ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons is navigating a new chapter as the last surviving member of the band’s original trio following the deaths of bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard.
Hill died in 2021, and the band continued with longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis on bass. Following Beard’s death, Michael Monahan stepped behind the kit, allowing ZZ Top’s music and legacy to continue with Gibbons at the helm.
As Gibbons adjusted to losing his longtime bandmates, he received a short but meaningful message from Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who understood the experience of carrying on after losing close musical partners.
“He just said, ‘I heard about it. I’ve done it,’” Gibbons recalled. “That’s all he said. It meant a lot and gave me a lot to think about.”
For Gibbons, continuing ZZ Top carries the weight of more than five decades of history. The original trio built one of rock’s most recognizable sounds, proving that three musicians could create something absolutely massive.
Now, as the last original member standing, Gibbons is carrying that legacy forward while honoring the friends who helped build it.
