Captain Beefheart, legally named Don Glen Vliet, was born January 15, 1941, in Glendale, California, USA. He changed his legal name to Don Van Vliet in 1965. He died December 17, 2010, from complications of multiple sclerosis.

Captain Beefheart was also talented in painting, and this was perhaps his most financially successful calling, in which he became more active when he unofficially retired from music in the early 1980s. In music, he was a singer, composer, producer, lyricist, and played several wind instruments. There was an ever-changing group of supporting musicians (the backup band, if you will) and they were most commonly known as The Magic Band.