Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band

== Info ==
Blues rock musician known for his experimental and enigmatic style which mixed blues, rock, psychedelia, and jazz. Covered Bo Diddley. Friends with fellow experimentalist Frank Zappa. His Trout Mask Replica is considered by Rolling Stone Magazine to be one of the greatest albums of all time. Influenced new wave, punk, post punk, and alternative. Has a cult following. His expressionist paintings have drawn high prices and have been exhibited worldwide. Died of multiple sclerosis in 2010. Real name Don Vliet. Claimed to be the descendant of someone who knew Rembrandt. Also claimed to have been related to Richard Halliburton and remembered being born. Influenced by Robert Johnson, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. Suffered from dyslexia, although never officially diagnosed. Covered Little Richard. He revealed on The Late Show that his stage name meant "a beef in my heart against society". Worked with Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane. Worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman and sold one to author Aldous Huxley, of Brave New World fame. His Moonchild was written by David Gates, later of Bread. Played at the Avalon. Influenced Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles. Despite this, Vliet was often critical of them. Suffered from anxiety attacks due to drug use. Performed with Gerry McGee of The Monkees. Opened for The Yardbirds. His album Mirror Man was a ruse to circumvent copyright issues. Briefly represented in the UK by a former manager of The Who. Also influenced Tom Waits. Members included former Zappa drummer Art Tripp III. His music was featured in the film The Big Lebowski. Tripp went on to work with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Supported Dr. John. His paintings have been compared to Jackson Pollock and Vincent Van Gogh. He has been described as an abstract expressionist, modernist, and primitivist. Covered Willie Dixon. Received input from Taj Mahal. Vliet was once diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Influenced Little Feat and John Cale of The Velvet Underground. Also influenced The Clash and Sex Pistols as well as XTC and Sonic Youth. Others include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo, and The B-52's. Even The Red Hot Chili Peppers claim influence, as well as college band Pixies. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana claimed to have been influenced by Vliet. Modern alternative bands have also claimed influence.
== Genres ==
Art Rock
Category:Sixties
Category:Experimental
Category:Hall of Fame snubs
Category:Saturday Night Live performers