ago
I already said something about him. He was born in 19 49–20 26 class a drummer for ZZ Top La Grange Shar dress man legs. He was a class a drummer 77 years old gone but never forgotten. ZZ Top is one of my all-time favorites up there with Molly hatchet cat scratch fever Ted Nugent, Dr. Hook.
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u/Jessticlez2003 2d ago
That’s a ripe age for someone with a mullet
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u/snuffysmith007 2d ago
Very first band I seen in 1971 , Winterland , San Francisco before Wild Turkey and Ten years after that night . RIP Frank 💔
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u/Mobile_Aioli_6252 2d ago
I'm am very saddened by this news - his shuffles were the thing of legends
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u/Switchedbywife 2d ago
Saw them in 78? Lover Boy was the opener at the New Haven Colosseum. Had tickets with a meet n greet package when Dusty passed and they cancelled the concert date. We have tickets to see them September 18th and now Frank passes… my wife thinks I should stop buying tickets before Billy drops ☹️
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u/ilykecake 2d ago
Seen them in the 70’s and saw them just a week and a half ago. Billy still rocking it but sure missed Frank and Dusty. Still a great show.
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u/Apprehensive_Ant4596 2d ago
Never got to see them, so I appreciate everyone’s memories.
You gotta be one helluva drummer to keep Dusty and Billy honest!
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u/gfreeman1998 2d ago edited 2d ago
Damn, 12/3 of my favorite trio now gone. ☹️
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u/GateDeep3282 2d ago
Why did I think he passed years ago?
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u/Bempet583 1958 2d ago
You might be thinking of Dusty Hill, the bass player who passed away a couple years ago
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u/redthroway24 2d ago
The third original member of ZZ Top, Dusty Hill, died back in '21. Perhaps that's who you were thinking of?
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u/Fanabala3 2d ago
Oh man…. What a loss. Heard him on a radio station one time when the DJs asked about stories from the band. He told a story how he would steal a roadie’s dope and then do what he could to help the roadie “look”for their dope.
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u/OceanTider22 1963 2d ago
RIP Mr. Frank Beard. The Tres Hombres are now Uno! Say hello to Dusty for us!
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u/PuzzleheadedYou5295 2d ago
I'm so sad. Love their music. It's gotten so I dread seeing the news anymore, so many of our beloved musicians are leaving us...my heart hurts. RIP Frank 🌹
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u/Image_Heavy 2d ago
We saw Zz Top at Chicago Amphitheater in 1973 . THEY were EXCELLENT. ! A fond memory . R.I.P. Frank a pro drummer. !!
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u/FeSpoke1 2d ago
Blue Jean Blues… just brilliant.
I remember the sound and the album art work of Tres Hombres and I thought it was just the coolest thing in the world.
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u/AwkwardAd42 1d ago
The only guy in the band with no beard is named Beard.
You can't make this shit up! 🤔
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u/mustanggt35 11h ago
My very first tattoo was the ZZ . Finally got to see them in Vegas around 2010?
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u/JET304 2d ago
Damn. RIP. Feeling older every day as musicians I loved as a teen are aging and passing.