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RIP to Frank Beard of the Criminally Underrated ZZ Top
Published:
Frank Beard died at the age of 77:
Beard was the only ZZ Top member without a beard, which was always good for a laugh.
He was also one hell of a drummer, underrated in my opinion and the gold standard for what we’d call “in the pocket” playing.
We’d say a drummer is “in the pocket” if they focus on the hi-hat, snare, and kick drum while playing with steady timing and groove. They’re essentially nailing the basics and locking into a consistent beat. It’s the opposite of a drummer who is flamboyant or showy or uses a lot of fills or tom rolls or whatnot. Frank Beard was one of those guys whose playing just kind of melted into the music. Not overbearing, but not uninteresting either. It paired perfectly with Dusty Hill’s bass guitar, just two instruments, one beautiful blend. Then Billy Gibbons would take it from there. It was always impressive to me how ZZ Top had this huge live sound even though there were only three guys up there on the stage.
If you don’t know much about ZZ Top, or are only familiar with the radio hits, like “Sharp Dressed Man” and “La Grange,” I’d highly recommend digging in. They have so many underrated songs and underrated albums that span everything from bluesy southern rock to 1980s synth and groovy hybrids as well. Ironically, those mid-1980s albums were created partly with drum machines, and while Beard nailed stuff from Eliminator and Afterburner in live settings, the best examples of his playing I think were from the 1970s up until about 1981, on albums like Tres Hombres and Rio Grande Mud.
This is my personal favorite ZZ track of all time, and at the 2:20 mark Beard plays the simplest fill of kick/kick/tom, kick/kick/tom, kick/kick/tom, then a little snare riff and off we go, into a groovy shuffle with some kick doubles and that killer tambourine on the hi-hat:
Anyway, ZZ is down to only one member. Dusty Hill passed in 2021 at the age of 72. Billy Gibbons is 76 years old. If WMMR needs help curating a playlist in honor of Frank Beard, you know who to call.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com