ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard dead at 77

Frank Beard, the drummer for Texas rock trio ZZ Top, has died aged 77.

Beard kept the beat for the band's biggest hits including Sharp Dressed Man, Legs, and Gimme All Your Lovin'.

Beard was under hospice care when he died on Tuesday, local time, at his ranch in Texas, with family members at his side, according to his publicist.

The band's lead singer, Billy Gibbons, confirmed Beard's death on Instagram.

"Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas," he penned. "His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top."

Beard had been absent from the group's current The Big One! tour due to unspecified health issues. The band has cancelled two upcoming shows in the wake of his death.

ZZ Top have sold more than 50 million records, had six No. 1 singles on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, and have been nominated for three Grammy Awards.

Beard had been the drummer since 1969, when he took over from co-founder Dan Mitchell.

"I've found the people I was meant to play with," Beard reminisced in the 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas.

The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.