ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons has opened up about his decision to keep the band going following the recent death of drummer Frank Beard, addressing the topic in a new interview with Texas Monthly.
Gibbons explained why he believes the band’s current lineup still carries the ZZ Top name, even though he is now the sole remaining member from the trio’s classic era.
“We’re at a very interesting vortex,” Gibbons said. “The band is enjoying being a hybrid. The legacy of ZZ Top solidified sometime in the not-too-distant past. I purposely say solidified, as in, it can’t be broken up. You could take a sledgehammer to it and the ZZ Top legacy would remain intact.”
He went on to describe how the band is adapting to its new configuration while still honoring its history.
“Now that there’s a dramatic difference in the lineup, this is where the hybrid bit comes in,” he continued. “We’re still ZZ Top, and only now we have the luxury of adding to what took fifty years to build. And I couldn’t be happier about it.”
Gibbons also spoke about the support he has received from friends and fellow musicians in the wake of Beard’s passing.
“I’ve gotten so many calls and texts from friends the last few days that have been reassuring,” he said. “I got a nice one from Keith Richards. He didn’t say the show must go on. He just said, ‘I heard about it. I’ve done it.’ That’s all he said. It meant a lot and gave me a lot to think about.”
Turning to the current lineup, Gibbons praised the newer members who have joined him in carrying the band forward.
“It’s not a new day, but it is. It’s not a new band, but it is. It’s a hybrid,” he said. “I’ve got Elwood. He’s been with us thirty years and used to teach Dusty, for God’s sake. He was already family. And I’ve played enough shows with Mike to know what we have there. He’s making me better.”
Reflecting on the losses of former bandmates Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, Gibbons closed with a message of continuity.
“For me, the sun isn’t setting. I see it as a bright light,” he said. “It’s not so different, but then again it is. We miss Dusty and Frank. We loved these guys. They were everything. And yet we’re following their instructions.”
Gibbons’s comments come against the backdrop of a difficult stretch for ZZ Top. The band has already had its resilience tested and has had to redefine what carrying the name forward really means.
Frank Beard died on August 17 at age 77, passing away in hospice care at his ranch in Richmond, Texas. His death came after years of ongoing health struggles. The band immediately canceled the tour dates that followed, giving the group and its fans time to process the loss of a musician who had sat behind the drum kit for 56 years.
Beard’s passing marks the second major lineup change ZZ Top has weathered in recent years. Bassist Dusty Hill died in 2021. At the time, the band responded by bringing in longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis to fill his spot rather than stepping away from touring altogether.
That earlier transition set a precedent for how Gibbons has approached the band’s future this time around. ZZ Top had already proven it could function as a live act with a significantly altered roster. Gibbons has signaled that the group intends to keep performing rather than treat Beard’s death as an endpoint.
Elwood Francis, who worked alongside Beard for years before stepping into the bassist role, spoke about the loss in personal terms shortly after Beard’s death. “Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers,” he said. The remark underscores just how deeply intertwined the current and former lineups have become. It also reinforces Gibbons’s own description of the band as a “hybrid” carrying forward a five-decade legacy.
