Frank Beard (musician)
The steady, unflashy rhythmic engine behind ZZ Top's boogie-blues juggernaut, famous for being the only member without a chest-length beard.
Born 1949 (age 77)·American drummer·Birthday: June 11·Baby Boomers
Biography
In a band defined by its two hirsute frontmen, Frank Beard has always been the clean-shaven anchor of cool. Joining Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill in 1969 to form the final and definitive lineup of ZZ Top, Beard's drumming provided the tight, shuffling backbeat that turned Texas blues into a worldwide rock and roll party. His style is all about groove and economy, never overplaying, always serving the swagger of songs like 'La Grange' and 'Sharp Dressed Man'. While Gibbons and Hill cultivated their matching bearded mystique, Beard's ordinary appearance became an enduring inside joke, a testament to his grounded personality. For over five decades, through multiplatinum albums and endless touring, his reliable pulse has been the unsung constant in one of America's most enduring rock institutions.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Frank was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Frank Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Frank's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 60
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 70
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 77 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 as a member of ZZ Top.
- Played on every ZZ Top album, including the diamond-certified 'Eliminator' which sold over 10 million copies in the US.
- Provided the iconic drum intro and shuffle beat for the band's signature hit, 'La Grange'.
Did You Know?
He is the only member of ZZ Top who does not have a long beard.
His nickname in the band is 'Rube', while Billy Gibbons is 'Billy' and Dusty Hill was 'Dusty'.
He struggled with serious drug addiction in the 1970s but recovered and has been sober for decades.
He was briefly in a pre-ZZ Top band called American Blues with future bandmate Dusty Hill.
“I just kept the backbeat solid while those two got all the attention.”
