ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard steps away from tour due to ‘health issue’

ZZ Top has announced that longtime drummer Frank Beard, ironically the band member who doesn’t have a beard, has left their current Elevation tour in order to undergo a health procedure.

A statement posted on social media reveals that Beard has “temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term.”

In Beard’s place, the band’s longtime tech member, drummer John Douglas, will join ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons and Elwood Francis for the tour.

“Mr. Douglas has maintained a close relationship with Beard and the bandmates, having served with the group in the past,” the statement continues, adding that Douglas previously filled in for Beard in 2002 when he had to have an emergency appendectomy in Paris.

The statement adds that Beard is “looking forward to a speedy recovery.”

ZZ Top’s Elevation tour hits Hiawassee, Georgia, on Tuesday. A complete list of dates can be found at ZZTop.com.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.