00031581210
41 works
31581210
1 work
00032228614
52 works
00040791786
7 works
40791786
1 work
00138989217
13 works
Affiliation
BMI
Comments
Singer (with a multi-octave range), multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer until he retired from music in 1982, at which time he he gave up the "Beefheart" moniker and pursued a successful career as a visual artist, using the name "Don Van Vliet". His paintings have been exhibited in many major museums. Beefheart was also a published poet.
Beefheart and Frank Zappa knew each other from their teen years when they developed a friendship over a shared interest in Chicago blues. Over the years, the pair had a love-hate relationship, but collaborated on several occasions.
Beefheart was known to be harsh - even cruel - and exploitive of the musicians whom he hired for his band. Band members resented the fact that Beefheart took sole credit for the compositions that were really more collaborations. In his 2010 book, "Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic", John French recalled in detail his mistreatment by Beefheart, but he nonetheless worked for him on-again, off-again between 1966 and 1980 and remained in contact with Beefheart until the latter's death. Many musical artists have cited Beefheart as an important influence.