According to The Associated Press, musician and artist Don Van Vliet, who
performed a complex brand of experimental rock under the name CAPTAIN
BEEFHEART, died Friday. He was 69.
The Michael Werner Gallery in New York confirmed Van Vliet's death in
California due to complications stemming from multiple sclerosis. The gallery
exhibits his paintings.
Van Vliet was probably best known for the album Trout Mask Replica, which was
released in 1969 by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND.
The album's angular, dissonant take on blues rock and Van Vliet's growling,
surreal lyrics put him outside the mainstream, but staked his place in rock
history.
Rolling Stone magazine recently ranked Trout Mask Replica number 58 on its list
of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album was produced by fellow
experimental rock pioneer FRANK ZAPPA, a high school friend from the desert
town of Lancaster, CA.
"Record producers have always been certain that Don Vliet was just a hype away
from the big money," according to a 1970 profile in Rolling Stone. "But
Beefheart stubbornly continues what he's doing and waits patiently for everyone
else to come around."
By shunning commercial success and a more accessible sound, Van Vliet became a
role model for subsequent generations of musicians. His music is cited as an
influence on the rise of punk, post-punk and new wave. Beefheart is also
claimed as a kindred spirit by free jazz musicians and avant-garde classical
composers.
In the 1980s, Van Vliet turned full-time to art. He painted in a raw,
expressionistic style and showed his acclaimed work widely even as he withdrew
from the public eye.
He is survived by his wife of more than 40 years.
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