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.
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Patrick Moore is a freehand drawing artist and freelance music writer.
News East West
BOLLYWOOD: The success of the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag on the late legendary athlete Milkha Singh has triggered a race in Bollywood to make films on sports stars.
While Sanjay Leela Bhansali made a film on Mary Kom with Priyanka playing the role of the world boxing champion, actor John Abraham has now announced to make a film on the greatest Indian wrestler Gama Pehalwan – also known as the Great Gama – under his production house JA Entertainment.
John, who is fresh from getting married in December, will play the role of Gama in the film which is yet to be named.
Actor-director Parmeet Sethi will direct the film. The shooting will begin later this year.
Who was Gama Pehalwan?: The Great Gama was the name of wrestler Ghulam Muhammed who was born in Amritsar in 1880. At age 20, Gama was crowned Rustam-e-Zaman or the World Champion in 1910. His daily diet included 10 litres of milk, one and a half pounds of almond paste, meat, eggs, fruits, etc. About 5ft, 7 inches tall, Gama weighed 200 pounds.
He remained unbeaten throughout his life. Gama's last major bout was at the age of 49 in 1929 when he beat Jesse Petersen in one and a half minutes. But he continued to wrestle into the 1940s.
In 1947, Gama shifted to Lahore where he died in 1960. Indian industrialist GD Birla gave Gama Rs 2,000 and a monthly pension of Rs 300 when the great wrestler suffered heart ailment and asthma and faced financial difficulties. After Birla’s gesture to their wrestler, Pakistan also increased pension for Gama.
[caption id="attachment_90808" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Gama the great when he ruled the world of wrestling.[/caption]
Gama is also famous for lifting a 1200-kg stone in Baroda in 1902. He had gone to Baroda to attend a wrestling tournament. But there was no wrestler who could fight him. So Gama lifted the 12-quintal stone up to his chest and carried it for some distance. This two-and-a-half feet stone is displayed at Baroda Museum, with an inscription telling that Gama had lifted it in December 1902.
Gama has inspired characters of video games such as Street Fighter EX and Shadow Hearts: Covenant.
Bruce Lee was a big fan of Gama.
Farooq Gujjar: Hahaha it’s 2022 you still stuck on indo n Pak wars lol
rajpoot: abe chup kr gyanii baba
rajpoot: you should have to be a man you bloody indians who stole our legend and distorting our history
sanjay arora: Ye duniya ka dastur hai jab koi kuch ban jaata hai tab sab usko apnane chale aate hai..
Successful insaan ka koi mazhab nahi hota..he is the son of universe..
An extra ordinary being..
Idhar toh sab apni hekdi bandh karo..ye mera tumhara..
come out of this stupid behavior and instead of wasting your precious time in these arguments learn from him and try to be strong like him..
Jo kuch bante hai voh apna waqt faaltu ki bahes mein nahi waste karte..
Voh bajrangbali ki bhi pooja karta tha..
Sabka maalik ek hai..so dnt run around in this vicious circle and become progressive...
sanjay arora: After he went to pakistan he started suffering from all the ailments..
Imran Sheikh: Gama the legend was for all of us....... great athlete, disciplined and being remembered even today. Let's celebrate his life rather than behaving like this.... I am Pakistani and a Gama fan.
Khaja pailwan: Gulam-a-mustafa he had not lost even one match in his life.
muzaffar abbas: Gama Pehalwan India Pakistan dono ka thaa.Magar Woh ek Muslim pehalwan thaa or India kaa is liye kehlaya q k tb Pakistan ek mulk ki hesiat she bna nai that lekin jab Pakistan bna to Woh Pakistan mein agaya.is lihaz se gama pehlwan Pakistani hi hua.Agar tab Pakistan hota jab Gama larta that to Woh yakinan Pakistan ki hi numaindigi karta hua dunia ko nazar ata.
prakash Baliya.: Gama pehalwan should be known as an Indian. The partition of this country makes different types of differences in the minds of the people of these two countries.
amar: hahahaha .....
what do you mean by ours..?
during his fame or his time it was one and whole Hindustan......
So stop acting like child.....
Grow up kid .. Be man !!
HASSAN MUSTAFA PATEL: He was born in Gujranwala, not India but present day Pakistan. He migrated to Pakistan so don't steal our legends and claim to be yours.
Izhar: He is lion of India. Born in Amritsar Punjab. His all unbeatable career spend in India. He's Rustam-e-Hind. 
