Don Van Vliet was born in San Francisco in 1943. He studied music at the University of California, Berkeley, and then traveled the world with the rock band "The Mothers of Invention." After forming his own group, "Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band," he released several albums between 1968 and 1973. In 1974, he became a successful solo artist, releasing several critically acclaimed albums including Trout Mask Replica. In 1975 he founded "The Grand Funk Railroad" with bassist Mark Farner
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The band's first album, Closer to Home, was released in 1976. Since then Don has released more than thirty studio albums and performed more than 2,000 live shows around the world. He has also made many appearances on television shows including Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.