Cult rocker Captain Beefheart dies at 69
Ready for something decidedly different? Forty years after he created his avant-garde rock-and-roll, Captain Beefheart -- the stage name of Don Van Vliet -- still sounds mad, bad and dangerous to know.
He was a one-of-a-kind musical auteur who made the music of his childhood friend Frank Zappa sound like Lawrence Welk's. He became a cult legend and a huge influence on such later performers as Tom Waits, the Talking Heads, the Clash, Pere Ubu and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The obituary can be found on the Post's Obits home page. For a taste of the Captain in his prime, check out this performance from 1969:
By
Matt Schudel
| December 19, 2010; 1:42 AM ET
Categories:
Matt Schudel
| Tags:
captain beefheart, rock and roll legend
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