Rolling Stone's Twitter reports that the legendary Don Van Vliet, better known as Captain Beefheart, has died. Van Vliet's work influenced virtually every strain of avant-garde rock that followed. He was 69.

Van Vliet collaborated with Frank Zappa before adopting the Captain Beefheart persona and forming Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, his constantly shifting backing band, in 1964. On the strength of the blues-rock single "Diddy Wah Diddy", Beefheart and his band signed to A&M. After the label rejected their debut album, Beefheart and co. re-recorded many of the songs and eventually released them as the classic 1967 debut album Safe as Milk.

After signing with Zappa's Straight Records, Beefheart released the legendary 1969 double LP Trout Mask Replica. Following that surreal masterpiece, Beefheart recorded and released more albums, seesawing back and forth between euphoric bizarreness and more conventional rock. Beefheart retired from music after 1982's Ice Cream for Crow, retreating to the Mojave Desert and focusing on his visual art. Though his art career was quite successful, he disappeared from public life, reportedly suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Here are some videos of Beefheart in action:

"Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" live in Cannes, 1968:

"She's Too Much for My Mirror" and "My Human Gets Me Blues" live in Belgium, 1969:

"Click Clack" live in Paris, 1973:

"I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby" live:

"Ice Cream for Crow" music video:

Van Vliet talks to David Letterman: