Peter's music has been heard on hundreds of radio stations and has been on SiriusXM rotation for over a decade. As a multi-award winning artist, Peter's music has also topped Billboard's Classical and Crossover charts.
For Captain Beefheart, a maverick-artist-musician, who was not just a complicated man but highly demanding and by most accounts very difficult to deal with. It was appropriate that Beefheart's Magic Band was to prominently feature a bassist as accomplished, bold and adventurous as Mark Boston, a.k.a Rockette Morton.
Born on July 14, 1949, Mark began life in the small town of Salem, Illinois before his family moved out to Lancaster, California when he was 13. With a bassist and steel player for a father, Mark gained a great appreciation for country and bluegrass along with the R&B and rock’n’roll that was on the rise. Within a year of the Boston clan moving out to Lancaster, Mark befriended a young guitarist by the name of Bill Harkleroad.
At a time when the bass guitar was seen as the dummy’s instrument, Mark left quite an impression on Bill with his talent and equipment, leading to the two joining forces to form BC And The Cavemen. With Mark’s mother sewing some outfits for them, the band developed a decent reputation, and the two would also play in a band with Jeff Cotton and John French known as Blues In A Bottle. And then a local hero came calling. Or perhaps screaming and howling!
In that same Lancaster scene, Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band were making a big splash as a top flight blues rock outfit, with 'Safe As Milk' having made a strong impression and 'Strictly Personal' being a strong record as well. But even with a sound that was speaking to people, one that perhaps would have been a more pragmatic one as far as a career goes, Don Van Vliet just wasn’t meant for conventional norms.
The Captain had all these ideas, ideas far too out for many, including early members. He needed new musicians, younger and more impressionable ones that wouldn’t object to his ideas. Already having John and Jeff in the band, now 'Drumbo' and Antennae Jimmy Semens, he then recruited Bill, dubbed Zoot Horn Rollo. And on bass, he found Mark Boston, who took the name Rockette Morton due to his love of outer space. And the classic Magic Band was born.
Trout Mask Replica (TMR) wasn’t an easy album to make. Yet even with all the bizarre ideas and the difficulty in preparing those ideas into music, Mark was a total champ through it all. The Beefheart sound is one of great dichotomy, and Mark can capture all of it. He’s so tight and precise, and yet there’s this raw grit and dirt. He’s highly intelligent and sophisticated in his playing, and yet there remains this childlike sense of wonder and curiosity.
He takes after all the great traditional American music, yet out into a whole other realm of time and space. The bass traditionally serves the role of grounding the harmony while locking in with the drums to provide a foundation, yet Mark’s playing often serves as another melody line in the music. In a lot of ways, he’s like a third guitarist that just happens to be playing bass.
The TMR on its own is a legacy few can compete with, and yet Mark contributed to more classic records like "Lick My Decals Off, Baby", "The Spotlight Kid", and "Clear Spot". There on Decals, you get the equivalent of Godfather II. With Mother Art Tripp on marimba and drums rather Jeff on guitar, you get an album that captures a great deal of TMR's brilliance while being brilliant in its own unique way.
Then you get to 'The Spotlight Kid', with bass godliness on cuts like “When It Blows Its Stack”, resulting in a bass solo that often opened shows, yet Mark proves himself just as talented on traditional in-the-pocket styles as demonstrated on cuts like “I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby”. And that thing about bassists being failed guitarists? In the 'Clear Spot', with Mark taking guitar and the rhythm section now being a mini Mothers reunion of Art and Roy Estrada, yet nobody missed a beat. Throughout the record, Bill and Mark’s kinship really shines, their weaving right there with what Bill and Jeff had done, or what was done with Alex St Clair early on.
Of course, dealing with Don was quite a task of its own, so it’s inevitable that Mark and the others would all end up departing by 1974. He and Bill soon formed a group of their own called Mallard. For two albums, the first with Art and having some writing help from John French 'Drumbo', Mallard showed itself a pretty decent blues rock outfit. And giving that it was Mark who finally had a chance to create something that was truly his own rather than helping some achieve their vision, it’s understandably the work that he takes pride in. And over time, he’d end up making a solo record and create some cool artwork of his own, as well as performing with 'Drumbo' in the reformed Magic Band, allowing the music to live and breathe on stage again.
If you’re a Beefheart fan, how can you not love Rockette Morton? Not only a uniquely talented bass player but such a great stage presence full of joy, along with a lovably quirky personality and such a sweet guy. Easily one of my favorites from Magic Band members, you can’t help but smile when thinking about Mark. He’s been through some rough weather, including his health scares, and yet he’s still the same Mark we’ve known and loved all the years.
Happy birthday Mark! Thank you for all you have given us and look forward to more.
___________________
Patrick Moore is a freehand drawing artist and freelance music writer.
Agencies
MUMBAI: Marriages of Bollywood actresses and models with white men are becoming quite common now.
Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta, Radhika Apte and Shriya Saran are some of the famous Bollywood actresses who have tied the knot with white men in the recent past.
Rajshree Shantaram was the first Bollywood actress to marry a white man and leave Mumbai forever. Years later, actress, model and Miss Universe 1992 runner-up Madhu Sapre followed Rajshree in marrying a white man.
Here are the Bollywood actresses and models who married white men:
[caption id="attachment_77974" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Rajshree (right) was the first Bollywood actress to marry a white man (Greg Chapman) and settle abroad.[/caption]
1: Rajshree Shantaram: The daughter of famous filmmaker V Shantaram, Rajshree met and fell in love with American student Greg Chapman while shooting the film Around the World (1967) with Raj Kapoor in the US. They married three years later.
Rajshree was the first Bollywood actress to marry a white man and say goodbye to Bollywood to live in the US. The two are still married. They live in Los Angeles and have a daughter.
[caption id="attachment_75263" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Madhu with husband (left) and in the 1990's famous ad with Milind Soman.[/caption]
2: Madhu Sapre: Born in Mumbai in 1971, Madhu Sapre was India’s first super model.
She shocked India with her naked ads with her then boyfriend Milind Soman
She met her Italian husband Gian Maria Emendatori while he was holidaying in India. The two married in 2001.
The couple live in a small coastal town named Riccione in Italy and have a daughter named Indira.
[caption id="attachment_75264" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Model Sheetal Mallar (left). With husband Andrew Moses (right).[/caption]
3: Sheetal Malar: This Indian super-model, who was also born in Mumbai, married Italian tennis player Andrew Moses.
[caption id="attachment_75265" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Suchitra Pillai with husband.[/caption]
4: Suchitra Pillai: Actress, model and VJ Suchitra Pillai, who was seen in films such as Page 3 and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, married Danish engineer Lars Kjeldsenin 2005. They have a daughter named Annika Kjeldsen.
Born in Kerala in August 1970, Pillai was previously married Pawan Malik.
[caption id="attachment_75266" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Celina Jaitley with husband Peter Haag[/caption]
5: Celina Jaitley: Miss India 2001 and Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley married Austrian businessman Peter Haag in 2005.
The couple have twin sons Viraaj Haag and Winston Haag.
[caption id="attachment_75267" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Preity Zinta with husband Gene Goodenough.[/caption]
6: Preity Zinta: The Bollywood’s dimpled beauty, who was born in Shimla in January 1975, married American businessman Gene Goodenough in 2016.
Preity was in a live-in relationship with Ness Wadia from 2004 to 2009 and previously with model Marc Robinson.
[caption id="attachment_75268" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Radhika Apte with husband Benedict Taylor.[/caption]
7: Radhika Apte: The Pad Man actress, born in Pune in 1985, married British composer Benedict Taylor in 2013. She met him in 2011 in London. They two were in alive-in relationship before they married in 2013.
[caption id="attachment_75269" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Mallika Sherawat with Cyrille Auxenfans.[/caption]
8: Mallika Sherawat: Known as the serial kisser of Bollywood, Mallika Sherawat is married to French tycoon Cyrille Auxenfans.
Though Mallika has been insisting that she is just her `friend’, reports from France in January 2018 said that she and her husband have been evicted from their apartment in posh 16th district of Paris. The couple took the apartment on a monthly rent of 6,054 euros on January 1, 2017. But they paid only one rent, forcing their eviction by a court order.
Born in Hisar in October 1971, the Dirty Politics actress, whose real name is Reema Lamba, was previously married to airlines pilot Karan Singh Gill from 2000 to 2001.
[caption id="attachment_75270" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Kashmira Shah with first American husband (left) and with second husband Krushna.[/caption]
9: Kashmira Shah: Bold actress Kashmira Shah was married to American investment banker Brad Listermann from 2002 to 2007.
She cheated on her husband and fell in love with TV comedian Krushna Abhishek. "I did cheat on Brad by falling in love with Krushna, but I told him of this immediately as I loved Brad as a person too much to keep him in the dark,’’ she said in an interview with a national daily in 2012.
Kashmira and Krushna, whose real name is Abhishek Sharma, married in 2013 and had twins through surrogacy in 2017.
Kashmira is 12 years older than her husband.
10: Shriya Saran: The gorgeous South Indian actress has become the latest diva to marry a white man. After denying rumours of her wedding for month, she has tied the knot with Russian sportsman and entrepreneur Andrei Koscheev.
[caption id="attachment_75584" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Shriya Saran with her husband Andrei Koschheev.[/caption]
READ NEXT: Bollywood actresses who married cricketers
Nidhi: No, they don’t. The only people who seem to have personal crises when they see Indian women with White/Chinese/etc men are Indian men. Too insecure. PS: My boyfriend is English and I am Indian.
PremJi NItwal: This article speaks about sperm rate of Indian men. It's falling gradually due to air pollution.
Hartej: Read your comments bashing White people. And then you act as though Hollywood owes you something. You are way too triggered by this article, and way too arrogant.
Hartej: Don’t be a hypocrite. In Bollywood, White men are always villains and White women—if they aren’t background dancers (just to make a scene more exotic)—are temptresses who are only there to distract an Indian man from his true love, the Indian heroine. Bollywood is TOTALLY closed to any other White roles. So, stop your whining and examine yourself first.
Hartej: Indian men get very insecure when they see an Indian woman with a white man. Ignore this guy.
Hartej: Triggered?
Fakegarbage: Most mixed kids have identity crises
Plenty of mixed Indian and white people in Britain
Katrina kaif, Michael chopra, Rhona mitra
Messedup: This article is a dead emasculation attempt at Indian men
Imagine a fake country called India drawn by white men. Imagine a religion called Hinduism started by white men and a bunch of slaves for the last 1000 years to white people. Now you have articles like this glorifying class A Indian Hindu escorts for white males.
You'll never see this with Pakistani or Afghan guys. You will never see this with black guys in America either.
Indian males who are Hindus are effeminate for even letting this happen
I can't even think of a time I've ever seen a Pakistani women with a white man however Pakistani guys with white females in Britain happens by the millions. Many Pakistani males usually use religion and their masculinity to keep their women under their control. It apparently works because I never seen Pakistani women even go near white guys. They also find white guys to be feminine and not attractive in Britain. Even in Britain. You have these Indian Hindu girls like Priti Patel who are coconuts to the fullest. They you have Naz Shah. She literally defends grooming gangs of white females by Pakistani men even when they're at fault. Even black women find white males as dull and not attractive.
Indian males are a castrated group and they have Hinduism and vegetarianism to blame for it.
Pakistani guys and black guys run trains through so many white women in Britain.
Even Bengali girls don't go for white guys
No doubt, this ganges statue belief system is ruining indian Hindu people
Even the caste system is caucasian based
You have the more caucasian mulatto people on top and the Australoid Dravidian races at the bottom
Fair and lovely commercials dominate Indian television every 5 minutes
India is better off being a Muslim land.
Thetruth: Bollywood belongs to Indian men
Hollywood belongs to white men
Obviously white guys never let Indian guys in Hollywood unless they're nasty apu looking types.
They will not let Hritik Roshan or John Abraham type Indian guys in Hollywood
White men are the biggest rapist in world history. Just look at what they did to Native Americans and all the Aboriginal races
I'm glad those Pakistani guys in Britain are impregnating white females in grooming gangs by the millions.
Pakistani guys would never let one of their Muslim women go near those guys in Britain. This is why you have Princess Diana and Britney spears with Pakistani guys but no major cases in reverse, because Islam keeps women away from white men. Also Islam hyper masculates many guys too. Most Indian Hindu men have to be grade A losers just to even let these class A escorts be with white guys. If a black girl is seen with a white guy. Most black guys call it racist or colonialism in their faces. This is what happened in South Africa when a photo showed of a black actress with a white guy.
Truth Hurts: Bollywood already promotes fair and white passing women more than men. Look at most of the Bollywood actresses, they are all light skinned and some are mixed race. Meanwhile Bollywood actors are allowed to look like normal Indians. Even the female background dancers are white women but never white men. I wonder how Indian men would feel if we started replacing them with white men in Bollywood?
Indian men are the biggest hypocrites. If an Indian girl is dating a white boy you all call her a slut and white worshipper. But if an Indian man is white a white girl all of you get happy and start congratulating him.
Kathleen Wong: Wow! Some People have a very closed mind, we should not judge a person by color , interracial marriages between white and brown should not be called racial , they produce some of the most beautiful kids and besides that , Indian men need to be more open minded about , women who work in the film industry. I am Indian and got married to an Asian man, because not all Indian men treat their wives with the respect they deserve. Those Indian women are happy with their choices just leave them alone! People just need to take care of their lives , before peering in and gossiping about other people, who are actually happy with the choices they made for their lives!
Joseph Suleiman: Wow
shahana: that is rude to hindus and indians
Thetruth: Also Indian men are never allowed in hollywood and are never given any chances. This is a racist attempt on attacking Indian men. Bollywood Indian women are class A whores. Priyanka Chopra and even Deepika Padukone slept with vin diesal and so many other males. We call Lulia Vantur with Salman Khan a wh0re even though bollywood Indian women
Why can't Indian men throw Indian women out of bollywood and get white models instead.
Thetruth: How is this a not racist article in way. Why can't we show Indian men married to white women? Why can't we say Indian men who want to see white women dominate Indian waves. This isn't fair since so many white women want to be in bollywood but get stereotyped as sluts when Hindu Indian women are the biggest sluts out there at the moment. 
