Captain Beefheart Dies at 69: Trout Mask Replica & Beyond

by Jordan Yerman | December 17, 2010 at 03:05 pm

526 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Don Van Vliet: Avant Musician Captain Beefheart Dies

Captain Beefheart (born Don Van Vliet) has died at age 69 due to complications from multiple sclerosis in Northern California. Don Van Vliet began using the Captain Beefheart persona in 1964, and recorder 12 studio albums with The Magic Band. A lifelong friend and collaborator with Frank Zappa, who gave him his stage name, Captain Beefheart is regarded as a musical visionary.

Captain Beefheart sometimes played with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, while Zappa would sometimes play with The Magic Band. Captain Beefheart has influenced punk, post-punk, alt rock, and experimental music, and everything between.

Aside from playing the saxophone, clarinet, oboe, harmonica, french horn, shehnai, theremin, flute, and picolo; Captain Beefheart was also a painter and sculptor: he focused on visual art after retiring from music in 1982. However, he has made a few guest appearance on other musicians' records since then.

Captain Beefheart Discography: Trout Mask Replica is perhaps the best-known Captain Beefheart album.

Beefheart retired from music after 1982's Ice Cream for Crow, returning to the Mojave Desert and focusing on his visual art. Though his art career was quite successful, he disappeared from public life after suffering from multiple sclerosis.