Frank Lee Beard (born 11 June 1949, Frankston, Texas) is the drummer in the rock band, ZZ Top. Beard was formerly with The Cellar Dwellers, The Hustlers, The Warlocks, and The American Blues bands before starting to perform and record with Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill as ZZ Top.

Beard attended Irving High School in Irving, Texas. In late 1969 he helped The Moving Sidewalks guitarist and vocalist Gibbons form ZZ Top. Beard introduced Gibbons to bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill, with whom Beard had played in the bands American Blues, the Warlocks, and the Cellar Dwellers. After honing their trademark Texas Boogie-Blues-Rock style, they released their aptly titled "ZZ Top's First Album" on London Records in January, 1971. When ZZ Top started, Beard was known by the nickname "Rube" and was credited as "Rube Beard" on the the first album and on Tres Hombres, the band's third album, but is listed under his real name on Rio Grande Mud, their second album. After Tres Hombres, he was credited as "Frank Beard" on all the band's album.

Ironically, Beard is the only member of ZZ Top who does not have a beard. (though he went through a phase in the 1990s with a short beard, but usually sports merely a moustache).

Grew up in the Lakewood area of East Dallas - attended Woodrow Wilson High School.

He formed ZZ Top in late 1969 with drummer Frank Beard (with whom Hill had played in the bands American Blues, the Warlocks, and the Cellar Dwellers) and Moving Sidewalks' guitarist/vocalist Billy Gibbons. After honing their trademark Texas Boogie-Blues-Rock style, they released the aptly titled ZZ Top's First Album on London Records in 1971.

The band rolled on, intensively touring and recording/releasing albums until 1977, when they took a hiatus. Their long-time manger/producer/image maker Bill Ham used this time to negotiate a deal that allowed the band to keep control of their previous recordings, which would be distributed by their new label, Warner Brothers Records. They reunited two and a half years later in order to start recording under a new Warner Brothers contract. Unbeknownst to the other, both Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons had grown the chest-length beards that quickly became a part of their "wildman" image. Drummer Frank Beard, ironically, does not wear a beard.

The band hit international prominence and their commercial peak with the release of 1983's platinum-selling disc Eliminator. Named after Gibbon's customized 1933 Ford Coupe (which, along with leggy party girls, was featured in several music videos), Eliminator featured the hits "Legs", "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "TV Dinners".

In 1994, the band signed a five-disc deal with RCA Record. Many fans feel that the recordings of this era are as artistically strong as the earlier London and Warner Brothers recordings, but have expressed disappointment with RCA's promotion of these releases.

In July 2000, while on tour in Europe, Hill was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, the treatment of which cancelled several dates in that tour. Hill has since made a remarkable recovery, joking, "You just can't keep down ZZ Top!"

In 2003, a comprehensive collection of recordings from the London and Warner Brother years entitled Chrome, Smoke & BBQ was released. Also in 2003, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have the distinction of being the only band with a 35 year plus history with all of the original members.

As of 2006, it is reported that ZZ Top is recording their 15th studio album.

Dusty Hill has appeared as himself in the 11th season episode of King of the Hill, Hank Gets Dusted, in which Hank Hill is said to be a cousin of Dusty's.

On May 16, 2007, a press release from ZZ Top announced they were cancelling their European tour because Dusty Hill needed to undergo treatment for a benign growth (acoustic neuroma) in his inner ear which is affecting his hearing. [1]

Gibbons founded the Texas psychedelic group the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded several singles and one full-length album, "Flash". The Moving Sidewalks were most prominent for opening for The Jimi Hendrix Experience during the Texas leg of Hendrix's first American tour. Also notable was the Gibbons-penned song "99th Floor," its title a nod to the influence on Gibbons of fellow Texans and pioneering psychedelic band The 13th Floor Elevators. Before that, he was in a band called The Saints with fellow guitarists David Crosswell and Philip Taft.

He formed ZZ Top in late 1969 with bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard (both alumni of the bands American Blues, the Warlocks, and the Cellar Dwellers). After honing their trademark Texas Boogie-Blues-Rock style, they released the aptly titled "ZZ Top's First Album" on London Records in 1971.

The band rolled on, intensively touring and recording/releasing albums until 1977, when they took an extended hiatus. Their long-time manager/producer/image maker Bill Ham used this time to negotiate a deal that allowed the band to keep control of their previous recordings, to be distributed by their new label, Warner Bros. Records. They reunited two and a half years later in order to start recording under a new Warner Bros. Records contract. Unbeknownst to the other, both Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons had grown the chest-length beards that quickly became a part of their "wildman" image. Drummer Frank Beard does not have a beard.

The band hit international prominence and their commercial peak with the release of 1983's multi-platinum-selling disc "Eliminator". Named after Gibbon's customized 1933 Ford Coupe (which, along with leggy party girls was featured in several music videos), "Eliminator" featured the hits "Legs", "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "TV Dinners".

In 1994, the band signed a five-disc deal with RCA Records.

In 2003, a comprehensive collection of recordings from the London and Warner Bros. years entitled "Chrome, Smoke & BBQ" was released. In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have the distinction of being among a very small group of bands with a 30 year plus history that still has all of its original members.

An excellent source of anecdotes, history and photos of Gibbons and his extensive car and guitar collections is the autobiographical coffee-table tome "Billy F. Gibbons-Rock + Roll Gearhead".

As of 2006, it is reported that ZZ Top is recording their 15th studio album. He also made an unforeseen appearance on the 2006 Revolting Cocks album "Cocked and Loaded."

Gibbons' most recent television performance was with The Raconteurs at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Gibbons' was part of ensemble chosen to play with the band, which included Lou Reed and Jim Jarmusch. During the performance, in a sign of approval, Gibbons respectfully pointed at Jack White, a fellow blues-influenced guitarist. The performance was heavily edited and cut short by MTV for broadcast, however the full unedited performance is available on MTV's Website for the VMAs. Although not a full length performance, Gibbons can also be heard playing a few bars of the ZZ Top classic "La Grange" in the Season 2 finale of the television series Bones in which he plays, as himself, the father of series regular Angela Montenegro.

Robert Anthony Plant (born August 20, 1948, West Bromwich, West Midlands, England), is an English rock singer and songwriter, most famous for his membership in the rock band Led Zeppelin as the lead vocalist, but also for his successful solo career. He is known for his powerful style, often mystical lyrics, and wide vocal range. As the lead singer of Led Zeppelin he is often defined as the quintessential rock front man, combining rare musical adeptness and knowledge with a large measure of stage bravado and braggadocio. As a solo artist, following Led Zeppelin's break up after the death of John Bonham, he is often credited for his wide range of musical taste and his ability to perform an eclectic range of songs in a refined manner.

Ozzy Osbourne (born John Michael Osbourne, December 3, 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, England) is the lead vocalist of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath and the star of the reality show, The Osbournes. In addition to lead vocals with Black Sabbath, Osbourne also plays the harmonica and synthesizer.

As a solo artist, Osbourne has sold over 27 million albums in the US, and 50 million worldwide.[citation needed] Two of his albums, Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and No More Tears (1991), are certified quadruple-platinum, for sales of over 4 million copies in the US.

Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona on July 10, 1942 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA), is an American heavy metal vocalist who has performed with Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Elf, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He is widely hailed as one of the best singers in heavy metal[1]; renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil's horns" hand gesture in metal culture. He is currently collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, which is going under the name Heaven and Hell. On January 17, 2007, he was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard.<<<

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 &#8211; 24 November 1991) was a British musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Queen (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). He is noted for his vocal abilities and for his live performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". In addition to his work with Queen, he also produced several hits as a solo artist. Mercury, who was of Indian Parsi descent and who grew up in India, has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian pop star."[1] He died of complications from AIDS in 1991.

Although Queen was not always popular with rock music critics,[2][3][4] estimates of the band's worldwide record sales to date have been placed as high as 300 million.[5] The band has also spent more collective weeks on the UK Album Charts than any other musical act, including The Beatles.[6] In 2006, Time Asia named Mercury as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years.[7] On the other hand, he has been criticized for having kept his ethnicity, as well as his HIV status, a secret from the public.

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. McCartney and John Lennon formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships and "wrote some of the most popular music in rock and roll history."[1] On leaving The Beatles, McCartney launched a successful solo career and formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda McCartney. He has worked on film scores, classical music, and ambient/electronic music; released a large catalogue of songs as a solo artist; and taken part in projects to help international charities.

McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular-music history, with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million singles.[2] His song "Yesterday" is listed as the most covered song in history and has been played more than 7,000,000 times on American television and radio.[3] Wings' 1977 single "Mull of Kintyre" became the first single to sell more than two million copies in the UK, and remains the UK's top selling non-charity single [4] (three charity singles have since surpassed it in sales; the first to do so&#8212;in 1984&#8212;was Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", whose participants included McCartney).

His company MPL Communications owns the copyrights to more than three thousand songs, including all of the songs written by Buddy Holly, along with the publishing rights to such musicals as Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Grease. Aside from his musical work, McCartney is a painter and an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism, and music education; he is active in campaigns against landmines, seal culls and Third World debt. McCartney was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1965, and was knighted in 1997.

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 &#8211; 8 December 1980), was an English songwriter, singer, musician, graphic artist, author and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founders of The Beatles. Lennon and Paul McCartney formed a critically acclaimed and commercially successful partnership writing songs for The Beatles and other artists.[1] Lennon, with his cynical edge and knack for introspection, and McCartney, with his storytelling optimism and gift for melody, complemented each other.[2] In his solo career, Lennon wrote and recorded songs such as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".

Lennon revealed his rebellious nature and irreverent wit on television, in films such as A Hard Day's Night (1964), in books such as In His Own Write, and in press conferences and interviews. He channelled his fame and penchant for controversy into his work as a peace activist, artist, and author.

He had two sons, Julian, with his first wife Cynthia, and Sean, with his second wife, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in New York City on 8 December 1980 as he and Ono returned home from a recording session.

In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon into eighth place. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Lennon number 38 on their list of "The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time"[3][4] and ranked The Beatles at number 1.

Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist.

He became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, the Santana Blues Band, going mostly under the title "Santana", which created a highly successful blend of salsa, rock, blues, and jazz fusion. Their sound featured his melodic, blues based guitar lines set against Latin percussion such as timbales and congas. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades, and experienced a sudden resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s.

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born 18 October 1926, St. Louis, Missouri) is an iconic and influential American guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Chuck Berry is an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock & roll music. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website, "While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together."[1] Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers."[2] John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."[3]

Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5[4] on their list of The Immortals: The First Fifty.[5] He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[6]