Photo: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
We lost a true Texas music legend on Tuesday when Frank Beard, the iconic drummer for ZZ Top, passed away at his ranch near Richmond. He was 77. Beard helped power ZZ classics from “La Grange” to “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs.”
ZZ Top’s sound takes me back to high school out in west Texas the first time I ever heard songs from their ‘Eliminator’ album the summer before I turned 16. It was hard to turn on the radio and not hear “Legs” that summer. ZZ Top hit their mainstream peak with the ‘Eliminator’ album, but some of my favorite songs came from earlier albums with songs like “La Grange.”
They passed through Central Texas many times over the past few years with shows at the Bell County Expo Center (now Huntington Bank Expo) that I remember so well.
Billy Gibbons called Beard "one of the most naturally innovative drummers" and "a great and true son of Texas," adding that his groove was key to keeping ZZ Top on top for six decades. For everyone wondering about their current “The Big One!” tour—after canceling scheduled shows this week in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs—ZZ Top will resume this weekend at Austin City Limits, which incidentally was one of Frank’s favorite venues. Frank Beard was a true Texas original in every sense of the word. ~ Dewayne Wells
[Source: Premiere]