For the greatest American band debate I'm going to nominate Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band.

I fell in love with this band right after I discovered the Black Keys. I read an article where Dan Auerbach called Captain Beefeheart one of his biggest influences in music and I had to hear this guy immediately. It was awesome. The first record I bought was "Safe As Milk", and let me tell you, this thing is the earliest form of garage rock that I ever heard and it was totally awesome. The sound that his band made with their instruments, the distortion and reverb from guitars, the fuzzy bass, the weird drum lines and fills, and Beefheart's voice, it was incredible. I had heard stuff like this before, but not this good. I like garage music. Bands like the Black Keys, the White Stripes, the Hives, Bloc Party and the Heavy are all in my normal rotation, except for the White Stripes now, and it is all great, but it is not Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band.

Look at some of the songs on "Safe As Milk". You have stuff like "I'm Glad", "Abba Zabba", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Grown So Ugly" and "Sure 'Nuff n Yes I Do". All classic and all very different from each other. That's the sign of a great songwriter and a great band. When you can change genres in the course of one album, that takes a boat load of talent and ingenuity. "I'm Glad" is a slower, almost love song, but with the funky instruments playing very fuzzy riffs makes it awesome. "I'm Glad" also has some beautifully written lyrics that come off as legit poetry. Beefheart opining for the good days, saying stuff like, "when we met I was sad, at times I felt really bad, but now I'm glad, I'm glad about the good times, oh, that we had". Wonderful. His backing band, almost sounding like doo wop, is such a great added bonus. "Abba Zabba" is a classic throwback rock song with Beefheart gruffly singing the words to perfection. When he needs to hit higher notes on "Abba Zabba", he knocks that out of the park as well.

Beefheart, his real name is Van Vilet, is one of the greatest writers and musicians of all time. "Zig Zag Wanderer" is your typical 60's rock and roll song made that much cooler by the Magic Band. The guitar and bass are distorted perfection and I could listen to this song over and over again. "Grown So Ugly" has some of the most unique and interesting time changes I've ever heard in one 2 and a half minute song. They start out fast with a heavy guitar riff and Beefheart screaming the lyrics, then just stop completely, come back slow for the verse, then do that over and over again for the glorious duration of the song. I love the Black Keys version of this song,  but the original is so much better and so phenomenal considering when it was recorded.

The opening track to "Safe As Milk", "Sure 'Nuff n Yes I Do" was the perfect gateway to their music for me. It starts out with a fuzzy slide guitar riff, so I'm immediately on board, and it just gets better from there, growing louder and faster and ending with a boom. This song opened my mind to true, original garage rock. Captain Beefeheart and his Magic Band have put out a ton of albums, 9 to be exact, but "Safe As Milk" is the cream of the crop for me. Don't get wrong, their other stuff is very, very good, I just really love "Safe As Milk".

What I really want to touch on for the rest of the blog is the many, many bands that they have influenced and Captain Beefheart's relationship with Frank Zappa. Let's look at the people they have influenced first, There's the afformentioned Black Keys and White Stripes, but they also made a mark with bands and musicians like PJ Harvey, Beck, Franz Ferdinand, LCD Soundsystem, Kurt Cobain, Black Francis of the Pixies, John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and my brother Seth's favorite, Tom Waits. That is a murderer's row of very famous singers, bands, songwriters and musicians. I mean, a guy like Beck, who bends all genres of music, calling Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band is a huge feather in their cap and shows how great of a band they truly were. Even a band like LCD Soundsysytem, that mainly dabbles in the electronica notes how influential they were and covers some of their songs on their records. They may be one of the underrated American bands as well as one of the greatest American bands. That list of people they influenced could go on and on.

Beefheart's friendship and relationship with Frank Zappa helped explain a lot of things abut his musical stylings and just the flat out bizarre stuff he did as a musician. They met each other when they were teenagers and bonded over their love for blues and R&B, according to Wikipedia. They also recorded very early, like when they both broke into the industry, and Zappa helped cultivate the Captain Beefheart persona. Before Beefeheart, Van Vilet was just your everyday studio musician and he performed live with Zappa's band, the Mothers of Invention, who I will definitely write about at another date. As they got older and grew in the industry, sometimes their friendship would turn into a rivalry, like when two brothers fight. They fought because they couldn't tour independently due to contract obligations, thanks again Wikipedia. They fought so much at this time, they wouldn't speak to each other, much like when two brothers fight. They went their separate ways for awhile, but when Zappa was diagnosed with the cancer that would eventually take his life, they reconnected. They went back to recording together in the studio and put out some great songs. Stuff like "Muffin Man" and "Willie the Pimp". They remained friends through Zappa's untimely death and I'm positive they were happy they buried the hatchet and became friends again. Anyone that can work with and be almost as musically accomplished as Frank Zappa is a genius in my book and Van Vilet AKA Captain Beefheart is just that.

I suggest, for the young kids out there, if you like the Black Keys and other similar bands, go back and check out Captain Beefeheart and his Magic Band. That was where they all got their influence.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. His early musical influences included Rockapella, The Zack Attack, and The B Sharps. Be influenced by Ty and follow him on twitter @tykulik.