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“He is looking forward to a speedy recovery,” the band says regarding the drummer’s recent medical procedure.
ZZ Top has announced that their longtime drummer, Frank Beard, will be taking a temporary leave from the current tour due to health concerns.
The band’s management has indicated that Beard requires time to focus on an unspecified health procedure. They expressed confidence in his recovery, stating, “He is looking forward to a speedy recovery.”
ZZ Top, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, features Beard alongside guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons and bassist Elwood Francis, who took over for the late Dusty Hill in 2021. The band kicked off their Elevation Tour earlier this month and is set to perform next on March 18 in Hiawassee, Georgia. The tour is scheduled to continue through August 23.
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To ensure the tour proceeds smoothly in Beard’s absence, the band will have John Douglas, their longtime drum technician, step in. Douglas has been part of the band’s live crew for over two decades and has previous experience filling in for Beard, notably during an emergency appendectomy in 2002.
Although Beard is not the original drummer — that distinction belongs to Dan Mitchell, who played in Gibbons’ previous band, Moving Sidewalks, and performed on ZZ Top’s first single, “Salt Lick” — Beard has been with ZZ Top for more than 55 years. His tenure began with their debut album, ZZ Top’s First Album, in 1971 and continued through 2012’s La Futura. He has also been a co-writer of some of the band’s most iconic tracks, including “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” and “Tush.”
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www.rollingstone.com