My favorite CB quote: "I wish I didn't have to charge money for my songs, because where I got them from, they were free."

I lived in the same desert small town Don grew up in also. In the 60's some of us played music in a band in garages. That's how I met Don. In those days he would go around to the few different ones, and help them out as much as he could. In 72 he had come back from one of the bands tour in Europe. Asked me if I still had the same guitar. I said yes, but it was on it's last leg and in bad shape. He opened the trunk of his car and got out one of his studio guitars and gave it to me. A 65 Fender with a modified hum bucking pickup on it. Very Unique sound. Still have that guitar today. I eventually bought two more guitars, and was going to give that one back to Don, but sadly he had passed away before I made it back there. So kept it for the memories of the good ole days.

Great interview. If Zappa described Captain Beefheart as "a weird guy" you know that he really was.

I loved early Letterman shows. They had a public access vibe to them and had guests no one else would bring on.

Love this clip. Not only is Don awesome, but it shows how edgy and truly bizarre David Letterman's show was in the 80s. I think people forget this because he evolved into a typical late night show host in the last 15 years or so of his show. But back in the 80s there was nobody else doing the strange low-budget antics that Dave pulled off.

From 1972 to 1982 he aged like 40 yrs...

Ice Cream for Crow was a frenetic masterpiece by the Captain.🐺

I would've loved to see Captain Beefheart on something like the Eric Andre Show lol

One in a million Don truly saw things from a completely other angle Legend

he's so fucking strange it's amazing

Bongo fury is to this day my favorite album of all-time.

The Captain was a genius. Glad I got to see him in concert in 1971

I like the look of relief on Villets face when he realised the audience liked the song. I know he fretted a bit that his avant garde ideas would be lost on the people (and they usually where), but the positive response from lettermans audience was great. They warmed up to him.

I was privileged to see him on stage, about 1972. Awesome.

My roommate and I used to have a bunch of friends over watching Letterman in these days. I recorded this episode on my Berta VCR and watched it probably a hundred times. Nothing beat early & mid-80s Letterman, and Captain Beefheart was the quintessential Dave guest: offbeat, unique and real.

I love the story about his early job selling vacuum cleaners door to door. A prospective customer opens the door and Mr Van Vliet says “This machine sucks!”

I've watched this so many times and I always enjoy it. A true original. Funny without being a bit driven by ego or false modesty. RIP Don Van Vliet.

I love him so much. What a sweet, brilliant man. The TV doesn't deserve him.

Bro that bass player must have felt honored that he said he’s very good and took his hat off too him, I love how him and Zappa shout-out the bands like when Zappa was on arsenio hall, it’s so in their core to stand up for musicians

No one knew when this aired that Van Vliet was already experiencing the early onset symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. We all thought he was drunk, or simply extremely eccentric, or both. Such characters were commonplace at this early period of the nighttime Letterman show. Brother Theodore and so on. But now... It's only correct to follow this clip with the complete - and now legendary - video for "Ice Cream for Crow." Off you go, then!

I forgot to add this.... I was a DJ in Southern Iowa at a real backward radio station at night.we didn't have a lot of things to choose from in albums and I found this "zapped" complitation record and played lick my decals off a few times along with wild man Fisher and and Alice Cooper's earlier stuff.

Great to see a REAL person..refreshing

I remember as a kid in school, I was the only one who had a Capt Beefheart t-shirt. It was from his "Clear Spot" Album. I knew who he was...but none of the other kids did.

Just so unfettered! The Captain rocks. My girl. from Diddy Wha Diddy.

Holy cow! Did he say Mel Blanc, Bill Murray and Hunter Thompson??? I gotta catch Monday's show!

Captain Beefheart was first & foremost an artist, but not merely a musical & visual artist - oh, no, this guy was a constant performance artist. His every waking moment was a performance, an artistic vision, a portion of materials & media to arrange appropriately at that time, in that place. Here, we see him, as always, expressing his vision in his own inimitable fashion, freely, fluently, and effectively portraying the world, the universe, etc., in contemporary style, unabashed, and satisfied with the result.

I watch this interview and anything from Captain every once in a while. It keeps me down to earth 🌍

Oh man, I am old! Captain always was a character, how can you not love this man? RIP Don, you made the world better in so many ways, sorry I never met you.

What's even more fascinating than his music is how he composed and recorded it. Rulebook-out-the- window bananas.

Sometimes you could tell how Dave felt about his guests, especially if he didn't like them. This interview was straight up love.

We ate trout for breakfast lunch and dinner.knew the lyrics like one would know Beatles songs...the dust blows forward the dust blows back......

Well in 2021 a comment I read in a top 100 LPs of all time that had Trout Mask Replica on it said “ The hold Don Van Vliet has on his fans appears to be lifelong! ! “ Captain Beefheart is still a cult item but remarkably he keeps acquiring newer generations of fans which include Classically trained Conservatory students . I think it is not a snowballing effect but a replacement one . We first generation ones will be gone but the torch has & will continued to be passed . A passing of the torch per se with an eternal flame .

Thanks for this Don Giller...this keeps me alive and reminds us that we have to live before we die !

Anytime i feel the need i watch this...i cant even tell u why but i absolutely can tell u why its the most heart warming thing ive ever witnessed. God rest the beef and that old meat man music 😅😅

I think his biggest influence was Howlin Wolf, in terms of the instrumentation and the singing, though he gives everything his own crazy twist.

I was never a watcher of late night celebrity interview shows, but I remember staying up to watch this to see Captain Beefheart. The sandwich gag at the beginning was a concept "borrowed" from the Bob & Ray radio show, where they would have a big splashy introduction to a celebrity and bring out the sandwich they ordered at a restaurant. I'm sure Letterman was very familiar with Bob & Ray.

12/17/2019 Today marks nine years that captain beefheart checked out. R.I.P. captain beefheart.

He seemed like such a good person...And I can see where Tom Waits took his inspiration (to say the least) from the musical style and the story telling....

Don played a big part of my childhood thanks to my older brothers who are now gone or in their seventies now .I knew this guy was different and a genius

This man was like the Marcel Duchamp of rock......totally unique. Saw him in Birmingham in the 70’s....front row,scary!!!!!

Don ain't no freak... that dude was an artiste...able to mix Howlin Wolf with Dali or something like that...I go back to this clip every year. I feel alive when I see this clip

He was a Beat poet and a great painter. Close friend of Zappa. I think his artwork sells for high price. I got to see him in Philly. He made me laugh so hard I cried. 😇

I grew up being introduced to the captain from my dad, doc at the radar station, a great musician, I still listen to him, not every one's cup of tea my mum hated when my dad played it 😁😁😁great memories click clack👍

Off the scale amazing!

I HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR "ORIGINALS" Don was a true Original.

Letterman used to have such great guests in the days when he was hosting Late Night.

He's only about 41 here, but talks and acts like a man in his late 50's or 60's.

At last! "It's Beefheart because I have a beef in my heart against this civilization"----which elsewhere he called "catatonic." It's a lot worse now, Don!

Could you imagine if they had performed Ice Cream for Crow on Letterman that night? What an opportunity squandered.

so eccentric and so cool

One of my favorite artists of all time. Perennially interesting

People now should hope to be so candid in their descriptions of reality. God bless you, Don. You were a beautiful Goddammed weirdo, and we need more like you to keep us all in check...

Does anybody else think no Captain Beefheart no Tom Waits?

Trout Mask Replica was the most daring jazz album ever. It broke ground in very direction.

One of my all-time favorites!

'Ice Cream for Crow' sure got my toes a tappin many years later.

I hope Letterman writes a book one day describing what he thought of all these eccentric great talents he had on his show.

If I was in a deserted island I would take the complete works of J.S.Bach, A.Webern and Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart. I need nothing else than the divine music of bach, the minimalism of webern and the craziness of captain beefheart. You?

actually a very,very talented painter........

a absolute forerunner for Mark e Smith interviews , same genius same pains , peace .

An American Genius.

Damn that sandwich looked good

Captain Beefheart died in 2010 aged 69; I think 'Big eyed beans from Venus' was his finest recording folled by Kandy Korn from the Strictly Personal' LP. And 'Gimme that harp boy' to make it 3.

I almost forget HOW COOL DAVE WAS WAY BACK THEN ...went to see his show so many times ...Always love the captain too

"the sun's so hot, looks like you have three beaks, crow..."

Pretty funny when he puts the Perrier bottle on the chair next to him him and says "no other guests"?

Captain had an artistic mentally that few people were capable of understanding in depth. Most thinking on a different level just thought what the hell...

Thanks for this. This is an excellent share. Love the old on-the-fly editing and including it all. Love CB and why I’ve avoided this interview for so long I do not know! Grrrrrrrr urrrghhh. I’m dying. Bye. Just kidding.

Greatest musical genius. Period

Mel Blanc, Bill Murray and Hunter S. Thompson. AWESOME!

Back in the 1960s, some record albums would have inner sleeves that advertised other records. The inner sleeve of a Frank Zappa LP I bought had an ad for Looney Tunes and Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica LP. I ordered it and fell in love with his music ever since. It's the Blimp Frank, it's the Blimp!

That video was great. Killer track 100%

Great interview.

I remember the day he died. I drove home from somewhere after hearing the news like allllllll broken up. A bit down, the world, dark, the world slower and more physical as it was late and cold, a lonely drive, no music sounded correct for the journey. His would have been fitting.

Fantastic man and artist. Zappa.. Beefheart, what else does one need.

Bryan Cranston could nail a Captain Beefheart role. Would be great to see.

"I've GOT to understand Beefheart!" - Marc Maron ♡ The Captain is so amazing! I am very late. I just started listening a few years ago, and I'm more than happy that I did.

10:13 Trout Mask Replica album cover right-hand wave hadn't changed since 1969

"It is showbusiness, or as close as we can get" Ohhhhhh Dave, all these years on, who would have known just how damn prophetic those words would become.

It WAS that hot. It's so hot. It WAS that hot. Do y... do you like living in the desert? No. This is why I love Beefheart

I was roady for Don. Never been the same since.

That voice is special

beefheart was awesome....and dave gave him respect which is rare.....but beefheart deserves it!!

When that guy came out with sandwich I thought he was Bill Murray and I laughed my ass off.

The drummer Cliff Martinez, on this record, played later for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Incredible stuff man!

Then band started to play Honky Tonk Women which was written around a guitar riff by Don's friend Ry Cooder.

My second cousin on Mother's side. My aunts and uncles were all in town when this aired and we were mortified.

Did Beefheart retire from music and then make an undercover comeback as the Scatman?

My god, he's only a couple months away from turning 42 here. How is that possible?

Love the “chapeau” to Will,Steve,Hiram and Paul.

beefheart and beck would have made some gold together

Genius right there in front of us.

My favorite CB quote: Everyone is colored or you wouldn't be able to see them.

he IS the desert

guy and his band, amazing

Why can't TV shows be like this now? This is literally better than anything on 150 channels of cable TV tonight.

I saw this BACK THEN! Kinda weird for my 14 year old ass to comprehend lol

There are things in his head that most of us haven't had to deal with. Just the same, he seems to have fun in there.

MTV would have been so much cooler if they'd have shown this back then.

God I miss that guy. And Frank too.