background	group_or_band
name	Cream
years active	–1968, 1993, 2005
origin	London, England
genre	Psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock, acid rock
associated acts	Powerhouse, The Graham Bond Organisation, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Blind Faith, Bruce-Baker-Moore
label	Reaction, Polydor, Atco, RSO
past members	Jack BruceEric ClaptonGinger Baker }}

Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Their sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues rock, hard rock and psychedelic rock, combining the psychedelia-themed lyrics, Eric Clapton's blues guitar playing, Jack Bruce's voice and blues bass playing and Ginger Baker's jazz-influenced drumming. The group's third album, ''Wheels of Fire'', was the world's first platinum-selling double album. Cream are widely regarded as being the world's first notable and successful supergroup. In their career, they sold over 15 million albums worldwide.

Cream's music included songs based on traditional blues such as "Crossroads" and "Spoonful", and modern blues such as "Born Under a Bad Sign", as well as more eccentric songs such as "Strange Brew", "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "Toad". Cream's biggest hits were "I Feel Free" (UK, #11), "Sunshine of Your Love" (US, #5), "White Room" (US, #6), "Crossroads" (US, #28), and "Badge" (UK, #18).

Cream made a significant impact upon the popular music of the time, and, along with Jimi Hendrix, they popularised the use of the wah-wah pedal. They provided a heavy yet technically proficient musical theme that foreshadowed and influenced the emergence of British bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and The Jeff Beck Group in the late 1960s. The band's live performances influenced progressive rock acts such as Rush, jam bands such as The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead, Phish and heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath.

Cream was ranked #16 on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'' and ''Rolling Stone'' named them the sixty-sixth greatest artist of all time. In 2010 VH1 also ranked them #61 on their ''100 Greatest Artists of All Time''.

Formation

By July 1966, Eric Clapton's career with The Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers had earned him a reputation as the premier blues guitarist in Britain. Clapton, however, found the environment of Mayall's band confining, and sought to expand his playing in a new band.

In 1966, Clapton met Baker, then the leader of the Graham Bond Organisation, which at one point featured Bruce on bass guitar, harmonica and piano. Baker, too, felt stifled in the GBO and had grown tired of Graham Bond's drug addictions and bouts of mental instability. "I had always liked Ginger", explained Eric Clapton. "Ginger had come to see me play with the Bluesbreakers. After the gig he drove me back to London in his Rover. I was very impressed with his car and driving. He was telling me that he wanted to start a band, and I had been thinking about it too." Each was impressed with the other's playing abilities, prompting Baker to ask Eric Clapton to join his new, then-unnamed group. Clapton immediately agreed, on the condition that Baker hire Bruce as the group's bassist; according to Clapton, Baker was so surprised at the suggestion that he almost crashed the car.

Clapton had met Bruce when the bassist/vocalist briefly played with the Bluesbreakers in March 1966; the two also had worked together as part of a one-shot band called Powerhouse (which also included Steve Winwood and Paul Jones). Impressed with Bruce's vocals and technical prowess, Clapton wanted to work with him on an ongoing basis.

What Clapton did not know was that while Bruce was in Bond's band, he and Baker had been notorious for their quarrelling. While both were excellent jazz musicians and respected each other's skills, the confines of the GBO had proved too small for their egos. Their volatile relationship included on-stage fights and the sabotage of one another's instruments. After Baker fired Bruce from the band, Bruce continued to arrive for gigs; ultimately, Bruce was driven away from the band after Baker threatened him at knifepoint.

Nevertheless, Baker and Bruce were able to put aside their differences for the good of Baker's new trio, which he envisioned as collaborative, with each of the members contributing to music and lyrics. The band was named "Cream", as Clapton, Bruce, and Baker were already considered the "cream of the crop" amongst blues and jazz musicians in the exploding British music scene. Before deciding upon "Cream", the band considered calling themselves "Sweet 'n' Sour Rock 'n' Roll". Of the trio, Clapton had the biggest reputation in England; however, he was all but unknown in the United States, having left The Yardbirds before "For Your Love" hit the American Top Ten. Its official debut came two nights later at the Sixth Annual Windsor Jazz & Blues Festival. Being new and with few original songs to its credit, Cream performed spirited blues reworkings that thrilled the large crowd and earned it a warm reception. In October the band also got a chance to jam with Jimi Hendrix, who had recently arrived in London. Hendrix was a fan of Clapton's music, and wanted a chance to play with him onstage. Hendrix was introduced to Cream through Chas Chandler, the bassist of The Animals, who was Hendrix's manager.

It was during the early organisation that they decided Bruce would serve as the group's lead vocalist. While Clapton was shy about singing, he occasionally harmonised with Bruce and, in time, took lead vocals on some notable Cream tunes including "Four Until Late", "Strange Brew", "Crossroads", and "Badge".

''Fresh Cream''

Cream's debut album, ''Fresh Cream'', was recorded and released in 1966. The album reached #6 in the UK charts and #39 in the United States. It mainly consisted of blues covers, including "Four Until Late", "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (an old blues number recorded by Hambone Willie Newbern in 1926, which became a blues standard thanks to versions recorded by Muddy Waters and Elmore James in the early 1950s), "Spoonful" (written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf), "I'm So Glad" (written by Skip James) and "Cat's Squirrel". The rest of the album featured songs written (or co-written) by Jack Bruce, most notably "I Feel Free" (which was a UK hit single, but only included on the American edition of the LP), and two by Ginger Baker (one of which, "Toad", contained one of the earliest examples of a drum solo in rock music). Ginger Baker also collaborated with Jack Bruce's then-wife Janet Godfrey to write "Sweet Wine"; Godfrey also provided lyrics for the trio's first original blues composition, her husband's "Sleepy Time Time."

The early Cream bootlegs display a much tighter band showcasing more songs. All of the songs are reasonably short five-minute versions of "N.S.U.", "Sweet Wine" and "Toad". But a mere two months later, the setlist shortened, with the songs then much longer.

''Disraeli Gears''

Cream first visited the United States in March 1967 to play nine dates at the RKO Theater in New York. They returned to record ''Disraeli Gears'' in New York between 11 May and 15 May 1967. Cream's second album was released in November 1967 and reached the Top 5 in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced by Felix Pappalardi (who later co-founded the Cream-influenced quartet Mountain) and engineer Tom Dowd, it was recorded at Atlantic Studios in New York. ''Disraeli Gears'' is often considered to be the band's defining effort, successfully blending psychedelic British rock with American blues. It was also the first Cream album to consist primarily of original songs, with only three of the eleven tracks written by others outside the band. ''Disraeli Gears'' not only features hits "Strange Brew" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses", but also "Sunshine of Your Love".

The album was originally slated for release in the summer of 1967, but the record label opted to scrap the planned cover and repackage it with a new psychedelic cover, designed by artist Martin Sharp, and the resulting changes delayed its release for several months. The album was remarkable for the time, with a psychedelic design patterned over a publicity photo of the trio.

Although the album is considered one of Cream's finest efforts, it has never been well represented in Cream's live sets. Although they consistently played "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and "Sunshine of Your Love", a setlist consisting of several songs from ''Disraeli Gears'' was quickly dropped from the set in mid-1967, favouring longer jams instead of short pop songs. "We're Going Wrong" was the only additional song from the album which saw some occasional play time in their live sets. In fact, at their 2005 reunion shows in London, Cream only played three songs from ''Disraeli Gears'': "Outside Woman Blues", "We're Going Wrong," and "Sunshine of Your Love." ("Tales of Brave Ulysses" was included in the band's 2005 New York set list, however.)

In August 1967, Cream played their first headlining dates in America, playing at the Fillmore West in San Francisco for the first time. The concerts were a great success and proved very influential on both the band itself and the flourishing hippie scene surrounding them. Upon discovering a growing listening audience, the band began to stretch out on stage, incorporating more time in their repertoire, some songs reaching jams of twenty minutes. Long drawn-out jams in numbers like "Spoonful", "N.S.U.", "I'm So Glad", and "Sweet Wine" became live favourites, while songs like "Sunshine of Your Love", "Crossroads", and "Tales of Brave Ulysses" remained reasonably short.

''Wheels of Fire''

In 1968 came Cream's third release, ''Wheels of Fire'', which topped the American charts. ''Wheels of Fire'' studio recordings showcased Cream moving slightly away from the blues and more towards a semi-progressive rock style highlighted by odd time signatures and various orchestral instruments. However, the band did record Howlin' Wolf's "Sitting on Top of the World" and Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign". According to a BBC interview with Clapton, the record company, also handling Albert King, asked the band to cover "Born Under a Bad Sign", which became a popular track off the record. The opening song, "White Room", became a radio staple. Another song, "Politician", was written by the band while waiting to perform live at the BBC. The album's second disc featured three live recordings from the Winterland Ballroom and one from the Fillmore. Eric Clapton's second solo from "Crossroads" has made it to the top 20 in multiple "greatest guitar solo" lists. Ginger Baker's "Toad" is now widely-regarded as one of the greatest live drum solos in rock history.

After the completion of ''Wheels of Fire'' in mid-1968, the band members had had enough and wanted to go their separate ways. As Baker would state in a 2006 interview with ''Music Mart'' magazine, "It just got to the point where Eric said to me: 'I've had enough of this,' and I said so have I. I couldn't stand it. The last year with Cream was just agony. It damaged my hearing permanently, and today I've still got a hearing problem because of the sheer volume throughout the last year of Cream. But it didn't start off like that. In 1966, it was great. It was really a wonderful experience musically, and it just went into the realms of stupidity." Also, Bruce and Baker's combustible relationship proved even worse as a result of the strain put upon the band by non-stop touring, forcing Clapton to play the perpetual role of peacekeeper.

Clapton had also fallen under the spell of Bob Dylan's former backing group, now known as The Band, and their debut album, ''Music from Big Pink'', which proved to be a welcome breath of fresh air in comparison to the incense and psychedelia that had informed Cream. Furthermore, he had read a scathing Cream review in ''Rolling Stone'', a publication he had much admired, in which the reviewer, Jon Landau, called him a "master of the blues cliché." It was in the wake of that article that Clapton wanted to end Cream and pursue a different musical direction.

At the beginning of their farewell tour on 4 October 1968, in Oakland, nearly the entire set consisted of songs from ''Wheels of Fire'': "White Room", "Politician", "Crossroads", "Spoonful", "Deserted Cities of the Heart", and "Passing the Time" taking the place of "Toad" for a drum solo. "Passing the Time" and "Deserted Cities" were quickly removed from the setlist and replaced by "Sitting on Top of the World" and "Toad".

''Goodbye''

Cream were eventually persuaded to do one final album. That album, the appropriately titled ''Goodbye'', was recorded in late 1968 and released in early 1969, after the band had broken up. It featured six songs: three live recordings dating from a concert at The Forum in Los Angeles, California, on 19 October, and three new studio recordings (the most notable, "Badge", was written by Clapton and George Harrison, who also played rhythm guitar as "L'Angelo Misterioso"). "I'm So Glad", which first appeared as a studio recording on ''Fresh Cream'', appeared as a live track on ''Goodbye''. It was the only song to appear on both Cream's first and last albums. Cream's "farewell tour" consisted of 22 shows at 19 venues in the United States between 4 October and 4 November 1968, and two final farewell concerts at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 November 1968. Initially another double album was planned, comprising live material from this tour plus new studio tracks, but a single album, ''Goodbye'' was released instead with three live tracks taken from their performance at The Forum in Los Angeles on 19 October 1968, and three studio tracks, one written by each of the band members. ''Goodbye'' proved the professionalism of each member, as the live recordings on ''Goodbye'' deliver epic renditions of "I'm So Glad", "Politician", and "Sitting on Top of the World", proving that they were at least dedicated to the music. The gig at The Forum on 19 October captured some of the group's most intense live performances. The final U.S. gig was at the Rhode Island Auditorium, 4 November 1968. The band arrived late and, due to local restrictions, they were able to perform only two songs, "Spoonful" and "Toad". Bootlegs of inferior quality do exist of the final US Concert, and feature a 20+ minute version of "Spoonful".

The two Royal Albert Hall concerts were filmed for a BBC documentary and released on video (and later DVD) as ''Farewell Concert''. Both shows were sold out and attracted more attention than any other Cream concert, but their performance was regarded by many as below standard. Despite an extremely energetic encore version of Sunshine of Your Love, Baker himself said of the concerts: "It wasn’t a good gig ... Cream was better than that ... We knew it was all over. We knew we were just finishing it off, getting it over with." Cream's live performances were already declining. In an interview from ''Cream: Classic Artists'', Ginger Baker himself agreed that the band was getting worse by the minute.

Cream's supporting acts were Taste (featuring a young Rory Gallagher) and the newly formed Yes, who received good reviews. Three performances early in Cream's farewell tour were opened by Deep Purple. Deep Purple had originally agreed to open the entire U.S. leg of the tour, but Cream's management removed them after only three shows, in spite of favourable reviews and good rapport between the bands.

Breakup

From its creation, Cream were faced with some fundamental problems that would later lead to its dissolution in November 1968. The rivalry between Bruce and Baker created tensions in the band. Clapton also felt that the members of the band did not listen to each other enough. Equipment during these years had also got better; new Marshall amplifier stacks cranked out more power, and Jack Bruce pushed the volume levels higher, creating tension for Baker who would have trouble competing with roaring stacks. Clapton spoke of a concert during which he stopped playing and neither Baker nor Bruce noticed. Clapton has also commented that Cream's later gigs mainly consisted of its members showing off. Cream decided that they would break up in May 1968 during a tour of the US. Later, in July, an official announcement was made that the band would break up after a farewell tour of the United States and after playing two concerts in London. Cream finished their tour of the United States with a 4 November concert in Rhode Island and performed in the UK for the last time in London on 25 and 26 November. Bruce had three Marshall stacks on stage for the farewell shows but one acted only as a spare, and he only used one or two, depending on the song.

Post-Cream

Blind Faith was formed immediately after the demise of Cream, following an attempt by Clapton to recruit Steve Winwood into the band in the hope that he would help act as a buffer between Bruce and Baker. Inspired by more song-based acts Clapton went on to perform much different, less improvisational material with Delaney & Bonnie, Derek and the Dominos and in his own long and varied solo career.

Bruce began a varied and successful solo career with the 1969 release of ''Songs for a Tailor'', while Baker formed a jazz-fusion ensemble out of the ashes of Blind Faith called Ginger Baker's Air Force, which featured Winwood, Blind Faith bassist Rick Grech, Graham Bond on sax, and guitarist Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and (later) Wings.

Reunions

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In 1993, Cream were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reformed to perform at the induction ceremony. Initially, the trio were wary about performing, until encouraging words from Robbie Robertson inspired them to try. The set consisted of "Sunshine of Your Love", "Crossroads", and "Born Under a Bad Sign", a song they had not previously played live. Clapton mentioned in his acceptance speech that their rehearsal the day before the ceremony had marked the first time they had played together in 25 years. This performance spurred rumours of a reunion tour. Bruce and Baker said in later interviews that they were, indeed, interested in touring as Cream. A formal reunion did not take place immediately, as Clapton, Bruce and Baker continued to pursue solo projects, although the latter two worked together again in the mid-1990s as two-thirds of a power trio BBM with Irish blues-rock guitarist Gary Moore.

2005 Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden concerts

Cream reunited for a series of four shows, on 2, 3, 5, and 6 May 2005 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the venue of their final concerts in 1968, at Clapton's request. Although the three musicians chose not to speak publicly about the shows, Clapton would later state that he had become more "generous" in regard to his past, and that the physical health of Bruce and Baker was a major factor: Bruce had recently undergone a liver transplant for liver cancer, and had almost lost his life, while Baker had severe arthritis.

Tickets for all four shows sold out in under an hour. The performances were recorded for a live CD and DVD. Among those in attendance were Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Steve Winwood, Roger Waters, Brian May, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and also Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman. The reunion marked the first time the band had played "Badge" and "Pressed Rat and Warthog" live.

The Royal Albert Hall reunion proved a success on both a personal and financial level, inspiring the reformed band to bring their reunion to the United States. Cream chose to play at only one venue, Madison Square Garden in New York City, from 24–26 October 2005. The shows were marred by some controversy in regard to tickets: the show's promoters had made a deal with credit card company American Express to make tickets available to American Express customers only in an unprecedented week-long pre-sale. The shows were a financial success and received critical praise.

Fans of Cream hoped for a full-scale tour, but a statement from Cream's publicist days after the last performance put the nail in that particular coffin, when it was announced that Cream would not tour the United States. In an interview with Jack Bruce in the December 2005 issue of ''Bass Player'' magazine, Bruce hinted that he would like to see Cream continue in one way or another, possibly in the form of a new album, but that a tour was out of the question: "It would be quite a challenge to try to create music that would stand up to the classic songs. I've got a few ideas already—in fact, I wrote a song yesterday that I think would work. I just don't know if it will happen, because we all feel the band is so special we don't want to do it that often, if we go on. We've had offers you wouldn't believe—I didn't believe—for long world tours, and it's tempting. But none of us wants to accept because it would take away from the rarity and special nature of getting together. I'd like to do it every now and again and just play somewhere, but we could do an album amidst that, and I'm going to suggest it."

2006–present

In February 2006, Cream received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of their contribution to, and influence upon, modern music. That same month, a "Classic Albums" DVD was released detailing the story behind the creation and recording of ''Disraeli Gears''. On the day prior to the Grammy ceremony, Bruce made a public statement that more one-off performances of Cream had been planned: multiple dates in a few cities, similar to the Royal Albert Hall and Madison Square Garden shows. However, this story was rebutted by both Clapton and Baker, first by Clapton in a ''Times'' article from April 2006. The article stated that when asked about Cream, Clapton said: "No. Not for me. We did it and it was fun. But life is too short. I've got lots of other things I would rather do, including staying at home with my kids. The thing about that band was that it was all to do with its limits ... it was an experiment." In an interview in the UK magazine ''Music Mart'', about the release of a DVD about the Blind Faith concert in Hyde Park 1969, Baker commented about his unwillingness to continue the Cream reunion. These comments were far more specific and explosive than Clapton's, as they were centred around his relationship with Jack Bruce. Ginger said, "When he's Dr. Jekyll, he's fine... It's when he's Mr. Hyde that he's not. And I'm afraid he's still the same. I tell you this — there won't ever be any more Cream gigs, because he did Mr. Hyde in New York last year."

When asked to elaborate, Baker replied: "Oh, he shouted at me on stage, he turned his bass up so loud that he deafened me on the first gig. What he does is that he apologises and apologises, but I'm afraid, to do it on a Cream reunion gig, that was the end. He killed the magic, and New York was like 1968... It was just a get through the gig, get the money sort of deal. I was absolutely amazed. I mean, he demonstrated why he got the sack from Graham Bond and why Cream didn't last very long on stage in New York. I didn't want to do it in the first place simply because of how Jack was. I have worked with him several times since Cream, and I promised myself that I would never work with him again. When Eric first came up with the idea, I said no, and then he phoned me up and eventually convinced me to do it. I was on my best behaviour and I did everything I could to make things go as smooth as possible, and I was really pleasant to Jack."

Jack Bruce told Detroit's WCSX radio station in May 2007 that there were plans for a Cream reunion later in the year. It was later revealed that the potential performance was to be November 2007 London as a tribute to Ahmet Ertegün. The band decided against it and this was confirmed by Bruce in a letter to the editor of the Jack Bruce fanzine, ''The Cuicoland Express'' dated 26 September 2007: :"Dear Marc, :We were going to do this tribute concert for Ahmet when it was to be at the Royal Albert Hall but decided to pass when it was moved to the O2 Arena and seemed to be becoming overly commercial."

The headlining act for the O2 Arena Ertegun tribute show (postponed to December 2007) turned out to be another reunited English hard-rock act, Led Zeppelin. So while the band members are all still alive and talking again, no Cream reunions are planned for the near future.

In a recent interview with BBC 6 Music in April 2010, Bruce confirmed that there would be no more Cream shows. He said: "Cream is over. I think we were trying to forge a new musical language using what we knew. In the studio I had a lot to do with production, but in the live shows whoever took the lead took the lead, and we all tried to keep up. It was very competitive."

Discography

1966 – ''Fresh Cream''

1967 – ''Disraeli Gears''

1968 – ''Wheels of Fire''

1969 – ''Goodbye''

References

External links

Cream 2005 reunion official website

Eric Clapton official website

Jack Bruce official website

Ginger Baker official website

The Cream Story – from the Official Ginger Baker Archive

* Category:English hard rock musical groups Category:British blues music groups Category:Eric Clapton Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Supergroups Category:Musical groups established in 1966 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1968 Category:Musical trios Category:Blues rock groups Category:Electric blues musicians Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

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name	Don Van Vliet
background	solo_singer
birth name	Don Glen Vliet
alias	Captain BeefheartBloodshot Rollin' Red
born	January 15, 1941Glendale, California, U.S.
died	December 17, 2010Arcata, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, harmonica, saxophone, clarinet, oboe, french horn, shehnai, recorder, flute, piccolo, trumpet, percussion, piano
genre	Experimental rock, blues-rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, protopunk, spoken word, free jazz, outsider
occupation	Singer, songwriter, musician, artist, painter, sculptor, poet, lyricist, composer, author, arranger, record producer, film director
years active	1964–1982
label	A&M;, Buddah, Blue Thumb, ABC, Reprise, Straight, Virgin, Mercury, DiscReet, Warner Bros., Atlantic, Epic
associated acts	The Magic Band, Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention, Gary Lucas, The Tubes, Jack Nitzsche, Zoot Horn Rollo, Jeff Cotton, Rockette Morton, Winged Eel Fingerling, The Mascara Snake, John 'Drumbo' French, Ry Cooder
notable instruments	}}

Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12 studio albums. Noted for his powerful singing voice with its wide range, Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone and numerous other wind instruments. His music blended rock, blues and psychedelia with free jazz, avant-garde and contemporary experimental composition. Beefheart was also known for exercising an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians, and for often constructing myths about his life.

During his teen years in Lancaster, California, Van Vliet developed an eclectic musical taste and formed "a mutually useful but volatile" friendship with Frank Zappa, with whom he sporadically competed and collaborated. He began performing with his Captain Beefheart persona in 1964 and joined the original Magic Band line-up, initiated by Alexis Snouffer, in 1965. The group drew attention with their cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy", which became a regional hit. It was followed by their acclaimed debut album ''Safe as Milk'', released in 1967 on Buddah Records. After being dropped by two consecutive record labels, they signed to Zappa's Straight Records. As producer, Zappa granted Beefheart the unrestrained artistic freedom in making 1969's ''Trout Mask Replica,'' ranked fifty-eighth in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 1974, frustrated by lack of commercial success, he released two albums of more conventional rock music that were critically panned; this move, combined with not having been paid for a European tour, and years of enduring Beefheart's abusive behavior, led the entire band to quit. Beefheart eventually formed a new Magic Band with a group of younger musicians and regained contemporary approval through three final albums: ''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' (1978), ''Doc at the Radar Station'' (1980) and ''Ice Cream for Crow'' (1982).

Van Vliet has been described as "one of modern music's true innovators" with "a singular body of work virtually unrivalled in its daring and fluid creativity". Although he achieved little commercial or mainstream critical success, he sustained a cult following as a "highly significant" and "incalculable" influence on an array of New Wave, punk, post-punk, experimental and alternative rock musicians. Known for his enigmatic personality and relationship with the public, Van Vliet made few public appearances after his retirement from music (and from his Beefheart persona) in 1982. He pursued a career in art, an interest that originated in his childhood talent for sculpture, and a venture which proved to be his most financially secure. His expressionist paintings and drawings command high prices, and have been exhibited in art galleries and museums across the world. Van Vliet died in 2010 after many years of suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Biography

Early life and musical influences, 1941–1962

Van Vliet was born Don Glen Vliet in Glendale, California, on January 15, 1941, to Glen Alonzo Vliet, a service station owner of Dutch ancestry from Kansas, and Willie Sue Vliet (née Warfield), who was from Arkansas. He claimed to have as an ancestor Peter Van Vliet, a Dutch painter who knew Rembrandt. Van Vliet also claimed that he was related to adventurer and author Richard Halliburton and the cowboy actor Slim Pickens, and said that he remembered being born.

Van Vliet began painting and sculpting at age three. His subjects reflected his "obsession" with animals, particularly dinosaurs, fish, African mammals and lemurs. At the age of nine he won a children's sculpting competition organised for the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park by a local tutor, Agostinho Rodrigues. Local newspaper cuttings of his junior sculpting achievements can be found reproduced in the ''Splinters'' book, included in the ''Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh'' boxed CD work, released in 2004. The sprawling park, with its zoo and observatory had a strong influence on young Vliet, as it was a short distance from his home on Waverly Drive. The track "Observatory Crest" on ''Bluejeans & Moonbeams'' reflects this continued interest. A portrait photo of the school-age Vliet can be seen on the front of the lyric sheet within the first issue of the US release of ''Trout Mask Replica''.

For some time during the 1950s Van Vliet worked as an apprentice with Rodrigues, who considered him a child prodigy. Vliet made claim to have been a lecturer at the Barnsdall Art Institute in Los Angeles at the age of eleven, He claimed that his parents discouraged his interest in sculpture, based upon their perception of artists as 'queer'. They declined several scholarship offers, including one from the local Knudsen Creamery to travel to Europe with six years' paid tuition to study marble sculpture. Van Vliet later admitted personal hesitation to take the scholarship based upon the bitterness of his parents' disencouragement.

Van Vliet's artistic enthusiasm became so fervent, he claimed that his parents were forced to feed him through the door in the room where he sculpted. When he was thirteen the family moved from the Los Angeles area to the more remote farming town of Lancaster, near the Mojave Desert, where there was a growing aerospace industry and testing plant that would become Edwards Airforce Base. It was an environment that would greatly influence him creatively from then on. Van Vliet remained interested in art; his paintings, often reminiscent of Franz Kline's, were later featured on several of his own albums. Meanwhile he developed his taste and interest in music, listening "intensively" to the Delta blues of Son House and Robert Johnson, jazz artists such as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor, and the Chicago blues of Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters. During his early teenage years Vliet would sometimes socialize with members of local bands such as "The Omens" and "The Blackouts", although his interests were still focused upon an art career. The Omens' guitarists Alexis Snouffer and Jerry Handley would later become founders of "The Magic Band" and The Blackouts' drummer, Frank Zappa, would later capture Vliet's vocal capabilities on record for the first time. This first known recording, when he was simply 'Don Vliet', is "Lost In A Whirlpool" - one of Zappa's early 'field recordings' made in his college classroom with brother Bobby on guitar. It is featured on Zappa's posthumously released ''The Lost Episodes'' (1996).

Van Vliet claimed that he never attended public school, alleging "half a day of kindergarten" to be the extent of his formal education and saying that "if you want to be a different fish, you've got to jump out of the school." His associates said that he only dropped out during his senior year of high school to help support the family after his father's heart attack. His graduation picture appears in the school's yearbook. While attending Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, Van Vliet became close friends with fellow teenager Frank Zappa, the pair bonding through their interest in Chicago blues and R&B;. Van Vliet is portrayed in both ''The Real Frank Zappa Book'' and Barry Miles' biography ''Zappa'' as fairly spoiled at this stage of his life, the center of attention as an only child. He spent most of his time locked in his room listening to records, often with Zappa, into the early hours in the morning, eating leftover food from his father's Helms bread truck and demanding that his mother bring him a Pepsi. His parents tolerated such behavior under the belief that their child was truly gifted. Vliet's 'Pepsi-moods' were ever a source of amusement to band members, leading Zappa to later write the wry tune "Why Doesn't Someone Give Him A Pepsi?" that featured on the ''Bongo Fury'' tour.

After Zappa began regular occupation at Paul Buff's PAL Studio in Cucamonga he and Van Vliet began collaborating, tentatively as "The Soots". By the time Zappa had turned the venue into Studio Z the duo had completed some songs. These were "Cheryl's Canon", "Metal Man Has Won His Wings" and a Howlin' Wolf styled rendition of Little Richard's "Slippin' and Slidin". Further songs, on Zappa's ''Mystery Disc'' (1996), "I Was a Teen-Age Malt Shop" and "The Birth of Captain Beefheart" also provide an insight to Zappa's 'teenage movie' script titled ''Captain Beefheart vs. the Grunt People'', the first appearances of the Beefheart name. It has been suggested this name came from a term used by Vliet's Uncle Alan who had a habit of exposing himself to Don's girlfriend, Laurie Stone. He would urinate with the bathroom door open and, if she was walking by, would mumble about his penis, saying "Ahh, what a beauty! It looks just like a big, fine beef heart." In a 1970 interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Van Vliet requests "don't ask me why or how" he and Zappa came up with the name. He would later claim in an appearance on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' that the name referred to "a beef in my heart against this society." In the "Grunt People" draft script Beefheart and his mother play themselves, with his father played by Howlin' Wolf. Grace Slick is penned in as a 'celestial seductress' and there are also roles for future Magic Band members Bill Harkleroad and Mark Boston.

Van Vliet enrolled at Antelope Valley Junior College as an art major, but decided to leave the following year. He once worked as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, during which time he sold a vacuum cleaner to the writer Aldous Huxley at his home in Llano, pointing to it and declaring, "Well I assure you sir, this thing sucks." After managing a Kinney's shoe store, Van Vliet relocated to Rancho Cucamonga, California, to reconnect with Zappa, who inspired his entry into musical performance. Van Vliet was quite shy but was eventually able to imitate the deep voice of Howlin' Wolf with his wide vocal range. He eventually grew comfortable with public performance and, after learning to play the harmonica, began playing at dances and small clubs in Southern California.

Initial recordings, 1962–1969

In early 1965 Alex Snouffer, a Lancaster rhythm and blues guitarist, invited Vliet to sing with a group that he was assembling. Vliet joined the first Magic Band and changed his name to Don Van Vliet, while Snouffer became Alex St. Clair (sometimes spelled ''Claire''). Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band signed to A&M; and released two singles in 1966. The first was a version of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy" that became a regional hit in Los Angeles. The followup, "Moonchild" (written by David Gates) was less well received. The band played music venues that catered to underground artists, such as the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.

''Safe as Milk''

After fulfilling their deal for two singles the band presented demos to A&M; during 1966 for what would become the ''Safe as Milk'' album. A&M;'s Jerry Moss reportedly described this new direction as "too negative" and dropped the band from the label, although still under contract. Much of the demo recording was accomplished at Art Laboe's Original Sound Studio, then with Gary Marker on the controls at Sunset Sound on 8-track. By the end of 1966 they were signed to Buddah Records and much of the demo work was transferred to 4-track, at the behest of Krasnow and Perry, in the RCA Studio in Hollywood, where the recording was finalized. Tracks that were originally laid down in the demo by Doug Moon are therefore taken up by Cooder's work in the release, as Moon had departed over 'musical differences' at this juncture.

Drummer John French had now joined the group and it would later (notably on ''Trout Mask Replica'') be his patience that was required to transcribe Van Vliet's creative ideas (often expressed by whistling or banging on the piano) into musical form for the other group members. On French's departure this role was taken over by Bill Harkleroad for ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby''.

Many of the lyrics on the ''Safe as Milk'' album were written by Van Vliet in collaboration with the writer Herb Bermann, who befriended Van Vliet after seeing him perform at a bar-gig in Lancaster in 1966. The song "Electricity" was a poem written by Bermann, who gave Van Vliet permission to adapt it to music.

Much of the ''Safe as Milk'' material was honed and arranged by the arrival of 20-year–old guitar prodigy Ry Cooder, who had been brought into the group after much pressure from Vliet. The band began recording in spring 1967, with Richard Perry cutting his teeth in his first job as producer. The album was released in September 1967. Richie Unterberger of Allmusic called the album "blues–rock gone slightly askew, with jagged, fractured rhythms, soulful, twisting vocals from Van Vliet, and more doo wop, soul, straight blues, and folk–rock influences than he would employ on his more avant garde outings".

Recognition

Among those who took notice were The Beatles. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were known as great admirers of Beefheart. Lennon displayed two of the album's promotional 'baby bumper stickers' in the sunroom at his home. Later, the Beatles planned to sign Beefheart to their experimental Zapple label (plans that were scrapped after Allen Klein took over the group's management). Van Vliet was often critical of the Beatles, however. He considered the lyric "I'd love to turn you on", from their song "A Day in the Life", to be ridiculous and conceited. Tiring of their "lullabies", he lampooned them with the ''Strictly Personal'' song "Beatle Bones 'n' Smokin' Stones", that featured the sardonic refrain of "strawberry fields, strawberry fields forever". It should also be noted that 'strawberry fields' could also be an oblique reference to a form of LSD circulating at the time. The album's five 'acid stamps' and first track "Ah Feel like Ahcid" may underline this, whilst 'Smokin' Stones' is probably a 'pro comment' on the contrasting rhythm and blues style of the Rolling Stones. Vliet spoke badly of Lennon after getting no response when he sent a telegram of support to him and wife Yoko Ono during their 1969 "Bed–In for peace". Van Vliet did meet McCartney in Cannes during the Magic Band's 1968 tour of Europe, though McCartney later claimed to have no recollection of this meeting.

The flipside of success

Doug Moon left the band because of his dislike of the band's increasing experimentation outside his preferred blues genre. Ry Cooder told of Moon becoming so angered by Van Vliet's unrelenting criticism that he walked into the room pointing a loaded crossbow at him, only to be told "Get that fucking thing out of here, get out of here and get back in your room", which he obeyed. (Other band members have disputed this account, although Moon is likely to have 'passed through' the studio with a weapon.) Moon was present during the early demo sessions at Original Sound studio, above the Kama Sutra/Buddah offices. The works Moon laid down did not see the light of day, as he was replaced by Cooder when they continued on material at Sunset Sound with Marker. Marker then fell by the wayside when recording was moved by Krasnow and Perry to RCA Studio. This would have a profound effect on the quality of the ''Safe as Milk'' work, as the former studio was 8-track and the subsequent studio a 4-track.

To support the album's release the group had been scheduled to play at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. During this period Vliet suffered severe anxiety attacks that made him convinced that he was having a heart attack, probably exacerbated by his heavy LSD use and the fact that his father died of heart failure a few years earlier. At a vital 'warm-up' performance at the Mt. Tamalpais Festival (June 10/11) shortly before the scheduled Monterey Festival (June 16/18), the band began to play "Electricity" and Van Vliet froze, straightened his tie, then walked off the ten–foot stage and landed on manager Bob Krasnow. He later claimed he had seen a girl in the audience turn into a fish, with bubbles coming from her mouth. This aborted any opportunity of breakthrough success at Monterey, as Cooder immediately decided he could no longer work with Van Vliet, effectively quitting both the event and the band on the spot. With such complex guitar parts there was no means for the band to find a competent replacement in time for Monterey. Cooder's spot was eventually filled for a short spell by Gerry McGee, who had played with The Monkees. According to French the band did two gigs with McGee, one of which was at ''The Peppermint Twist'' near Long Beach. The other was at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 7 August 1967, as opening act to The Yardbirds. McGee was in the group long enough to have an outfit made by a Santa Monica boutique that also created the gear worn by the band on the ''Strictly Personal'' cover stamps.

''Strictly Personal''

In August, guitarist Jeff Cotton filled the guitar spot vacated, in turn, by Cooder and McGee. In October and November 1967 the Snouffer/Cotton/Handley/French line–up recorded material for what was planned to be the second album. Originally intended to be a double album called ''It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper'' for the label, it was released later in pieces in 1971 and 1995. After rejection from Buddah, Bob Krasnow encouraged the band to re–record four of the shorter numbers, to add two more, and make shorter versions of "Mirror Man" and "Kandy Korn". The music was already weakly recorded with a trebly thin sound; Krasnow then implemented a strange mix full of "phasing" that by most accounts (including Beefheart's) diminished the music's strength; this was released in October 1968 as ''Strictly Personal'' on Krasnow's Blue Thumb label. Stewart Mason in his Allmusic review of the album described it as a "terrific album" and a "fascinating, underrated release", "every bit the equal of ''Safe as Milk'' and ''Trout Mask Replica''". Langdon Winner of ''Rolling Stone'' called ''Strictly Personal'' "an excellent album. The guitars of the Magic Band mercilessly bend and stretch notes in a way that suggests that the world of music has wobbled clear off its axis," with the lyrics demonstrating "Beefheart's ability to juxtapose delightful humor with frightening insights". Van Vliet furthered his own mythology through interviews.

''Mirror Man''

In 1971 some of the recordings done for Buddah were released as ''Mirror Man'', bearing a liner note claiming that the material had been recorded "one night in Los Angeles in 1965". This was a ruse to circumvent possible copyright issues; the material was actually recorded in November and December 1967. Essentially a "jam" album, described as pushing "the boundaries of conventional blues–rock, with a Beefheart vocal tossed in here and there. Some may miss Beefheart's surreal poetry, gruff vocals, and/or free jazz influence, while others may find it fascinating to hear the Magic Band simply letting go and cutting loose". The album's 'miss-credit errors' also state band members as "Alex St. Clare Snouffer" (Alex St. Clare/Alexis Snouffer), "Antennae Jimmy Simmons" (Semens/Jeff Cotton) and "Jerry Handsley" (Handley). First vinyl was issued in both a die-cut gatefold (revealing a 'cracked' mirror) and a single sleeve with same image. The UK Buddah issue was part of the Polydor-manufactured 'Select' series.

During his first trip to England in January 1968, Captain Beefheart was briefly represented in the UK by mod icon Peter Meaden, an early manager of The Who. The Captain and his band members were initially denied entry to the United Kingdom, because Meaden had illegally booked them for gigs without applying for appropriate work permits. After returning to Germany for a few days, the group was permitted to re-enter the UK, when they recorded material for John Peel's radio show and appeared at the ''Middle Earth'' venue, introduced by Peel on Saturday 20 January. By this time, they had terminated their association with Meaden. On January 27, 1968, Beefheart achieved one of his most memorable live performances, when the band performed in the MIDEM Music Festival on the beach at Cannes, France.

Alex St. Claire left the band in June 1968 after their return from a second European tour and was replaced by teenager Bill Harkleroad; bassist Jerry Handley left a few weeks later.

''The Mirror Man Sessions'' and new ''Buddha''

In 1999 the defunct Buddah label emerged with a new look, a correct title spelling and relevant 'deity' image - replacing the silhouetted 'Shiva' image and Buddah name for Beefheart material. The Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) now had the Buddah catalogue, producing both a remastered CD of ''Safe as Milk'' and a CD titled ''The Mirror Man Sessions'', the latter providing an insight to the ''Mirror Man'' and ''Strictly Personal'' albums, and recordings relating to the 'Brown Wrapper' project. The tracks are presented as "Original Masters" and provides further insight to the interpolating material that also appears on ''It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Wrapper''. The insert also shows the entire band in Quaker hats and outfits.

''The 'Brown Wrapper' Sessions''

After their Euro tour and the Cannes beach performance the band returned to the USA. Moves were already in the air for them to leave Buddah and sign to MGM and, prior to their May tour - mainly in the UK - they re-recorded some Buddah material of the partial ''Mirror Man'' sessions at Sunset Sound with Bruce Botnick. Beefheart had also been conceptualizing new band names, including "25th Century Quaker" and "Blue Thumb", whilst making suggestions to other musicians that they might get involved. The thought-process of "25th Century Quaker" was that it would be a 'blues band' alias for the more avant-garde work of the Magic Band. Photographer Guy Webster actually photographed the band in Quaker-style outfits, and the picture appears in ''The Mirror Man Sessions'' CD insert. It would later transpire that much of this situation was transient and that Buddah's Bob Krasnow was to set up his own label. The label that was unsurprisingly named ''Blue Thumb'' launched with its first release ''Strictly Personal'', a truncated version of the original Beefheart vision of a double album. Thus "25th Century Quaker" became a track and a potential band-name became a label.

In overview, the works for the double album in this period were intended to be packaged in a plain brown wrapper, with a 'strictly personal' over-stamp and addressed in a manner that could have connotations of drug content, pornographic or illicit material; As per the small ads of the time; "It comes to you in a plain brown wrapper". Given that Krasnow had effectively poached the band from Buddah there were limitations on what material could be released. ''Strictly Personal'' was the result, contained in its enigmatically-addressed parcel sleeve. The raft of material left behind eventually emerged, firstly on CD as ''I May Be Hungry, But I Sure Ain't Weird'' and later on vinyl, implemented by John French, as ''It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Wrapper'' (which has two tracks that are missing from the former release). Both ''Blue Thumb'' and the stamps on the cover of ''Strictly Personal'' have LSD connotations, as does the track "Ah Feel Like Ahcid".

''Trout Mask Replica'', 1969

Critically acclaimed as Van Vliet's magnum opus, ''Trout Mask Replica'' was released as a 28 track double album in June 1969 on Frank Zappa's newly formed Straight Records label. First issues, in the USA, were auto-coupled and housed in the black 'Straight' liners along with a 6-page lyric sheet illustrated by The Mascara Snake. A school-age portrait of Van Vliet appears on the front of this sheet, whilst the cover of the gatefold enigmatically shows Beefheart in a 'Quaker' hat, obscuring his face with the head of a fish. The fish is a carp - arguably a 'replica' for a trout, photographed by Cal Schenkel. The inner spread 'infra-red' photography is by Ed Caraeff, whose Beefheart vacuum cleaner images from this session also appear on Zappa's ''Hot Rats'' release (a month earlier) to accompany "Willie The Pimp" lyrics sung by Vliet. Alex St. Clair had now left the band and, after Junior Madeo from The Blackouts was considered, the role was filled by Bill Harkleroad. Bassist Jerry Handley had also departed, with Gary Marker stepping in. Thus the long rehearsals for the album began in the house on Ensenada Drive in Woodland Hills, L.A., that would become the infamous 'Magic Band House'.

The Magic Band began recordings for ''Trout Mask Replica'' with bassist Gary 'Magic' Marker at T.T.G. (on "Moonlight On Vermont" and "Veteran's Day Poppy"), but later enlisted bassist Mark Boston after his departure. The remainder of the album was recorded at Whitney Studios, with some field recordings made at the house. Vliet's girlfriend Laurie Stone, who can be heard laughing at the beginning of "Fallin' Ditch", would also became an audio typist at the Magic Band house.

Van Vliet wanted the whole band to "live" the ''Trout Mask Replica'' album. The group rehearsed Van Vliet's difficult compositions for eight months, living communally in their small rented house in the Woodland Hills suburb of Los Angeles. With only two bedrooms the band members would find sleep in various corners of one, whilst Vliet occupied the other and rehearsals were accomplished in the main living area. Van Vliet implemented his vision by completely dominating his musicians, artistically and emotionally. At various times one or another of the group members was "put in the barrel," with Van Vliet berating him continually, sometimes for days, until the musician collapsed in tears or in total submission. Drummer John French described the situation as "cultlike" and a visiting friend said "the environment in that house was positively Mansonesque." and eventually of Beefheart threatening to throw him out of an upper floor window. He admits complicity in similarly attacking his bandmates during "talks" aimed at them. In the end, after the album's recording, French was ejected from the band by Beefheart throwing him down a set of stairs with violence, telling him to "Take a walk, man" after not responding in a desired manner to a request to "play a strawberry" on the drums. Beefheart replaced French with drummer Jeff Bruschel, an acquaintance of Hayden. Referred to as 'Fake Drumbo' (playing on French's drumset) this final act resulted in French's name not appearing on the album credits, either as a player or arranger. Bruschel toured with the band to Europe but was replaced by the next recording.

According to Van Vliet, the 28 songs on the album were written in a single 8½ hour session at the piano, an instrument which he had no skill in playing, an approach Mike Barnes compared to John Cage's "maverick irreverence toward classical tradition", though band members have stated that the songs were written over the course of about a year, beginning around December 1967. (The band did watch Federico Fellini's 1963 film ''8½'' during the creation of the album). It took the band about eight months to mold the songs into shape, with French bearing primary responsibility for transposing and shaping Vliet's piano fragments into guitar and bass lines, which were mostly notated on paper. Harkleroad in 1998 said in retrospect: "We're dealing with a strange person, coming from a place of being a sculptor/painter, using music as his idiom. He was getting more into that part of who he was instead of this blues singer." The band had rehearsed the songs so thoroughly that the instrumental tracks for 21 of the songs were recorded in a single four and a half hour recording session. Van Vliet spent the next few days overdubbing the vocals. The album's title came from its cover artwork, which was photographed and designed by Cal Schenkel; Van Vliet wearing the raw head of a carp, bought from a local fish market and fashioned into a mask by Schenkel.

''Trout Mask Replica'' incorporated a wide variety of musical styles, including blues, avant garde/experimental, and rock. The relentless practice prior to recording blended the music into an iconoclastic whole of contrapuntal tempos, featuring slide guitar, polyrhythmic drumming (with French's drums and cymbals covered in cardboard), honking saxophone and bass clarinet. Van Vliet's vocals range from his signature Howlin' Wolf inspired growl to frenzied falsetto to laconic, casual ramblings.

The instrumental backing was effectively recorded live in the studio, while Van Vliet overdubbed most of the vocals in only partial synch with the music by hearing the slight sound leakage through the studio window. Zappa said of Van Vliet's approach, "[it was] impossible to tell him why things should be such and such a way. It seemed to me that if he was going to create a unique object, that the best thing for me to do was to keep my mouth shut as much as possible and just let him do whatever he wanted to do whether I thought it was wrong or not."

Van Vliet used the ensuing publicity, particularly with a 1970 ''Rolling Stone'' interview with Langdon Winner, to promulgate a number of myths which were subsequently quoted as fact. Winner's article stated, for instance, that neither Van Vliet nor the members of the Magic Band ever took drugs, but Harkleroad later contradicted this. Van Vliet claimed to have taught both Harkleroad and Boston to play their instruments from scratch; in fact the pair were already accomplished young musicians before joining the band. Last, Van Vliet claimed to have gone a year and half without sleeping. When asked how this was possible, he claimed to have only eaten fruit.

Critic Steve Huey of Allmusic writes that the album's influence "was felt more in spirit than in direct copycatting, as a catalyst rather than a literal musical starting point. However, its inspiring reimagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless experiments in rock surrealism to follow, especially during the punk and New Wave era." In 2003, the album was ranked fifty-eighth by ''Rolling Stone'' in their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: "On first listen, ''Trout Mask Replica'' sounds like raw Delta blues", with Beefheart "singing and ranting and reciting poetry over fractured guitar licks. But the seeming sonic chaos is an illusion—to construct the songs, the Magic Band rehearsed twelve hours a day for months on end in a house with the windows blacked out. (Producer Frank Zappa was then able to record most of the album in less than five hours.) Tracks such as "Ella Guru" and "My Human Gets Me Blues" are the direct predecessors of modern musical primitives such as Tom Waits and PJ Harvey". BBC disc jockey John Peel said of the album: "If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then ''Trout Mask Replica'' is probably that work." It was inducted into the United States National Recording Registry in 2011. '''

Later recordings, 1970–1982

''Lick My Decals Off, Baby''

''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' (1970) continued in a similarly experimental vein. An album with "a very coherent structure" in the Magic Band's "most experimental and visionary stage", it was Van Vliet's most commercially successful in the United Kingdom, spending twenty weeks on the UK Albums Chart and peaking at number 20. An early promotional music video was made of its title song, and a bizarre television commercial was also filmed that included excerpts from "Woe-Is-uh-Me-Bop", silent footage of masked Magic Band members using kitchen utensils as musical instruments, and Beefheart kicking over a bowl of what appears to be porridge onto a dividing stripe in the middle of a road. The video was rarely played but was accepted into the Museum of Modern Art, where it has been used in several programs related to music.

On this LP Art Tripp III, formerly of the Mothers of Invention, played drums and marimba. ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' was the first record on which the band was credited as "''The'' Magic Band", rather than "''His'' Magic Band"; journalist Irwin Chusid interprets this change as "a grudging concession of its members' at least semiautonomous humanity." Robert Christgau gave the album an A-, commenting that "Beefheart's famous five-octave range and covert totalitarian structures have taken on a playful undertone, repulsive and engrossing and slapstick funny". Due to licensing disputes, ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' was unavailable on CD for many years, though it remained in print on vinyl. It was ranked second in ''Uncut'' magazine's May 2010 list of "The 50 Greatest Lost Albums". In 2011, the album became available for download on the iTunes Store.

''The Spotlight Kid'' and ''Clear Spot''

The next two records, ''The Spotlight Kid'' (simply credited to "Captain Beefheart") and ''Clear Spot'' (credited to "Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band"), were both released in 1972. The atmosphere of ''The Spotlight Kid'' is "definitely relaxed and fun, maybe one step up from a jam." And though "things do sound maybe just a little too blasé," "Beefheart at his worst still has something more than most groups at their best." The music is simpler and slower than on the group's two previous releases, the uncompromisingly original ''Trout Mask Replica'' and the frenetic ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby''. This was in part an attempt by Van Vliet to become a more appealing commercial proposition as the band had made virtually no money during the previous two years—at the time of recording, the band members were subsisting on welfare food handouts and remittances from their parents. Van Vliet offered that he "got tired of scaring people with what I was doing... I realized that I had to give them something to hang their hat on, so I started working more of a beat into the music." Magic Band members have also said that the slower performances were due in part to Van Vliet's inability to fit his lyrics with the instrumental backing of the faster material on the earlier albums, a problem that was exacerbated in that he almost never rehearsed with the group. In the period leading up to the recording the band lived communally, first at a compound near Ben Lomond, California and then in northern California near Trinidad. The situation saw a return to the physical violence and psychological manipulation that had taken place during the band's previous communal residence while composing and rehearsing ''Trout Mask Replica''. According to John French, the worst of this was directed toward Harkleroad. In his autobiography Harkleroad recalls being thrown into a dumpster, an act he interpreted as having metaphorical intent.

''Clear Spot'''s production credit of Ted Templeman made Allmusic consider "why in the world [it] wasn't more of a commercial success than it was," and that while fans "of the fully all-out side of Beefheart might find the end result not fully up to snuff as a result, but those less concerned with pushing back all borders all the time will enjoy his unexpected blend of everything tempered with a new accessibility." The song "Big Eyed Beans from Venus" is noted as "a fantastically strange piece of aggression." A ''Clear Spot'' song, "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles", appeared on the soundtrack of the Coen brothers' cult comedy film ''The Big Lebowski'' (1998).

''Unconditionally Guaranteed'' and ''Bluejeans & Moonbeams''

In 1974, immediately after the recording of ''Unconditionally Guaranteed'', which markedly continued the trend towards a more commercial sound heard on some of the ''Clear Spot'' tracks, the Magic Band's original members departed. Disgruntled and past members worked together for a period, gigging at Blue Lake and putting together their own ideas and demos, with John French earmarked as the vocalist. These concepts eventually coalesced around the core of Art Tripp III, Harkleroad and Boston, with the formation of Mallard, helped by finance and UK recording facilities from Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson. Some of French's compositions were used in the band's work, but the group's singer was Sam Galpin and the role of keyboardist was eventually taken by John Thomas, who had shared a house with French in Eureka at the time. At this time Vliet attempted to recruit both French and Harkleroad as producers for his next album, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Andy Di Martino produced both of these Virgin label albums.

Vliet was forced to quickly form a new Magic Band to complete support-tour dates, with musicians who had no experience with his music and in fact had never heard it. Having no knowledge of the previous Magic Band style, they simply improvised what they thought would go with each song, playing much slicker versions that have been described as "bar band" versions of Beefheart songs. A review described this incarnation of the Magic Band as the "Tragic Band", a term that has stuck over the years. Mike Barnes said that the description of the new band "grooving along pleasantly", was "an appropriately banal description of the music of a man who only a few years ago composed with the expressed intent of shaking listeners out of their torpor". The one album they recorded, ''Bluejeans & Moonbeams'' (1974) has, like its predecessor, a completely different, almost soft rock sound from any other Beefheart record. Neither was well received; drummer Art Tripp recalled that when he and the original Magic Band listened to ''Unconditionally Guaranteed'', they "were horrified. As we listened, it was as though each song was worse than the one which preceded it." Beefheart later disowned both albums, calling them "horrible and vulgar", asking that they not be considered part of his musical output and urging fans who bought them to "take copies back for a refund".

''Bongo Fury'' to ''Bat Chain Puller''

By the fall of 1975 the band completed their European tour, with further U.S. dates completed into the New Year of 1976, supporting Zappa along with Dr. John. Van Vliet now found himself stuck in a web of contractual hang-ups. At this point Zappa had begun to extend a helping hand, with Vliet already having performed incognito as ''Rollin' Red'' on Zappa's ''One Size Fits All'' (1975) and then joining with him on the ''Bongo Fury'' album and its later support tour. Two Vliet-penned numbers on the ''Bongo Fury'' album are ''Sam With The Showing Scalp Flat Top'' and ''Man With The Woman Head''. The form, texture and imagery of this album's first track ''Debra Kadabra'', sung by Vliet, has 'angular similarities' to the work he would later produce in his next three albums. On the ''Bongo Fury'' album Vliet also sings "Poofter's Froth, Wyoming Plans Ahead", harmonizes on "200 Years Old" and "Muffin Man" and plays harmonica and soprano saxophone.

In early 1976 Zappa put on his producer hat and, once again, opened up his studio facilities and finance to Vliet. This was for the production of an album provisionally titled ''Bat Chain Puller''. The band were John French (drums), John Thomas (keyboards) and Jeff Moris Tepper and Denny Walley (guitars). Much of the work on this album had been finalized and some demos had been circulated when fate once again struck the Beefheart camp. In May 1976 the long association between Zappa and his manager/business partner Herb Cohen ceased. This resulted in Zappa's finances and ongoing works becoming part of protracted legal negotiations. The ''Bat Chain Puller'' project went 'on ice' and has remained in the Zappa vaults since. Consequently, the thrust and works of this album had to be reworked and recorded again. Some bootlegs on both vinyl and CD, purportedly containing original tracks, have circulated. After this recording John Thomas joined ex-Magic Band members in Mallard.

Prior to his next album Beefheart appeared in 1977 on the Tubes' album ''Now'', playing saxophone on the song "Cathy's Clone", and the album also featured a cover of the ''Clear Spot'' song "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains". In 1978 he appeared on Jack Nitzsche's soundtrack to the film ''Blue Collar''.

''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)''

Having extricated himself from a mire of contractual difficulties Beefheart emerged with this new album, in 1978, on the Warner Bros label. ''Shiny Beast'' contained re-workings of the shelved ''Bat Chain Puller'' album and still retained this works' original guitarist, Jeff Moris Tepper. However, he and Vliet were now joined by a whole new line-up of Richard Redus (guitar, bass and accordion), Eric Drew Feldman (bass, piano and synthesizer), Bruce Lambourne Fowler (trombone and air bass), Art Tripp (percussion and marimba) and Robert Arthur Williams (drums). Thus, the album was suffixed ''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' and took on new musical directions. It was co-produced by Vliet with Pete Johnson. Members of this Magic Band and the 'Bat Chain' elements would later feature on Beefheart's last two albums. ''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' was described by Ned Raggett of Allmusic to be "''...manna from heaven for those feeling Beefheart had lost his way on his two Mercury albums''". Following Vliet's death, John French claimed the 40-second spoken word track "Apes-Ma" to be an analogy of Van Vliet's deteriorating physical condition. The album's sleeve features the Don Van Vliet painting ''Green Tom'', made in 1976. One of the many works that would mark out his longed-for career as a painter of note in later years.

''Doc At The Radar Station''

''Doc at the Radar Station'' (1980) helped establish Beefheart's late resurgence. Released by Virgin Records during the post-punk scene, the music was now accessible to a younger, more receptive audience. He was interviewed in a feature report on KABC-TV's ''Channel 7 Eyewitness News'' in which he was hailed as "the father of the New Wave. One of the most important American composers of the last fifty years, [and] a primitive genius"; Van Vliet said at this period, "I'm doing a non-hypnotic music to break up the catatonic state... and I think there is one right now." Huey of Allmusic cited the ''Doc at the Radar Station'' as being "generally acclaimed as the strongest album of his comeback, and by some as his best since ''Trout Mask Replica''", "even if the Captain's voice isn't quite what it once was, ''Doc at the Radar Station'' is an excellent, focused consolidation of Beefheart's past and then-present". Van Vliet's biographer Mike Barnes speaks of "revamping work built on skeletal ideas and fragments that would have mouldered away in the vaults had they not been exhumed and transformed into full-blown, totally convincing new material." ''Ice Cream for Crow'', along with songs such as its title track, features instrumental performances by the Magic Band with performance poetry readings by Van Vliet. Raggett of Allmusic called the album a "last entertaining blast of wigginess from one of the few truly independent artists in late 20th century pop music, with humor, skill, and style all still intact"; with the Magic Band "turning out more choppy rhythms, unexpected guitar lines, and outré arrangements, Captain Beefheart lets everything run wild as always, with successful results". Barnes writes that "the most original and vital tracks (on the album) are the newer ones", saying that it "feels like an hors-d'oeuvre for a main course that never came". Soon after, Van Vliet retired from music and began a new career as a painter. Gary Lucas tried to convince him to record one more album, but to no avail.

''Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh''

Released in 2004 by Rhino Handmade in a limited edition of 1,500 copies, this prestigious signed and numbered box set contains a "Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh" CD of Vliet-recited poetry, the Anton Corbijn film of Vliet ''Some YoYo Stuff'' on DVD and two art books. One book, entitled ''Splinters'', gives a visual 'scrapbook' insight into Vliet's life, from an early age to his painting in retirement. The second, eponymously titled, book is packed with art pages of Vliet's work. The first is bound in green linen, the second in yellow. These colors are counterpointed throughout the package, which comes in a green slipcase measuring 235 x 325 x 70 mm. An onion-skin wallet, nestling at the package's inner sanctum, contains a matching-numbered Vliet lithograph on hand-rolled paper, signed by the artist. The two books are by publishers "Artist Ink Editions".

Paintings

Throughout his musical career, Van Vliet remained interested in art. He placed his paintings, often reminiscent of Franz Kline's, on several of his albums. In 1987, Van Vliet published ''Skeleton Breath, Scorpion Blush'', a collection of his poetry, paintings and drawings.

In the mid 1980s, Van Vliet became reclusive and abandoned music, stating he had gotten "too good at the horn" and could make far more money painting. Beefheart's first exhibition had been at Liverpool's Bluecoat Gallery during the Magic Band's 1972 tour of the UK. He was interviewed on Granada regional television standing in front of his bold black and white canvases. He was inspired to begin an art career when a fan, Julian Schnabel, who admired the artwork seen on his album covers, asked to buy a drawing from him. His debut exhibition as a serious painter was at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York in 1985 and was initially regarded as that of "another rock musician dabbling in art for ego's sake", though his primitive, non-conformist work has received more sympathetic and serious attention since then, with some sales approaching $25,000. Two books have been published specifically devoted to critique and analysis of his artwork: ''Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet'' (1999) by W.C. Bamberger and ''Stand Up To Be Discontinued'', first published in 1993, a now rare collection of essays on Van Vliet's work. The limited edition version of the book contains a CD of Van Vliet reading six of his poems: "Fallin' Ditch", "The Tired Plain", "Skeleton Makes Good", "Safe Sex Drill", "Tulip" and "Gill". A deluxe edition was published in 1994; only 60 were printed, with etchings of Van Vliet's signature, costing £180.

In the early 1980s Van Vliet established an association with the Michael Werner Gallery. Eric Feldman stated later in an interview that at that time Michael Werner told Van Vliet he needed to stop playing music if he wanted to be respected as a painter, warning him that otherwise he would only be considered a "musician who paints". In doing so, it was said that he had effectively "succeeded in leaving his past behind." Gordon Veneklasen, one of the gallery's directors in 1995 described Van Vliet as an "incredible painter" whose work "doesn't really look like anybody else's work but his own." Van Vliet has been described as a modernist, a primitivist, an abstract expressionist, and an outsider artist. Morgan Falconer of ''Artforum'' concurs, mentioning both a "neo-primitivist aesthetic" and further stating that his work is influenced by the CoBrA painters. The resemblance to the CoBrA painters is also recognized by art critic Roberto Ohrt, while others have compared his paintings to the work of Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Antonin Artaud, Francis Bacon, Vincent van Gogh and Mark Rothko.

According to Dr. John Lane, director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, in 1997, although Van Vliet's work has associations with mainstream abstract expressionist painting, more importantly he is a self-taught artist and his painting "has that same kind of edge the music has." Lane explained that in contrast to the busied, bohemian urban lives of the New York abstract expressionists, the rural desert environment Van Vliet is influenced by is a distinctly naturalistic one, making him a distinguished figure in contemporary art, whose work will survive in canon. Van Vliet has stated of his own work, "I'm trying to turn myself inside out on the canvas. I'm trying to completely bare what I think at that moment" and that "I paint for the simple reason that I have to. I feel a sense of relief after I do". He has stated of precedent influences that there are none. "I just paint like I paint and that's enough influence." He has however stated his admiration of Georg Baselitz, the De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian, and Vincent van Gogh; after seeing van Gogh's paintings in person, Van Vliet quoted himself as saying that "the sun disappoints me so".

Exhibits of his paintings from the late 1990s at both the Anton Kern and Michael Werner Galleries of New York City received favorable reviews, the most recent of which were held between 2009 and 2010. Falconer stated that the most recent exhibitions showed "evidence of a serious, committed artist." It was claimed that he stopped painting in the late 1990s. A 2007 interview with Van Vliet through email by Anthony Haden-Guest, however, showed him to still be active artistically. He exhibited only few of his paintings because he immediately destroyed any that did not satisfy him.

Life in retirement

After his retirement from music, Van Vliet rarely appeared in public. He resided near Trinidad, California, with his wife Janet "Jan" Van Vliet. By the early 1990s he was using a wheelchair as a result of multiple sclerosis.

Van Vliet often voiced concern over and support for environmentalist issues and causes, particularly the welfare of animals. He often referred to Earth as "''God's Golfball''" and this expression can be found on a number of his later albums. In 2003 he was heard on the compilation album ''Where We Live: Stand for What You Stand On: A Benefit CD for EarthJustice'' singing a version of "Happy Birthday to You" retitled "Happy Earthday". The track is 34 seconds long and was recorded over the telephone.

Death

The Michael Werner Gallery announced on Friday, December 17, 2010, that Van Vliet had died at a hospital in Arcata, California, weeks short of his 70th birthday. The gallery stated him to be "a complex and influential figure in the visual and performing arts," and "one of the most original recording artists of his time". The cause was named as complications from multiple sclerosis. Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan commented on his death, praising him: "Wondrous, secret... and profound, he was a diviner of the highest order."

Dweezil Zappa dedicated the song "Willie the Pimp" to Beefheart at the "Zappa Plays Zappa" show at the Beacon Theater in New York City on the day of his death, while Jeff Bridges exclaimed "Rest in peace, Captain Beefheart!" at the conclusion of the December 18 episode of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''.

Relationship with Frank Zappa

Van Vliet met Frank Zappa when they were both teenagers and shared an interest in rhythm and blues and Chicago blues. They collaborated together from this early stage, with Zappa's scripts for 'teenage operettas' such as "Captain Beefheart & The Grunt People" helping to elevate the Van Vliet persona of Captain Beefheart. In 1963, the pair recorded a demo at the Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga as the Soots, seeking support from a major label. Their efforts were unsuccessful, as "Beefheart's Howlin' Wolf vocal style and Zappa's distorted guitar" were "not on the agenda" at the time.

The friendship between Zappa and Van Vliet over the years was sometimes expressed in the form of rivalry as musicians drifted back and forth between their groups. Van Vliet embarked on the 1975 ''Bongo Fury'' tour with Zappa and The Mothers, mainly because conflicting contractual obligations made him unable to tour or record independently. Their relationship grew acrimonious on the tour to the point that they refused to talk to one another. Zappa became irritated by Van Vliet, who drew constantly, including while on stage, filling one of his large sketch books with rapidly executed portraits and warped caricatures of Zappa. Musically, Van Vliet's primitive style contrasted sharply with Zappa's compositional discipline and abundant technique. Mothers of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black described the situation as "two geniuses" on "ego trips". Estranged for years afterwards, they reconnected at the end of Zappa's life, after his diagnosis with terminal prostate cancer. Their collaborative work appears on the Zappa rarity collections ''The Lost Episodes'' (1996) and ''Mystery Disc'' (1996). Particularly notable is their song "Muffin Man", included on the Zappa/Beefheart ''Bongo Fury'' album, as well as Zappa's compilation album ''Strictly Commercial'' (1995). Zappa finished concerts with the song for many years afterwards. Beefheart also provided vocals for "Willie the Pimp" on Zappa's otherwise instrumental album ''Hot Rats'' (1969). One track on ''Trout Mask Replica'', "The Blimp (mousetrapreplica)", features Magic Band guitarist Jeff Cotton talking on the telephone to Zappa superimposed onto an unrelated live recording of the Mothers of Invention (the backing track was later released in 1992 as "Charles Ives" on ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5'' ). Van Vliet also played the harmonica on two songs on Zappa albums: "San Ber'dino" (credited as "Bloodshot Rollin' Red") on ''One Size Fits All'' (1975) and "Find Her Finer" on ''Zoot Allures'' (1976). He is also the vocalist on "The Torture Never Stops (Original Version)" on Zappa's ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4''.

The Magic Band

The members of the original Magic Band had come together in 1965 and, like many rhythm and blues-oriented groups of that era, were influenced by the success of English bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. At this time Van Vliet was simply the lead singer of the group, which had been brought together by guitarist Alex St. Clair. Like many emerging groups in California at the time, there were elements of psychedelia and the foundation of contemporary hippie counterculture.

Thus, it seemed quite logical to promote the group as "Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band", around the concept that Captain Beefheart had 'magic powers' and, upon drinking a 'Pepsi', could summon up "His Magic Band" to appear and perform behind him. The strands of this logic emanating from Vliet's ''Beefheart'' persona having been 'written in' as a character in a 'teenage operetta' that Zappa had formulated, along with Van Vliet's renowned 'Pepsi-moods' with his mother Willy Sue and his generally spoilt teenage demeanor.

Beginning

In late 1965, after numerous car-club dances, juke joint gigs, appearances at the Avalon Ballroom and winning the Teenage Fair 'Battle of the Bands', the group finally bagged a contract for recording two singles with the newly-created A&M; Records label with Leonard Grant as their manager. It was at this time that musical relationships had also been struck with members of Rising Sons who would later feature in the band's recordings. The A&M; deal also brought some contention between members of the band, torn between a career as an experimental 'pop' group and that of a purist blues band. Working with young producer David Gates also opened up horizons for Vliet's skills as a poet-cum-lyricist, with his "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" on the flipside of the band's first single, a cover of the Ellas McDaniel/Willie Dixon-penned hit, "Diddy Wah Diddy". Fate and circumstance, not for the first time, would befall the band's success upon its release - which coincided with a singles cover of the same song by The Remains. The initial line-up of the Magic Band that entered the studio for the A&M; recordings was not that which emerged by the second release, "Moonchild", also backed by a Vliet-penned number, "Frying Pan". A 12" vinyl 45rpm mono EP was later released in 1987, with the four tracks of the two singles, plus "Here I Am, I Always Am" as a fifth previously unreleased song. This release was titled ''The Legendary A&M; Sessions'', with a red-marbled cover and (later) members Moon, Blakely, Vliet, Snouffer and Handley seated in a 'temperance dance band' photo-pose.

The original Magic Band was primarily a rhythm and blues band, led by local Lancaster guitarist Alexis Snouffer, along with Doug Moon (guitar), Jerry Handley (bass), and Vic Mortenson (drums), the last being rotated with and finally replaced by Paul Blakely, known as 'P.G. Blakely'. For the first A&M; recording Mortenson had been called up for active service and Snouffer stood in on drums, with a recently recruited Richard Hepner taking up the guitar role. By the time the single was aired on a pop television show P.G. Blakely was back in the drum seat. He then left for a career in television and was replaced by John French by the time the band cut their first album, as the first release on the new Buddah Records label.

Personnel in the Magic Band for Beefheart's first album, ''Safe as Milk'', were Alex St. Clair, Jerry Handley and John French. Earlier meetings with the Rising Sons had also secured them the guitar and arranging skills of Ry Cooder, which also brought about input from Taj Mahal on percussion and guitar work from Cooder's brother-in-law Russ Titelman. Further guests to this line-up included Milt Holland on percussion and the all-important and controversial theremin work on ''Electricity'' by Dr Samuel Hoffman. It was perhaps this track, above the others, which caused A&M; to view the band as 'unsuitable' for their label with what was seen as weird and too psychedelic for popular consumption. Thus, this album was recorded for Buddah, with the band signed to Kama Sutra, which left them close to penniless after extricating themselves from A&M.; A large proportion of the tracks on this album were co-written with Van Vliet by Herb Bermann, whom Vliet initially met up with at a bar gig near Lancaster. Part-time Hollywood television actor and budding scriptwriter Bermann and his then wife Cathleen spent some time in Vliet's company prior to this release. Bermann would later write for Neil Young and script an early Spielberg-directed television medical drama. Gary 'Magic' Marker (the "Magic" added by Beefheart) was involved in early session work for this release, and his involvement with Rising Sons was also instrumental in acquiring the skills of Cooder, upon an unfulfilled suggestion that Marker might produce the album. Marker would later lay down two uncredited bass tracks for ''Trout Mask Replica'' before being replaced by Mark Boston.

French worked on five more Beefheart albums, while Snouffer worked with Beefheart on and off on three more albums. Bill Harkleroad joined the Magic Band as guitarist for ''Trout Mask Replica'' and stayed with Beefheart through May 1974.

Beefheart takes the lead

While appearing humorous and kind-hearted in public, by all accounts Van Vliet was a severe taskmaster who abused his musicians verbally and sometimes physically. Vliet once told drummer John French he had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and thus he would see inexistent conspiracies that explained this behaviour. The band were reportedly paid little or nothing. French recalled that the musicians' contract with Van Vliet's company stipulated that Van Vliet and the managers were paid from gross proceeds before expenses, then expenses were paid, then the band members evenly split any remaining funds—in effect making band members liable for all expenses. As a result French was paid nothing at all for a 33-city U.S. tour in 1971 and a total of $78 for a tour of Europe and the U.S. in late 1975. In his 2010 memoir ''Beefheart: Through The Eyes of Magic'' French recounted being "screamed at, beaten up, drugged, ridiculed, humiliated, arrested, starved, stolen from, and thrown down a half-flight of stairs by his employer".

The musicians also resented Van Vliet for taking complete credit for composition and arranging when the musicians themselves pieced together most of the songs from taped fragments or impressionistic directions such as "Play it like a bat being dragged out of oil and it's trying to survive, but it's dying from asphyxiation." John French summarized the disagreement over composing and arranging credits metaphorically:

Post-Beefheart, receiving only a "grumpy" reception from him, the band reformed in 2003 with John French on lead vocals, Gary Lucas and Denny Walley on guitars, Rockette Morton on bass, and Robert Williams on drums. At the start of their only European tour, Williams left and was replaced by Michael Traylor. The band released two albums and toured before disbanding in 2006.

They toured the UK in 2005, playing a selection of small venues. John Peel was initially skeptical about the re-formed Magic Band. He played a live recording of the band recorded at the 2003 All Tomorrows Parties festival on his radio show; afterwards he couldn't speak and had to put on another record to regain his composure. Later the band did a live session for him. The band's albums are ''Back To The Front'' (on the London-based ATP Recordings, 2003) and ''21st Century Mirror Men'' (2005). They played over 30 shows throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, and one in the United States. They have been chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he will curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.

Influence

Van Vliet has been the subject of at least two documentaries, the BBC's 1997 ''The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart'' narrated by John Peel, and the 2006 independent production ''Captain Beefheart: Under Review''.

According to Peel, "If there has ever been such a thing as a genius in the history of popular music, it's Beefheart... I heard echoes of his music in some of the records I listened to last week and I'll hear more echoes in records that I listen to this week." His narration added: "A psychedelic shaman who frequently bullied his musicians and sometimes alarmed his fans, Don somehow remained one of rock's great innocents". Mike Barnes referred to him as an "iconic counterculture hero", who with the Magic Band "went on to stake out startling new possibilities for rock music". while John Harris of ''The Guardian'' praised the music's "pulses with energy and ideas, the strange way the spluttering instruments meld together". A ''Rolling Stone'' biography described his work as "a sort of modern chamber music for [a] rock band, since he plans every note and teaches the band their parts by ear. Because it breaks so many of rock's conventions at once, Beefheart's music has always been more influential than popular." In this context, it is performed by the classical group, the Meridian Arts Ensemble. Piero Scaruffi characterize "three basic elements": "the ballad out of tune, with guitar interlaced with jolting rhythm, vocal miasma and a rogue harmonica". Scaruffi ranked ''Trout Mask Replica'' number one on his list of the greatest rock albums of all time. He says that "the distance between Captain Beefheart and the rest of rock music is the same distance that there was between Beethoven and the symphonists of his time". Nicholas E. Tawa, in his 2005 book ''Supremely American: Popular Song in the 20th Century: Styles and Singers and What They Said About America'', included Beefheart among the prominent progressive rock musicians of the 1960s and 70s, while the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' describes Beefheart's songs as conveying "deep distrust of modern civilization, a yearning for ecological balance, and that belief that all animals in the wild are far superior to human beings."

Many artists have cited Van Vliet as an influence, beginning with the Edgar Broughton Band, who covered ''Dropout Boogie'' as Apache Drop Out (mixed with The Shadows' "Apache") as early as 1970 and The Kills coverage of it 32 years later. The Minutemen were fans of Beefheart, and were arguably among the few to effectively synthesize his music with their own, especially in their early output, which featured disjointed guitar and irregular, galloping rhythms. Michael Azerrad describes the Minutemen's early output as "highly caffeinated Captain Beefheart running down James Brown tunes", and notes that Beefheart was the group's "idol". Others who arguably conveyed the same influence around the same time or before include John Cale of The Velvet Underground, Laurie Anderson, The Residents and Henry Cow. Genesis P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, and poet mystic Z'EV, both pioneers of industrial music, cited Van Vliet along with Zappa among their influences. More notable were those emerging during the early days of punk rock, such as The Clash and John Lydon of the Sex Pistols (reportedly to manager Malcolm McLaren's disapproval), later of the post-punk band Public Image Ltd.

Cartoonist and writer Matt Groening tells of listening to ''Trout Mask Replica'' at the age of 15 and thinking "that it was the worst thing I'd ever heard. I said to myself, they're not even trying! It was just a sloppy cacophony. Then I listened to it a couple more times, because I couldn't believe Frank Zappa could do this to me—and because a double album cost a lot of money. About the third time, I realised they were doing it on purpose; they meant it to sound exactly this way. About the sixth or seventh time, it clicked in, and I thought it was the greatest album I'd ever heard." Groening first saw Beefheart and the Magic Band perform in the front row at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in the early 1970s. He later declared ''Trout Mask Replica'' to be the greatest album ever made. He considered the appeal of the Magic Band as outcasts who were even "too weird for the hippies". Groening served as the curator of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that reunited the post–Beefheart Magic Band.

Van Vliet's influence on post–punk bands was demonstrated by Magazine's recording of "I Love You You Big Dummy" in 1978 and the tribute album ''Fast 'n' Bulbous - A Tribute to Captain Beefheart'' in 1988, featuring the likes of artists such as the Dog Faced Hermans, The Scientists, The Membranes, Simon Fisher Turner, That Petrol Emotion, the Primevals, The Mock Turtles, XTC, and Sonic Youth, who included a cover of Beefheart's "Electricity" as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of their 1988 album ''Daydream Nation''. Other post-punk bands influenced by Beefheart include Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Pere Ubu, Babe the Blue Ox and Mark E. Smith of The Fall. The Fall covered "Beatle Bones 'N' Smokin' Stones" in their 1993 session for John Peel. Beefheart is considered to have "greatly influenced" New Wave artists, such as David Byrne of Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo, The Bongos, and The B-52s.

Tom Waits' shift in artistic direction, starting with 1983's ''Swordfishtrombones'', was, Waits claims, a result of his wife Kathleen Brennan introducing him to Van Vliet's music. "Once you've heard Beefheart," said Waits, "it's hard to wash him out of your clothes. It stains, like coffee or blood." Guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers cited Van Vliet as a prominent influence on the band's 1991 album ''Blood Sugar Sex Magik'' as well as his debut solo album ''Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt'' (1994) and stated that during his drug-induced absence, after leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he "would paint and listen to ''Trout Mask Replica''." Black Francis of the Pixies cited Beefheart's ''The Spotlight Kid'' as one of the albums he listened to regularly when first writing songs for the band, and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana acknowledged Van Vliet's influence, mentioning him among his notoriously eclectic range.

The White Stripes in 2000 released a 7" tribute single, ''Party of Special Things to Do'', containing covers of that Beefheart song plus "China Pig" and "Ashtray Heart". The Kills included a cover of "Dropout Boogie" on their debut ''Black Rooster EP'' (2002). The Black Keys in 2008 released a free cover of Beefheart's "I'm Glad" from ''Safe as Milk''. In 2005 Genus Records produced a tribute to Captain Beefheart titled ''Mama Kangaroos'' - ''Philly Women Sing Captain Beefheart.'' Beck included "Safe as Milk" and "Ella Guru" in a playlist of songs as part of his website's ''Planned Obsolescence'' series of mashups of songs by the musicians that influenced him. Franz Ferdinand cited Beefheart's ''Doc At The Radar Station'' as a strong influence on their second LP, ''You Could Have It So Much Better.'' Placebo briefly named themselves Ashtray Heart, after the track on ''Doc at the Radar Station''; the band's album ''Battle for the Sun'' contains a track called "Ashtray Heart". Joan Osborne covered Beefheart's "(His) Eyes are a Blue Million Miles", which appears on ''Early Recordings''. She cited Van Vliet as one of her influences. PJ Harvey and John Parish discussed Beefheart's influence in an interview together. Harvey's first experience of Beefheart's music was as a child. Her parents had all of his albums; listening to them made her "feel ill". Harvey was reintroduced to Beefheart's music by Parish, who lent her a cassette copy of ''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' at the age of 16. She cited him as one of her greatest influences since. Parish described Beefheart's music as a "combination of raw blues and abstract jazz. There was humour in there, but you could tell that it wasn't [intended as] a joke. I felt that there was a depth to what he did that very few other rock artists have managed [to achieve]."

Discography

{| style="width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" |- valign="top" |style="width:50%"|

''Safe as Milk'' (1967)

''Strictly Personal'' (1968)

''Trout Mask Replica'' (1969)

''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' (1970)

''Mirror Man'' (1971)

''The Spotlight Kid'' (1972)

|style="width:50%"|

''Clear Spot'' (1972)

''Unconditionally Guaranteed'' (1974)

''Bluejeans & Moonbeams'' (1974)

''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' (1978)

''Doc at the Radar Station'' (1980)

''Ice Cream for Crow'' (1982)

|}

References

Further reading

Courtier, Kevin (2007). ''Trout Mask Replica''. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-2781-2

Delville, Michel & Norris, Andrew (2005). ''Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and the Secret History of Maximalism''. Cambrdige: Salt Publishing. ISBN 1-84471-059-9.

Harkleroad, Bill (1998). ''Lunar Notes: Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart Experience''. Interlink Publishing. ISBN 0-946719-21-7.

Bamberger, W.C. (1999). ''Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet''. ISBN 978-0-917453-35-9

Beaugrand, Andreas and various (1994). ''Stand Up to Be Discontinued''. (Paperback) ISBN 3-9801320-2-1.

Van Vliet, Don (Captain Beefheart) (1987). ''Skeleton Breath, Scorpion Blush''. (All poems in English, preface in German and English). Bern-Berlin: Gachnang & Springer. ISBN 978-3-906127-15-6

Zappa, Frank & Occhiogrosso, Peter; ''The Real Frank Zappa Book'', Poseidon Press (1989), ISBN 0-671-63870-X

External links

Beefheart.com – The Captain Beefheart Radar Station

Captain Beefheart at Rolling Stone

[ Captain Beefheart at Allmusic]

''Some Yo Yo Stuff'' by Anton Corbijn

Category:1941 births Category:2010 deaths Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:Abstract expressionist artists Category:Alter egos Category:American artists Category:American composers Category:American environmentalists Category:American experimental filmmakers Category:American experimental musicians Category:American harmonica players Category:American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American painters Category:American poets Category:American rock saxophonists Category:American rock singers Category:American sculptors Category:Art rock musical groups Category:Artists from Arizona Category:Artists from California Category:Bands with fictional stage personas Category:Bass clarinetists Category:Blues rock musicians Category:Contemporary painters Category:Deaths from multiple sclerosis Category:Experimental composers Category:Experimental rock groups Category:Frank Zappa Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musical groups established in 1965 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1982 Category:Musicians from Arizona Category:Musicians from California Category:Outsider music Category:People from Glendale, California Category:People with multiple sclerosis Category:Pre-punk groups Category:Progressive rock musicians Category:Protopunk musicians Category:Psychedelic rock musicians Category:Songwriters from California

bs:Captain Beefheart br:Captain Beefheart cs:Captain Beefheart da:Captain Beefheart de:Captain Beefheart el:Ντον Βαν Βλιτ es:Captain Beefheart fr:Captain Beefheart it:Captain Beefheart he:קפטן ביפהארט sw:Captain Beefheart lb:Captain Beefheart hu:Captain Beefheart nl:Captain Beefheart ja:キャプテン・ビーフハート no:Captain Beefheart pl:Captain Beefheart pt:Captain Beefheart ro:Captain Beefheart ru:Captain Beefheart simple:Captain Beefheart sl:Captain Beefheart fi:Captain Beefheart sv:Captain Beefheart

name	Chris Barber
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
born	April 17, 1930Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, EnglandUnited Kingdom
instrument	Trombone
genre	Skiffle, ragtime, swing, blues, trad jazz, folk
occupation	Musician, songwriter, bandleader
label	Lake Records
associated acts	Lonnie Donegan, Ken Colyer
website	Official website
notable instruments	}}

Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber (born 17 April 1930, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England) is best known as a jazz trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with Barber triggered the skiffle craze of the mid 1950s and who had his first transatlantic hit, "Rock Island Line", while with Chris Barber's band. His providing an audience for Donegan and, later, Alexis Korner makes Barber a significant figure in the British rhythm and blues and "Beat boom" of the 1960s.

Biography

Early life

The son of a statistician father and headmistress mother, Barber was educated at St Paul's School in London and the Guildhall School of Music.

Music career (1950s and 1960s)

Barber and Monty Sunshine (clarinet) formed a band in 1953, calling it Ken Colyer's Jazzmen to capitalise on their trumpeter's recent escapades in New Orleans: the group also included Donegan, Jim Bray (bass), Ron Bowden (drums) and Barber on trombone. The band played Dixieland jazz, and later ragtime, swing, blues and R&B;. Pat Halcox took over on trumpet in 1954 when Colyer moved on after musical differences and the band became "The Chris Barber Band".

In April 1953 the band made its debut in Copenhagen. There Chris Albertson recorded several sides for the new Danish Storyville label, including some featuring only Sunshine, Donegan and Barber on double bass. In 1959 the band's version of Sidney Bechet's "Petite Fleur" spent twenty-four weeks in the UK Singles Charts, making it to #3 and selling over over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. After 1959 he toured the United States many times.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Barber was mainly responsible for arranging the first UK tours of blues artists Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and Muddy Waters. This, with the encouragement of local enthusiasts such as Alexis Korner and John Mayall, sparked young musicians such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton and The The Rolling Stones. British rhythm and blues powered the British invasion of the USA charts in the 1960s, yet Dixieland itself remained popular: in January 1963 the British music magazine, ''NME'' reported the biggest trad jazz event in Britain at Alexandra Palace. It included George Melly, Diz Disley, Acker Bilk, Alex Welsh, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer, Sunshine, Bob Wallis, Bruce Turner, Mick Mulligan and Barber.

Barber stunned traditionalists in 1964 by introducing blues guitarist John Slaughter into the line up who, apart from a break between April 1978 and August 1986, when Roger Hill took over the spot, played in the band until shortly before his death in 2010. Barber next added a second clarinet/saxophone and this line-up continued until 1999. Then Barber added fellow trombonist/arranger Bob Hunt and another clarinet and trumpet. This eleven-man "Big Chris Barber Band" offered a broader range of music while reserving a spot in the programme for the traditional six-man New Orleans line-up.

A recording of the Lennon/McCartney composition "Catswalk" can be heard, retitled "Cat Call", on ''The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away''. Written by Paul McCartney the song was recorded in late July 1967 and released as a single in the UK on 20 October 1967.

Recent work

The 2010 line up is; Gregor Beck (drums), Dave Green (double bass, January 2007), John Slaughter (guitar), Joe Farler (banjo & guitar), Chris Barber and Bob Hunt (after an 18 month break, rejoined January 2010) (trombones); Mike Henry and Pete Rudeforth (trumpets), Zoltan Sagi, David Horniblow and Richard Exall (clarinets and alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax). Pat Halcox, trumpeter with the Chris Barber Band since 31 May 1954, retired after playing his last gig with the Big Chris Barber Band on 16 July 2008. Halcox and Barber were together in the band for 54 years - the longest continuous partnership in the history of jazz, exceeding even that of Duke Ellington and Harry Carney (48 years between 1926 and 1974). Tony Carter (reeds) also left the band at this time. Vic Pitt (double bass) retired in January 2007 after 30 years with the band. His feature duet with the drummers of the day - "Big Noise From Winnetka" was not only a feature of the Barber concerts, but also his time with the Kenny Ball band immediately before.

At St. Luke's London, on 9 June 2007 Barber appeared in the horn section of Nick Lowe's band during a concert. In 2008 Barber, along with Eric Clapton and others, were involved in a new cooperative record company, Blues Legacy. On 23 July 2009, Barber, Bilk, and Ball played a one-off concert at Indigo2 at The O2 in Greenwich. The concert was presented by The British Music Experience. He performed at De Doelen in Rotterdam on 12 December 2010.

Select discography

''Bestsellers: Chris Barber & Papa Blue's Viking Jazzband'', 1954

''Original Copenhagen Concert'', (live) 1954

''Chris Barber in Concert'', (live) 1956

''Chris Barber Plays, Vol. 2'', 1956

''Chris Barber Plays, Vol. 3'', 1957

''Chris Barber Plays, Vol. 4'', 1957

''Chris Barber in Concert, Vol. 2'', (live) 1958

"Petite Fleur", 1958

''In Budapest'', 1962

''Louis Jordan Sings'', 1962

''Live in East Berlin'', 1968

''Chris Barber & Lonnie Donegan'', 1973

''Echoes of Ellington, Vol. 1'', 1976

''Echoes of Ellington, Vol. 2'', 1976

''Echoes of Ellington'', 1978

''Take Me Back to New Orleans'', 1980

''Copulatin' Jazz: The Music of Preservation Hall'', 1993

''Live at the BP Studienhaus'', 1997

''Cornbread, Peas & Black Molasses'', (live) 1999

''The Big Chris Barber Band with Special Guest Andy Fairweather Low: As We Like It'', 2009

''Chris Barber's Jazz Band, Chris Barber 1957-58'', 2009

''The Chris Barber Jazz & Blues Band, Barbican Blues'', 2009

''The Big Chris Barber Band, Barber At Blenheim'', 2009

''Chris Barber's Jazz Band with Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sonny, Brownie & Chris'', 2009

''Chris Barber Memories Of My Trip'', 2011

References

External links

Official website

Chris Barber Facebook

Chris Barber Myspace

Chris Barber Twitter

Chris Barber Youtube

[ Chris Barber @ Allmusic]

Category:1930 births Category:Living people Category:People from Welwyn Garden City Category:Dixieland jazz musicians Category:English jazz musicians Category:Jazz bandleaders Category:Jazz trombonists Category:Old Paulines Category:Skiffle Category:Timeless Records artists Category:English bandleaders

de:Chris Barber fr:Chris Barber nl:Chris Barber nds:Chris Barber pl:Chris Barber fi:Chris Barber sv:Chris Barber

Name	Ozzy Osbourne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Michael Osbourne
Born	December 03, 1948Aston, Birmingham, England
Instrument	Vocals, Harmonica
Genre	Heavy metal, hard rock, blues-rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor
Years active	1968–present
Label	Epic, CBS, Jet
Associated acts	Black Sabbath, Kelly Osbourne, Black Label Society, Alice Cooper, Iommi, Rob Zombie, Slash, Firewind
Website	}}

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born December 3, 1948) is an English singer-songwriter and occasional actor, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, a band whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound spawned the heavy metal genre. In his subsequent solo career Osbourne achieved a multi-platinum status in addition to the one he had earned with Black Sabbath. These things are what led Osbourne to become known as the "Godfather of Heavy Metal". It was during his Sabbath days that, due to their dark style of music, Osbourne became known as the "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne has over 15 tattoos, the most famous of which are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles of his left hand. This was his first tattoo, created by himself as a teenager with a sewing needle and pencil lead.

In the early 2000s, Osbourne's career expanded to a new medium when he became a star in his own reality show, ''The Osbournes'', alongside wife/manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack. A documentary about his life and career, ''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'', premiered in April 2011 at the Tribeca Film Festival and will be released on DVD in November 2011. As of December 2010, Osbourne has sold over 100 million albums worldwide.

Early life

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born in Aston, Birmingham, England, on 3 December 1948. His father Jack worked shifts as a toolmaker at GEC. His mother Lillian worked for the car components firm Lucas. John was the fourth of six children. Ozzy had 2 brothers (Paul and Tony) and 3 sisters (Jean, Iris and Gillian); they lived in a small two bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, England. The nickname "Ozzy" was first used when he was in primary school. Although called "John" by his first wife Thelma, Osbourne states that it has been a long time since he's recognised himself when called by his formal name. Osbourne grew up dealing with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. General abuse from teachers at Prince Albert Road Junior School, and Birchfield Road Secondary Modern School in Perry Barr made his childhood difficult for him. Drawn to the stage, Osbourne took part in school plays such as ''The Pirates of Penzance.'' Upon hearing their first hit single at age 14, he became a great fan of The Beatles. He left school at 15 and was then employed as a construction site labourer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner and slaughterhouse worker. He spent six weeks in Winson Green Prison when he was unable to pay a fine after being found guilty of burglary of a clothes shop.

In late 1967, Geezer Butler formed his first band "Rare Breed" with Osbourne. The band played two shows then broke up. Separated for a time, Osbourne and Butler reunited in ''Polka Tulk Blues'' along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They renamed themselves ''Earth,'' but after being booked in error instead of a small-time English circuit band with the same name, they decided to change their name again. They finally chose the name ''Black Sabbath'' in early 1969 based on a film directed by Mario Bava, starring Boris Karloff. The band had noticed how people enjoyed being frightened, and, inspired, Iommi and his partners decided to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording their first album in a castle, Geezer read an occult book and had a dream of a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about the dream and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", one of their first songs in a darker vein.

Musical career

Black Sabbath

Despite only a modest investment from their US record label Warner Bros. Records, Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early records such as their debut album ''Black Sabbath'' and ''Paranoid'' sold huge numbers, as well as getting considerable airplay. Osbourne recalls a band lament, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women."

Just five months after the release of ''Paranoid'' the band released ''Master of Reality.'' The album reached the top ten in both the US and UK, and was certified gold in less than two months. In the 1980s it received platinum certification and went Double Platinum in the early 21^st century. Reviews of the album were unfavorable. Lester Bangs of ''Rolling Stone'' dismissed ''Master of Reality'' as "naïve, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel", although the very same magazine would later place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003. Black Sabbath's ''Volume 4'' was released in September 1972. Critics were again dismissive of the album, yet it achieved gold status in less than a month. It was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell a million copies in the US. In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of ''Rolling Stone'' called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair", and "nothing less than a complete success". ''AllMusic's'' Eduardo Rivadavia call the album a "masterpiece, essential to any heavy metal collection," while also claiming the band displayed "a newfound sense of finesse and maturity". The album marked the band's fifth consecutive platinum selling album in the US, ''Sabotage'' was released in July 1975. Again there were favourable reviews. ''Rolling Stone'' stated, "''Sabotage'' is not only Black Sabbath's best record since ''Paranoid'', it might be their best ever." ''Allmusic'' was not so favorable. They noted that "the magical chemistry that made such albums as ''Paranoid'' and ''Volume 4'' so special was beginning to disintegrate". ''Technical Ecstasy'', released on 25 September 1976, was also met with mixed reviews. ''AllMusic'' gave the album two stars, and noted that the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".

Departure from Black Sabbath

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue interest in a solo project he called ''Blizzard of Ozz.'' Three members of the band ''Necromandus'', who had supported Black Sabbath in Birmingham back in the day when they were called ''Earth,'' did backup for Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto, Canada, writing and recording what would become ''Never Say Die!'' "It took quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody's playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day." Touring in support of ''Never Say Die!'' began in May 1978 with openers Van Halen. Reviewers called Black Sabbath's performance "tired and uninspired," in stark contrast to the "youthful" performance of Van Halen, who were touring the world for the first time. The band filmed a performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in June 1978, which was later released on DVD as ''Never Say Die''. The final show of the tour, and Osbourne's last appearance with the band (until later reunions) was in Albuquerque, New Mexico on 11 December.

In 1979, back in the studio tensions and conflict were present continually. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals over and over, and tracks being manipulated endlessly by Iommi. This was a point of contention between Osbourne and Iommi. With the support of Geezer and Bill Ward, Osbourne was again fired from Black Sabbath. The reasons provided to him were that he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues as compared to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time were no better nor worse than that of the other band members.

Conflict of a sort had existed between Iommi and Osbourne from the beginning. When responding to a flyer reading "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA" posted in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed to speak with ''Ozzy Zig.'' When Osbourne answered the door, Iommi left upon discovering it was him. He knew of and disliked Osbourne from back in their school days. The band replaced him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio.

On 18 August 1980, after a show in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bill Ward was also fired from Black Sabbath. "I was sinking very quickly", Ward later said. "I was an unbelievable drunk, I was drunk twenty-four hours a day. When I went on stage, the stage wasn't so bright. It felt like I was dying inside. The live show seemed so bare, Ron was out there doing his thing and I just went 'It's gone'. I like Ronnie, but musically, he just wasn't for me."

Blizzard of Ozz and ''Diary of a Madman''

In 1980, under the management of Osbourne's then girlfriend (later wife), Sharon Arden, the Ozzy Osbourne Band formed again as The Blizzard of Ozz. The first line-up of the band featured drummer Lee Kerslake (of Uriah Heep), bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley (of Rainbow and later Uriah Heep), keyboardist Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of Quiet Riot). The record company would eventually title the record ''Blizzard of Ozz'' credited simply under Osbourne's name. Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, the album brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. The debut sold very well with hard rock/heavy metal fans. Blizzard of Ozz is one of the very few albums amongst the 100 best selling albums of the 1980s to have achieved multi-platinum status without the benefit of a Top 40 single. As of August 1997, it achieved Quadruple Platinum status according to RIAA. The album is known for the globally recognised singles "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley," and fan favourites "Goodbye to Romance" and "Revelation (Mother Earth)". Although Kerslake and Daisley are credited as the studio musicians for The Blizzard of Ozz, the touring band in support of the album consisted of Osbourne, Rhoads, Rudy Sarzo (Bass) and Tommy Aldridge (Drums).

Osbourne's second album, ''Diary of a Madman'' featured more songs co-written with Bob Daisley. For his work on this album and Blizzard, Randy Rhoads, was ranked the 85th greatest guitarist of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2003. This album is known for the singles "Over the Mountain, "Flying High Again," "Believer," and of course "Diary of a Madman." Osbourne explains in his autobiography that ''Diary'' is his own personal favourite album.

On 19 March 1982 while Rhoads was in Florida for the follow-up ''Diary of a Madman'' tour, and a week away from playing Madison Square Garden in New York City, a light aircraft piloted by Andrew Aycock (the band's tour bus driver) carrying guitarist Randy Rhoads crashed while performing low passes over the band's tour bus. In a prank turned deadly, the right wing of the aircraft clipped the bus, grazed a tree, and crashed into the attached garage of a nearby mansion killing Rhoads, Aycock, and the band's hairdresser, Rachel Youngblood. On autopsy, cocaine was found to be present in Aycock's urine. Experiencing firsthand the horrific death of his close friend and band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression.

Ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme was the first guitarist to replace Randy once the tour resumed. Torme's tenure with the band would last less than one month. During an audition for guitarists in a hotel room, Osbourne selected Brad Gillis (who went on to be one of two guitarists in Night Ranger) to finish the tour. The tour culminated in the release of the 1982 live album, ''Speak of the Devil'' recorded at the Ritz in New York City. A live tribute album for Rhoads was also later released. This album would also feature studio outtakes from a song by Randy taken from "Blizzard of Ozz" called "Dee." It was a song Randy had written for his mother.

''Speak of the Devil''

Despite the difficulties, Osbourne moved on after Rhoads' death. ''Speak of the Devil'', known in the United Kingdom as ''Talk of the Devil'', was originally planned to consist of live recordings from 1981, primarily from Osbourne's solo work. Under contract to produce a cover album of Black Sabbath material, however, the album ended up consisting entirely of Black Sabbath covers, recorded with Brad Gillis, bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. Osbourne later commented (inside the cover of "Tribute") "I don't give a fuck about that album. It was just a bunch of bullshit Sabbath covers."

In 1982, Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist on the Was (Not Was) pop dance track "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)." Madonna performed backing vocals. Osbourne's cut was remixed and re-released in the early 1990s for a Was (Not Was) greatest hits album in Europe, and it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked that her vocal not be restored for the hits package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger were added to complement Osbourne's lead.

''Bark at the Moon'' and ''The Ultimate Sin''

In 1983 a new guitarist was recruited to play with Osbourne. Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record ''Bark at the Moon''. The album, co-written with Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. The album contains the fan favourite "Bark at the Moon." The music video for "Bark at the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway Sanitorium outside of London, England. Within weeks the album became certified gold. To date it has sold three million copies in the U.S.

1986's ''The Ultimate Sin'' followed (with bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo), and touring behind both albums with ex-Uriah Heep keyboardist John Sinclair joining prior to the Ultimate Sin tour. A rich, bold album, it features "Shot in the Dark" and fan favourites "Killer of Giants," "Lightning Strikes," and "Secret Loser." At the time of its release, ''The Ultimate Sin'' was Osbourne's highest charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum status on 26 October 1994.

Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987. Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical dependency. That year he commemorated the fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with ''Tribute'', live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased for years. In 1988, Osbourne appeared in ''The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years'' and told the director, Penelope Spheeris, that "sobriety fucking sucks." Meanwhile, Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, who was the most enduring replacement for Rhoads to date. Together they recorded ''No Rest for the Wicked'' with Castillo on drums, Sinclair on keyboards, and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing bass. The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited with erstwhile Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler on bass. A live EP (entitled ''Just Say Ozzy'') featuring Geezer was released two years later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne for the subsequent four tours, and was a major stage presence throughout. In 1989, Ozzy Osbourne performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.

''No More Tears''

While very successful as a heavy metal act through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's ''No More Tears.'' The album enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure. It also initiated a practise of bringing in outside composers to help pen Osbourne's solo material instead of relying solely upon his recording ensemble to write and arrange the music. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener. Osbourne was awarded his only Grammy for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from live album Live and Loud for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

Wagener also mixed the live album ''Live and Loud'' released in 28 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album. The album went platinum four times over, and ranked at number 10 on that year's ''Billboard'' rock charts.

At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was comically called "No More Tours", a pun on his No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Mike Inez took over on bass and Kevin Jones on keyboards as Sinclair was touring with The Cult. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue was remastered and reissued in 1995.

''Ozzmosis''

In 1995, Osbourne released ''Ozzmosis'' and returned to touring, dubbing his concert performances "''The Retirement Sucks Tour''". The album reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200. The ''Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)'' certified the album gold and platinum in that same year, and 2x platinum in April 1999. The album features the hard rocking fan favourites "Perry Mason," "Ghost Behind My Eyes," "Thunder Underground," and the power ballad "See You on the Other Side."

The line-up on "Ozzmosis" was Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler (who had just quit ''Black Sabbath'' again) and ex-''Bad English'', Steve Vai and ''Hardline'' drummer Deen Castronovo, now in Journey. Keyboards were played by ''Yes'''s Rick Wakeman and producer Michael Beinhorn. The tour maintained Butler and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but a major line-up change was the introduction of ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes. Wylde was considering an offer to join ''Guns N' Roses.'' Unable to wait for a decision on ''Wylde's'' departure decision, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996, Butler and Castronovo left. Mike Inez (''Alice In Chains'') and Randy Castillo (''Lita Ford'', ''Motley Crue'') filled in. Ultimately, ''Faith No More's'' Mike Bordin and ex-''Suicidal Tendencies'' bassist Robert Trujillo joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest hits package, ''The Ozzman Cometh'' was issued in 1997.

Ozzfest

Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, spiralling many up-and-coming groups who were featured there to broad exposure and commercial success. Some acts shared the bill with a reformed Black Sabbath during the 1997 Ozzfest tour, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida. Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the integrity of, and public familiarity with, the band name ''Black Sabbath.''

Since its start, five million people have attended Ozzfest, which has grossed over US$100 million. The festival also helped promote many new hard rock and heavy metal acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ozzfest helped Osbourne to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales.

In 2005, Osbourne and his wife Sharon starred in an MTV competition reality show entitled "Battle for Ozzfest". A number of yet unsigned bands send one member to compete in a challenge to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible recording contract.

Shortly after Ozzfest 2005, Osbourne announced that he will no longer headline Ozzfest. Although he announced his retirement from Ozzfest, Osbourne came back for one more year, 2006, albeit only closing for just over half the concerts, leaving the others to be closed by System of a Down. He also played the closing act for the second stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on 1 July as well as Randall's Island, NY on 29 July. After the concert in Bristol, Virginia, Osbourne announced he would return for another year of Ozzfest in 2007. Tickets for the 2007 tour were offered to fans free of charge, which led to some controversy. In 2008, Ozzfest was reduced to a one-day event in Dallas, Texas, where Osbourne played, along with Metallica and King Diamond.

Osbourne says he is looking forward to the return of Ozzfest for six dates this summer and is also looking at an 18-month world tour starting at ''The Leas Cliff Hall'' in Folkestone on 29 June to promote his new album, "Scream."

''Down to Earth''

''Down to Earth'', Osbourne's first album of new studio material in seven years, was released on 16 October 2001. A live version filmed in Japan, ''Live at Budokan'' followed. ''Down to Earth'' went gold in 2001, and platinum in 2003. The album features the fan favourite "Dreamer," a song which peaked at number 10 on ''Billboard'''s Mainstream Rock Tracks. In 2003, Osbourne recruited former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted after he left the band in 2000 (and Trujillo replaced him on Metallica's line-up). Both Newsted and Osbourne were enthusiastic about recording an album together.

On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England when he had an accident with his all-terrain vehicle on his estate in Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra. An operation was performed to lift the collarbone, which was believed to be resting on a major artery and interrupting blood flow to the arm. Sharon later revealed that Osbourne had stopped breathing following the crash and was resuscitated by Osbourne's then personal bodyguard, Sam Ruston. While in hospital, Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad, "Changes" with daughter Kelly. In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an artist's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident, aside from some short-term memory problems, he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, in the reunited ''Black Sabbath''.

''Prince of Darkness''

In 2005, Osbourne released a box set called ''Prince of Darkness''. The first and second discs are collections of live performances, B-sides, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy. The fourth disc is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and others.

''Black Rain''

In March 2006, he said that he hoped to release a new studio album soon with long time on-off guitarist, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society. In October 2006, it was announced that Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and Geezer Butler would be touring together again, though not as Black Sabbath, but under the moniker Heaven and Hell (the title of Dio's first Black Sabbath album). The response to the news on Osbourne's website was that Osbourne wished Tony and Ronnie well and that there is only one Sabbath.

Osbourne's album, titled ''Black Rain'', was released on 22 May 2007. Osbourne's first new studio album in almost six years, it featured a more serious tone than previous albums. "I thought I'd never write again without any stimulation...But you know what? Instead of picking up the bottle I just got honest and said, 'I don't want life to go (to pieces)'", Osbourne stated in a ''Billboard'' interview.

''Scream''

Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Black Label Society and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon with a new guitarist in his line-up, Gus G (Firewind, ex-Nightrage, ex-Dream Evil). Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game ''Brütal Legend'' character The Guardian of Metal. In November, Slash featured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify The Dead," and Osbourne with wife Sharon were guest hosts on WWE ''Monday Night Raw''. In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album titled ''Soul Sucka'' with Gus G, Tommy Clufetos (formerly supporting Rob Zombie, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper) on drums, and Blasko (formerly supporting Rob Zombie) on bass. Negative fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention regarding the album title. In respect of fan opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his album would be renamed ''Scream''.

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for ''Scream'' would be 15 June 2010. The release date was later changed to 22 June. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of ''CSI: NY''. The song spent 8 weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Other songs from the album include "Let it Die," "Digging Me Down," "Fearless," and "I Want it More."

Osbourne held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham, followed later that day by an intimate show in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier in the day were given wrist bands, enabling free access to the show.

On 9 August, Ozzy announced that the second single from the album would be "Life Won't Wait" and the video for the song would be directed by his son Jack.

When asked of his opinions on ''Scream'' in an interview, Osbourne announced that he is "already thinking about the next album". Osbourne's current drummer, Tommy Clufetos, has reflected this sentiment, saying that ""We are already coming up with new ideas backstage, in the hotel rooms and at soundcheck and have a bunch of ideas recorded"

Awards

Ozzy Osbourne has been awarded several times for his contributions to the music community.

In 1994, he was awarded a Grammy Award for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from ''Live & Loud'' for Best Metal Performance of 1994.

In 2004, he received an ''NME'' award for "godlike genius".

In 2005, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame along with the other members of Black Sabbath. Osbourne mooned the crowd because of the poor reception given the band while they were playing.

In 2006 was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath band mates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler.

In 2007, Osbourne was honoured at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, along with Genesis, Heart, and ZZ Top. In addition, that year a bronze star honouring Osbourne was placed on Broad Street in Birmingham, England while Osbourne watched. On 18 May Osbourne had received notice that he would be the first inductee into The Birmingham Walk of Stars. He was presented the award by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham. "I am really honored," he said, "All my family is here and I thank everyone for this reception – I'm absolutely knocked out".

In 2008, Osbourne was crowned with the prestigious ''Living Legend'' award in the ''Classic Rock Roll of Honor''. Past recipients include ''Alice Cooper'', ''Lemmy'', ''Jimmy Page'' and ''Slash'', the former Guns N' Roses guitarist, presented the award.

In 2010, Osbourne won the "Literary Achievement" honour for his memoir, ''I Am Ozzy'', at the ''Guys Choice Awards'' at ''Sony Pictures Studio'' in Culver City, California. Osbourne was presented with the award by Sir Ben Kingsley. The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover non-fiction best-seller list.

Osbourne was also a judge for the 6th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Personal life

Ozzy Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game ''World of Warcraft''. Osbourne is a supporter of English association football club Aston Villa, as he grew up in the Aston area close to Villa Park.

Osbourne published a humorous autobiography in October 2009, titled ''I Am Ozzy''. Osbourne says ghost writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has enough material for a second book. A movie adaptation of ''I Am Ozzy'' is also in the works, and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy from England" will get the role over an established actor. Meanwhile, his son Jack is working on a documentary about Osbourne's life and career.

Osbourne also made an appearance at the 30 October 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington D.C.

Marriages and family

Osbourne has been married twice and is the father of six children (five biological, and one adopted). He was first married to Thelma Riley (now a teacher in Leicestershire) and adopted her son, Elliot Kingsley (1966); together they had Jessica Starshine Osbourne Hobbs (20 January 1972) and Louis John Osbourne (1975). He later married Sharon Arden and had three children with her. They are Aimee Osbourne (2 September 1983), Kelly Osbourne (27 October 1984) and Jack Osbourne (8 November 1985). They also took in family friend Robert Marcato after his mother died, but never legally adopted him. Osbourne also has four grandchildren, Isabelle and Harry from his daughter Jessica, and granddaughter Mia and grandson Elijah from son Louis. He wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a b-side on the album Ozzmosis. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Buckinghamshire, England.

It was reported by the ''New York Times'' in 1992 that Osbourne was a member of the Church of England and prayed before each show.

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status via the unlikely success of his own brand of reality television. ''The Osbournes'', a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly and special guest appearances from his son Louis, but not their eldest daughter Aimee, who declined to participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005. To this day Osbourne refuses to watch any episodes, claiming he was stoned during the entire filming.

The success of ''The Osbournes'' led Osbourne and the rest of his family the opportunity to host the 30th Annual American Music Awards in January 2003. The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.

In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van Susteren for that year's event. President Bush noted Osbourne's presence by joking: "The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot of big hit recordings – 'Party with the Animals', 'Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's richest couples, according to the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005, with an estimated £100 million earned from recording, touring and TV shows.

Drug and alcohol abuse

Osbourne has abused drugs and alcohol for most of his life. Although clean and sober now, Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, puzzled at how he has survived 40 years of abuse.

Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol all day, every day. He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon Osbourne (formerly Sharon Arden), had not offered to manage him as a solo artist.

In 1982 while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress because she had hidden his clothes, Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a cenotaph erected in honour of those who died at the Alamo in Texas, across the street from the actual building. A police officer arrested him, and Osbourne was subsequently banned from the city of San Antonio for a decade. He was later arrested May 1984 in Memphis, Tennessee, again for public intoxication.

In 1984, Osbourne toured with Mötley Crüe. The tour is known as one of the "craziest drug and alcohol-fuelled tours in the history of rock and roll". It is rumoured that while heavily intoxicated, Osbourne snorted a line of ants, in competition with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, who had set fire to himself the night before.

Osbourne experienced tremors for some years and linked them to his continuous drug abuse. In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease. Osbourne will have to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition. Osbourne has also shown symptoms of mild hearing loss, as depicted in the television show, ''The Osbournes'', where he often asks his family to repeat what they say. At the TEDMED Conference in October 2010, scientists from Knome joined Osbourne on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne’s whole genome, which shed light on how the famously hard-living rocker has survived decades of drug abuse.

Condemnation and lawsuits

Early on in his career, many Christian groups accused Osbourne of being a negative influence for teenagers, and that messages on his songs, his actions, and his stage decorations were portrayals of devil worship used only to glorify Satanism. At least one scholar has compared the controversy surrounding Osbourne and accusations of Satanism to those levelled against the renowned occultist Aleister Crowley. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song "Mr. Crowley". Both Osbourne and Crowley enjoyed the infamy of being labelled Satanists, though Osbourne firmly denies the charge. Some critics condemn both men as anti-Christian.

In 1981, after signing his first solo career record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove during a meeting with some record-company executives in Los Angeles. Apparently he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated at the time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its head off. He then spat the head out, with blood still dripping from his lips. Despite its controversy, this act has been parodied and alluded to several times throughout his career and is part of what made Ozzy Osbourne famous.

On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head off a bat he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2004 ranked this incident number two on its list of "Rock's Wildest Myths." While the ''Rolling Stone'' article stated the bat was alive, the teen who threw it onto the stage said it was brought to the show dead. According to Osbourne himself in the booklet to the 2002 edition of ''Diary of a Madman,'' the bat was not only alive but also managed to bite him, resulting in his having to take rabies shots.

In 1985, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution." The song deals with the dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollums' suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. Despite knowing McCollum suffered clinical depression, his parents sued Ozzy Osbourne (''McCollum v. CBS'') for their son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song, "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out. Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer suggested that Osbourne should be criminally charged for encouraging a young person to commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favor, saying there was no connection between the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne was sued for the same reason in 1991 (''Waller v. Osbourne''), by the parents of Michael Waller, for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's favour in that case as well. One critic claims that Osbourne sings "Get the gun, get the gun, shoot, shoot, shoot," a charge firmly denied by him.

In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them royalties and had denied them due credit on albums they played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the United States District Court in Los Angeles of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former session musicians, who were let go in 1981. To resolve further issues, management chose to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions on the original masters, replacing them with Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. The albums were then reissued.

In July 2010, Osbourne and Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath trademark. As reported to Blabbermouth, "Both parties are glad to put this behind them and to cooperate together for the future and would like it to be known that the issue was never personal, it was always business."

Band members

; Current members (as of 2010)

Gus G. – lead guitar (2009–present)

Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass (2003, 2006–present)

Adam Wakeman – keyboards, rhythm guitar (2004–present)

Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2009–present)

; Recording timeline

rowspan="2" style="width:10%;"	Role	Album
''Blizzard of Ozz''(1980)	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	''Bark at the Moon''(1983)	''The Ultimate Sin''(1986)	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	''No More Tears''(1991)	''Ozzmosis''(1995)	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"	! style="text-align:center; width:8%;"
!Guitars					Gus G.
!Bass		Phil Soussan		Geezer Butler	Robert Trujillo	colspan="2"
!Drums		Tommy Aldridge		Deen Castronovo		Tommy Clufetos
!Keyboards	Don Airey	Johnny Cook	Don Airey		colspan="2"	Rick Wakeman	Tim Palmer/Michael Railo	Zakk Wylde	Adam Wakeman

Discography

;Solo albums

''Blizzard of Ozz'' (1980)

''Diary of a Madman'' (1981)

''Speak of the Devil '' (1982)

''Bark at the Moon'' (1983)

''The Ultimate Sin'' (1986)

''No Rest for the Wicked'' (1988)

''No More Tears'' (1991)

''Ozzmosis'' (1995)

''Down to Earth'' (2001)

''Black Rain'' (2007)

''Scream'' (2010)

References

External links

The Official Ozzy Osbourne Website

Ozzfest Information

Ozzy Osbourne Live Photo Gallery

Category:1948 births Category:Black Sabbath members Category:British harmonica players Category:English male singers Category:English rock singers Category:English heavy metal singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:English expatriates in the United States

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name	Preservation Hall Jazz Band
background	group_or_band
origin	New Orleans, Louisiana
genre	jazz
label	Preservation Hall Recordings
website	http://www.preservationhall.com
notable instruments	}}

Preservation Hall Jazz Band is the name for numerous groups of Dixieland Jazz and traditional jazz bands at Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana, and on tours as organized by the Preservation Hall. The purpose of the Hall has been to preserve the heritage of both New Orleans traditional and Dixieland jazz music born in New Orleans and common to the Riverboats plying the Mississippi River, which spread throughout the South until the early 20th century.

The musicians in the groups have varied during the years since the founding of the hall in the early 1960s.

Bands of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band perform at Preservation Hall on 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter, and tour around the world for more than 150 days a year.

Hurricane Katrina, however, forced Preservation Hall to close through the fall and winter of 2005. Although the building remained shut until April 2006, the band continued to tour while the Hall was closed.

Music groups performing at Preservation Hall predated the name "Preservation Hall Jazz Band". The late Allan Jaffe, a young tuba player who had taken over running the hall, organized tours for the musicians who often performed there, naming the band after the venue. He often played tuba in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. His son, Ben Jaffe, a double bass player and tubist, now leads and performs with the band.

The band has been touring the United States for more than twenty-five years. They seek to preserve the distinctive music that evolved in New Orleans and to bring it to contemporary audiences.

Although similar music sometimes is described now as "Dixieland Jazz", there are distinct characteristics of traditional New Orleans jazz that are not shared among performances often bearing the "Dixieland" label. The latter often is considered as commercial exploitation and distortion of a pure tradition and, therefore, a strict differentiation between the two is made by admirers of what they recognize as "New Orleans Jazz". One may find the term used among traditional New Orleans musicians prior to the change in perception.

The band made a brief appearance in the 1965 film ''The Cincinnati Kid'', including a close-up of pianist and vocalist Emma Barrett.

In 2006, the band was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 2007, the band accepted an invitation to participate in ''Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'', contributing their version of "When The Saints Go Marching In", with Theresa Andersson. On July 19, 2011 Preservation Hall Jazz Band performed "I'll Fly Away" live on Late Show with David Letterman with Del McCoury Band.

Alphabetical lists of personnel

Current members (2009)

Lucien Barbarin - trombone

Mark Braud - trumpet

Frank Demond - trombone

Charlie Gabriel - clarinet and saxophone

Ben Jaffe - bass & tuba

Leroy Jones - trumpet

Joseph Lastie, Jr - drums

Carl Le Blanc - banjo

Freddie Lonzo - trombone

Clint Maedgen - vocalist

Rickie Monie - piano

Walter Payton - bass player

Shannon Powell - drums

Mari Watanabe - piano

Historic members

A partial listing of the musicians who have played under the "Preservation Hall Jazz Band" name includes:

"Sweet Emma" Barrett - pianist

John Brunious - trumpeter

Wendell Brunious - trumpeter

Greg Stafford - trumpeter

Albert Burbank - clarinetist

Raymond Burke - clarinetist

Maynard Chatters - trombonist

Kid Sheik Colar - trumpeter

Manny Crusto (Manuel Mitchell Crusto) - clarinetist (died March 18, 2002 at age 83)

Lars Edegran - Piano

Josiah "Cie" Frazier - drummer

Percy Humphrey - trumpeter

Willie Humphrey - clarinetist

Allan Jaffe - tuba player

Ralph H. Johnson, Sr. - clarinet (d. 7 December 2009)

Jeanette Kimball - pianist

Narvin Kimball - banjo player

George Lewis - clarinetist

Punch Miller - trumpeter

Sing Miller - pianist

Louis Nelson - trombonist

Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau - bass player

Walter Payton - double bass

Billie Pierce - pianist

De De Pierce - trumpeter and cornetist

James Prevost - bass

Joseph Robichaux - pianist

Jim Robinson - trombonist

Emanuel Sayles - banjo player

Kid Thomas Valentine - trumpeter

Papa DonVappie - banjo

Dr. Michael White -clarinetist

Partial discography

1964 ''Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band''

1966 ''Billie and De De Pierce and Their PHJB''

1977 ''New Orleans, Vol. 1''

1982 ''New Orleans, Vol. 2''

1982 ''When the Saints Go Marchin' In (New Orleans, Vol. 3)''

1987 ''New Orleans, Vol. 4''

1989 ''The Best of Preservation Hall Jazz Band''

1992 ''Live''

1996 ''In the Sweet Bye and Bye''

1997 ''Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans, La''

1998 ''Because of You''

2001 ''Marching Down Bourbon Street''

2004 ''Preservation Hall Hot 4 With Duke Dejan''

2004 ''Shake That Thing''

2005 ''Sweet Emma''

2005 ''Songs of New Orleans''

2006 ''Preservation Hall - Live At the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival''

2007 ''The Essential Preservation Hall Jazz Band''

2010 ''Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program''

2011 ''American Legacies: The Del McCoury Band with Preservation Hall Jazz Band''

References

William Carter. ''Preservation Hall: Music from the Heart''. 1991. ISBN 0-393-02915-8

Preservation Hall Jazz Band reunites in NYC Associated Press, ''msnbc.msn.com'', September 21, 2005, Retrieved July 24, 2008

External links

History of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Preservation Hall Official site

Preservation Hall Jazz Band Daytrotter Session

Clark Center Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8pm

Letterman Performance Information

Category:American jazz ensembles Category:Dixieland ensembles Category:Dixieland revival ensembles Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Musical groups from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients