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Artist

Captain Beefheart

visual
Aliases
Don Van Vliet
Real name
Don Glen Vliet
Born
January 15, 1941
Died
December 17, 2010
Country
United States
IPI
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.
Member of
Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band
Family
Jan Van Vliet Spouse
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Added by Bastien

Songs written by Captain Beefheart

Original songs

Title Written by Originally by Original date Covered by
Abba Zaba Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by (3 artists)
Ah Feel Like Ahcid Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1968
Apes-Ma Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1978 Covered by (4 artists)
Ashtray Heart Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band August 1980 Covered by The White Stripes
Bat Chain Puller Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1978 Covered by (2 artists)
Beatle Bones ‘N Smokin Stones Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1968 Covered by (2 artists)
Big Eyed Beans from Venus Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (2 artists)
Bluejeans and Moonbeams Captain Beefheart, Andy Di Martino Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band November 1974 Covered by (3 artists)
Buggy Boogie Woogie Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1970 Covered by The Jack and Jim Show
Candle Mambo Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1978 Covered by Amy LaVere
China Pig Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (3 artists)
Circumstances Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by Little Bob Blues Bastards
Clear Spot Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (5 artists)
Click Clack Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart January 1972 Covered by (3 artists)
Crazy Little Thing Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (2 artists)
Dachau Blues Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (2 artists)
Dali's Car Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Unverified
Dirty Blue Gene Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band August 1980 Covered by Mike Watt
Dropout Boogie Captain Beefheart, Herb Bermann Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by (8 artists)
Electricity Captain Beefheart, Herb Bermann Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by (5 artists)
Ella Guru Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (3 artists)
Flash Gordon's Ape Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1970 Covered by Weasel Walter
Frownland Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (2 artists)
Frying Pan Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band 1966 Covered by (3 artists)
Gimme dat Harp Boy Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band May 1968 Covered by (2 artists)
Hair Pie Bake 1 and 2 Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by Trumans Water
Harry Irene Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1978 Covered by (3 artists)
Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (5 artists)
Hot Head Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band August 1980 Covered by (3 artists)
Ice Cream for Crow Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1982 Covered by (2 artists)
Ice Rose Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1978 Covered by (2 artists)
I Got Love on My Mind Captain Beefheart, Andy Di Martino, Jan Van Vliet Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band April 1974 Covered by Brian McMahon
I Love You, You Big Dummy Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1970 Covered by (3 artists)
I'm Glad Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by Boise Cover Band
I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart January 1972 Covered by DJ Boots Raingear ft. Gloria Hole
Ink Mathematics Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1982 Covered by Monotract
Japan in a Dishpan Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1970 Covered by Henry Kaiser
Korn Ring Finger Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band 1967 Covered by Bright
Lick My Decals Off, Baby Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1970 Covered by (2 artists)
Long Neck Bottles Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by The King of Luxembourg
Love Lies Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1978 Covered by (2 artists)
Mirror Man Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band May 1971 Unverified
Moonlight On Vermont Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1969 Unverified
My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (2 artists)
My Human Gets Me Blues Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by Peach Malört and the Shovel Fight
Neon Meate Dream of a Octarfish Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by Miss Murgatroid
Nowadays a Woman's Gotta Hit a Man Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (2 artists)
Observatory Crest Captain Beefheart, Elliot Ingber, Andy Di Martino Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band November 1974 Covered by (3 artists)
Old Fart at Play Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by The Kentucky Colonel and Major Sedan
Orange Claw Hammer Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (2 artists)
Pachuco Cadaver Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1969 Covered by The Jack and Jim Show
Party of Special Things to Do Captain Beefheart, Elliot Ingber, Andy Di Martino Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band November 1974 Covered by The White Stripes
Peon Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band 1970 Covered by Mallard
Plastic Factory Captain Beefheart, Herb Bermann, Jerry Handley Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by (5 artists)
Right Hand Man Joan Osborne, Rob Hyman, Captain Beefheart, Eric Bazilian, Rick Chertoff Joan Osborne March 21, 1995 Covered by Boombastic (Open Records Studio Artists)
Sheriff of Hong Kong Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band August 1980 Covered by Spycker
Steal Softly Thru Snow Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by The Jack and Jim Show
Sugar'n Spikes Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by Nel Aspinal
Sun Zoom Spark Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (3 artists)
Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do Captain Beefheart, Herb Bermann Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by (7 artists)
The Blimp Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by Spanner Jazz Punks
The Dust Blows Forward 'N the Dust Blows Back Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (3 artists)
The Past Sure Is Tense Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1982 Covered by The Jack and Jim Show
Too Much Time Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1972 Covered by (6 artists)
Tropical Hot Dog Night Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band 1978 Covered by (2 artists)
Two Rips in a Haystack / Kiss Me My Love Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart REC, The Come Ons REL 1971
Veteran's Day Poppy Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by (3 artists)
Who Do You Think You're Fooling? Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1966 Covered by (2 artists)
Wild Life Captain Beefheart Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1969 Covered by Old Time Relijun
Yellow Brick Road Captain Beefheart, Herb Bermann Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by Moy
Zig Zag Wanderer Captain Beefheart, Herb Bermann Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band 1967 Covered by (7 artists)