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Captain Beefheart

File:Captain_Beefheart_in_Toronto.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Captain Beefheart

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Also known as Don Van Vliet, Don Glen Vliet, Don Glen Van Vliet, Donald Vliet, Don van Vliet, Beefheart Captain, Donald Glen van Vliet, Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet)

American musician and painter (1941-2010)

Person · Open Library

Works
4

Top works

  • Transmission impossible
  • Plastic factory
  • Electricity 1967-1968
  • Safe as milk

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Glendale, California, USA

Don Van Vliet, born Don Glen Vliet, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. He conducted a rotating ensemble called the Magic Band, with whom he recorded 13 studio albums between 1964 and 1982.

Known for

  • Zappa — Self (archive footage) (as Captain Beefheart)2020
  • Captain Beefheart: Under Review — Captain Beefheart2006
  • Derailroaded — Self (archive footage)2005
  • The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart — Himself1997
  • Don Van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff — Himself1994
  • Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band - Beatclub 19721972
  • Frank Zappa — Self1971
  • Lick My Decals Off, Baby — Captain Beefheart1971
  • Burnt Weeny Sandwich — Self1969

via TMDB

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
689,274
Total plays
13,814,724

Tags

experimentalAvant-Gardepsychedelicbluesrock

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band was an American experimental rock band formed in Lancaster, California in 1964. They made music that has occasionally been dubbed "avant garde-blues". Their music was characterized by bluesy melodies, shambolic instrumentation, idiosyncratic, unbound timings, the growls and shrieks of Beefheart's vocals and his surreal, poetic lyrics. Throughout their career, the band's musical direction was tightly controlled by Don Van Vliet (1941 - 2010) <a href="https://www

via Last.fm · Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

Key facts

Also known as
Bloodshot Rollin' Red Don Van Vliet
Born
Don Glen Vliet , ( 1941-01-15 ) January 15, 1941, Glendale, California , U.S.
Died
December 17, 2010 (2010-12-17) (aged 69), Arcata, California , U.S.
Genres
Blues experimental rock jazz avant-garde
Occupations
Singer-songwriter musician painter poet composer author record producer film director
Instruments
Vocals harmonica saxophone bass clarinet percussion
Years active
1964–1982
Labels
A&M Buddah Blue Thumb ABC Reprise Straight Virgin Mercury DiscReet Warner Bros. Table of the Elements Epic Major League
Formerly of
The Magic Band The Mothers of Invention
Website
beefheart .com

via Wikipedia infobox

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Don Van Vliet (/væn ˈvliːt/; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010), known by his stage name Captain Beefheart, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the Magic Band, he recorded 13 studio albums between 1967 and 1982. His music blended elements of blues, free jazz, rock, and avant-garde composition with idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist wordplay, and Vliet's gravelly singing voice with a wide vocal range.

Known as an enigmatic persona, Beefheart frequently constructed myths about his life and was known to exercise extreme, dictatorial control over his supporting musicians. Although he achieved little commercial success, he sustained a cult following as an influence on an array of experimental rock and punk-era artists.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Captain Beefheart” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (11)