Captain Beefheart discography
Studio albums13
Live albums3
Compilation albums22
EPs1
Singles23

The following is a list of official releases by American musician Captain Beefheart. With various line-ups of musicians called The Magic Band, Beefheart released a total of 13 studio albums recorded between 1967 and 1982, after which he left music to concentrate on a career in painting, as Don Van Vliet. His catalogue has since been augmented with extra releases including an EP and various compilations of live material, studio outtakes and greatest hits releases.

In addition to his work with the Magic Band over this period, Beefheart also collaborated with several other musicians, most notably Frank Zappa, a friend from his teenage years with whom he worked intermittently during his musical career.

Main releases

Studio albums

Year Title Notes Magic Band personnel Charts
US UK[1]
1967 Safe as Milk
  • Released on June 29, 1967
  • Label: Buddah (US), Pye (UK)
  • John French
  • Ry Cooder
  • Alex St. Clair
  • Jerry Handley
 — —
1968 Strictly Personal
  • Released in October 1968
  • Label: Blue Thumb (US), Liberty (UK)
  • John French
  • Alex St. Clair
  • Jeff Cotton
  • Jerry Handley
 — —
1969 Trout Mask Replica
  • Released on June 16, 1969
  • Label: Straight
  • John French
  • Jeff Cotton
  • Bill Harkleroad
  • Mark Boston
  • Victor Hayden
 — 21
1970 Lick My Decals Off, Baby
  • Released in December 1970
  • Label: Straight
  • John French
  • Bill Harkleroad
  • Mark Boston
  • Art Tripp
 203 20
1971 Mirror Man
  • Released in April 1971 (recorded 1967)
  • Label: Buddah
  • John French
  • Alex St. Clair
  • Jeff Cotton
  • Jerry Handley
 — 49
1972 The Spotlight Kid
  • Released in January 1972
  • Label: Reprise
  • John French
  • Bill Harkleroad
  • Mark Boston
  • Art Tripp
  • Elliot Ingber
 131 44
1972 Clear Spot
  • Released in October 1972
  • Label: Reprise
  • Bill Harkleroad
  • Mark Boston
  • Art Tripp
  • Roy Estrada
 191 —
1974 Unconditionally Guaranteed
  • Released in April 1974
  • Label: Mercury (US), Virgin (UK)
  • Bill Harkleroad
  • Mark Boston
  • Alex St. Clair
  • Mark Marcellino
  • Art Tripp
 192 —
1974 Bluejeans & Moonbeams
  • Released in November 1974
  • Label: Mercury (US), Virgin (UK)
  • Ira Ingber
  • Gene Pello
  • Mark Gibbons
  • Michael Smotherman
  • Jimmy Caravan
  • Ty Grimes
  • Dean Smith
 — —
1978 Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)
  • Released in October 1978
  • Label: Warner (US), Virgin (UK)
  • Jeff Moris Tepper
  • Bruce Lambourne Fowler
  • Eric Drew Feldman
  • Richard Redus
  • Robert Arthur Williams
 — —
1980 Doc at the Radar Station
  • Released in August 1980
  • Label: Virgin
  • John French
  • Jeff Moris Tepper
  • Eric Drew Feldman
  • Bruce Lambourne Fowler
  • Robert Arthur Williams
 203 —
1982 Ice Cream for Crow
  • Released in September 1982
  • Label: Virgin
  • Jeff Moris Tepper
  • Gary Lucas
  • Richard Snyder
  • Cliff R. Martinez
 — 90
2012 Bat Chain Puller
  • Recorded in 1976
  • Label: Zappa
  • John French
  • John Thomas
  • Jeff Moris Tepper
  • Denny Walley
 — —

EP

Year Title Notes Magic Band personnel
1984 The Legendary A&M Sessions
  • Released in October 1984
  • Label: A&M
  • Features four tracks taken from the band's earliest singles in 1966, and a fifth track recorded in the same year

Live albums

Compilations

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
UK
1967 "Yellow Brick Road" / "Abba Zaba" 57[A] Safe as Milk
1968 "Moonchild" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" 61[A] The Legendary A&M Sessions
1970 "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" / "Yellow Brick Road" — Safe as Milk
"Zig Zag Wanderer" / "Abba Zaba" —
"Pachuco Cadaver" / "Wild Life" — Trout Mask Replica
1972 "Too Much Time" / "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains" — Clear Spot
1974 "Upon the My-O-My" / "Magic Be" — Unconditionally Guaranteed
1978 "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" / "Electricity" — The Captain Beefheart File
"Hard Workin' Man" — Blue Collar Soundtrack
1982 "Ice Cream for Crow" / "Light Reflected Off the Oceands of the Moon" — Ice Cream for Crow

Promotional singles

Year Single Album
1966 "Diddy Wah Diddy" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" The Legendary A&M Sessions
"Moonchild" / "Frying Pan"
1967 "Yellow Brick Road" / "Abba Zaba" Safe as Milk
1970 "Plastic Factory" / "Where There's Woman"
1972 "Click Clack" / "Glider" The Spotlight Kid
"Too Much Time" / "Low Yo Yo Stuff" Clear Spot
"Too Much Time" / "Too Much Time"
"Too Much Time" / "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains"
1974 "Upon the My-O-My" / "I Got Love on My Mind" Unconditionally Guaranteed
"Upon the My-O-My" / "Magic Be"
1978 "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" / "Electricity" The Captain Beefheart File
"Hard Workin' Man" Blue Collar soundtrack
1982 "Ice Cream for Crow" / "Light Reflected Off the Oceands of the Moon" Ice Cream for Crow

Other appearances

with Frank Zappa

See also: Frank Zappa discography

Beefheart may also have performed uncredited (for contractual reasons) on other Zappa albums, including Freak Out! where he can be detected playing harmonica and singing.

Other collaborations

Films

Notes

  1. ^ a b Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".

References

  1. ^ Everyhit.com — UK Top 40 hit database
  2. ^ "Don van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff". IMDb.

External links

Captain Beefheart
Categories