Beefheart - Bat Chain Puller (1976/2012)

Born: 15th January 1941, Glendale, California, USA
Died: 17th December 2010, Arcata, California, USA.
Captain Beefheart, aka Don Van Vliet; vocalist, harp-player, saxophonist, flautist, songwriter, lyricist, poet & painter. As a frontman of Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band or as artist working with or without the The Magic Band the captain recorded a dozen official albums and more besides. Later on, a lot of live releases would follow - some of them perhaps not entirely official. Van Vliet's career path was also interwoven with that of Frank Zappa, and was followed by secluded 'retirement' with his wife in 1982 - when he began painting full-time. He maintained an affinity with wild life throughout his life and was a keen conservationist. He forged a successful career as a painter, exhibiting in galleries in New York, the UK & Europe, before dying of complications from multiple sclerosis.