Podcasts · Heavy Metal News & Interviews: The Loaded Radio Podcast
ZZ Top's Frank Beard Dies At 77, Heavy Healing Documentary Gets A Release Date, MTV Axes Best Rock
· 8:39 · Bonus
Episode ZZ Top's Frank Beard Dies At 77, Heavy Healing Documentary Gets A Release Date, MTV Axes Best Rock
Wednesday, August 19, 2026. Frank Beard, ZZ Top's drummer for 56 years and the only member of the band without a beard, has died at 77 at his ranch in Texas — leaving Billy Gibbons as the last man from a lineup that never changed in half a century. The documentary Heavy Healing, about people who leaned on heavy and aggressive music through serious illness and recovery, gets a September 22 digital release with Jesse Leach, Lou Koller, Vinnie Stigma and Michael Alago among those featured. And MTV has quietly dropped the Best Rock category from the 2026 VMAs, a year after staging a major Ozzy Osbourne tribute.
Scott Penfold breaks it all down in under five minutes.
Full stories at loadedradio.com. Stream Loaded Radio 24/7 or download the free Loaded Radio app on Apple and Google Play.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Links in the notes 1
Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.