Saturday, 5 April 2014

Rear-View Mirror: The Mystery behind Captain Beefheart


The debut album by Captain Beefheart, Safe As Milk, is hugely influential for its innovative, experimental lyrics and composition. It's said that the album was a big influence on the Beatles and that John Lennon was a big fan in particular. The album is also significant in that Ry Cooder, one of the greatest guitarists of all-time, made his debut on the album as part of Beefheart's Magic Band. But who wrote the songs on this classic album? Well that was a mystery for a very long time.

In the liner notes of the Safe As Milk album appears the name Herb Bermann, credited as a co-writer on eight of the album's songs. The inclusion of this name was a mystery to many, including Captain Beefheart himself. Asked who Bermann was, Beefheart said he had no idea! He said he never hired anyone by that name. This sparked an investigation. Not only could no one figure out exactly what Bermann did on the album, no one could determine his existence at all!


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Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist and poet known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work..


Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, artist and poet known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work..

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