A talented multi-instrumentalist with a rampant imagination he explored to the
full, Captain Beefheart became one of rock's most left field and eccentric
characters, delighting and confusing his audiences in equal measures. Growing up
in California, he was a gifted child sculptor, developing an eclectic musical
taste in music and a schoolboy friendship with Frank Zappa that was to prove
influential throughout his career. He released his first album Safe As Milk in
1967, but when his offbeat songs and strange vocals jarred with mainstream
expectations, Zappa signed Beefheart to hi...