Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band

The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The band was formed by guitarist Alex St. Clair with Beefheart as the lead singer; eventually, they morphed into a backing band for him. The rotating lineup featured dozens of performers, many of whom became known by nicknames given to them by Beefheart. In 1974, several members left to form the short-lived group Mallard. In 2003, the Magic Band reformed without Beefheart, who died in 2010, and continued until 2017.The members of the original Magic Band had come together in 1964. At this time Don Van Vliet (later 'Captain Beefheart') was the lead singer of the group, which had been brought together by guitarist and former classmate Alex St. Clair. As in many emerging groups in California at the time, there were elements of psychedelia and the foundations of contemporary hippie counterculture. In this early incarnation they were a blues-rock outfit.The group was promoted as "Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band", on the premise 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 emanated from Vliet's Beefheart persona having been "written in" as a character in a "teenage operetta" that friend Frank Zappa had formulated, along with Van Vliet's renowned "Pepsi moods" with his mother Willie Sue and his generally spoilt teenage demeanor. The name "His Magic Band" changed to "the Magic Band" in 1972.The group played numerous car-club dances and juke joint gigs, and won the Battle of the Bands at the Teenage Fair, an annual event held at the Hollywood Palladium in the 1960s. In late 1965, with Leonard Grant as their manager, the group landed a contract to record two singles with A&M Records. Musical relationships had also been struck with members of Rising Sons, who would later feature in the band's recordings. Working with young producer David Gates opened up horizons for Vliet's skills as a poet-cum-lyricist, with his "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" on the flip side 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 A&M deal also brought some contention between members of the band, who were torn between being an experimental "pop" group and a purist blues band.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.