Jim Beard, who played the keyboard for the famous band Steely Dan, has sadly died at 63 years old. He got very sick suddenly and couldn’t get better.

His representative shared this sad news with Variety magazine. Jim passed away in a hospital in New York with his family and friends by his side. The members of Steely Dan shared their sadness on their website, saying, “We’re very sad to say goodbye to our friend and team member, Jim Beard 1960-2024.”

Variety also shared that Jim had an amazing music career. He went on big tours around the world with famous musicians like Pat Metheny and Steely Dan. He started playing with Steely Dan in 2008.

Jim was part of the Eagles’ Long Goodbye tour with Steely Dan. His last show was in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 20.

During his life, Jim was up for seven Grammy Awards and won one in 2007 for a song he did with the Brecker Brothers. He made six albums by himself, with the last one being “Show of Hands” in 2013.

Jim leaves behind his son Victor, his daughter Caitlin, his mom Sarah, his sister Nancy Canale, and his brother, Bill Beard.

Jim once shared a story from when he was very young, about how he fell in love with music. When he was four, he loved lying on the floor and listening to music from the stereo his dad made. He especially liked listening to Herb Albert records.

He started taking music lessons when he was six and kept learning with the same teacher for 12 years. He even went to music competitions. Later, he got a music degree from Indiana University.

After college, Jim worked on a cruise ship for a year. He planned to save money to move to New York. Even though he didn’t save much money, he moved to New York anyway.