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.
Lata Mangeshkar vs Runa Laila: In this interview on her 83rd birthday, the Indian Nightingale had said that when Runa Laila came to India for the first time, she went to her first recording for Kalyanji-Anandji even though she had a fever
By Subhash K Jha MUMBAI: Quietly and without fanfare, the Nightingale turned 83 on September 28. Nothing about Lata Mangeshkar is ostentatious. At a time when her peers, colleagues and even juniors have hung up their boots, she continues to rule the roost. The Nightingale spoke at length with Subhash K Jha. Q.After more than 65 years of singing, you continue to be our national treasure.What summits remain for you to conquer? A.(laughs) It’s difficult to put full stops to an artiste’s goals and achievements. Speaking for myself as a singer, new destinations have appeared during the journey of life. One needs an incentive to keep moving forward. The day an artiste feels she has done it all, she’s finished. Whether it’s a writer, actor or a star, he or she should never feel I’ve nothing more to achieve. Q.You said you can only speak as a singer. But you’re much more than that. You’re a symbol of national integration and cultural unity. Every Indian all over the world feels a patriotic pride at the mention of your name. Does that make you feel proud and responsible? A. No, certainly not proud. But yes, it does place a huge responsibility on me. If people expect so much from me, I have to give them something in return. Yes, it’s a huge responsibility. Whatever I’ve got in life is because of the Almighty. You may not agree with me, but I feel I’ve got much more fame and recognition in life than I deserve. Jo diya hai Maalik ne usske liye main jitni baar jhuk ke namaskar karoon kam hi hai. Q.You’ve always said you don’t consider yourself an extraordinary singer. A.But it’s a fact. I don’t. If I start thinking I’m as good as people say my growth as artiste would cease. Humility is the mainstay of an artiste, pride is her downfall. Q.Fans behave with extraordinary restrain with you. They never mob you. They worship you from a distance. Has it been difficult for you to live up to their expectations? A. I’ve had to make many sacrifices all my life. When I was a child my father passed away. There were only sacrifices to be made thereafter. Karna hi padta ttha. I was the eldest child of a family of daughters with only one brother who was the youngest of the lot. Hridayanath was only 4 when our father died. I had to shoulder all the responsibilities. When a person is young he or she’s tempted to shrug off family responsibilities and move on in life.This didn’t happen with me. At least not as far as I know. Even if I strayed, I didn’t keep flowing with the current. I came back and did the right thing by the family.This was God’s will.I had to shoulder familial responsibilities. But whatever I got beyond that, is due to a bit of hard work—yes. But I always feel I’ve got much more than I deserve. Maybe that’s why I have evolved as an artiste. Q. You never set up your own home. Wasn’t that a tremendous sacrifice? A. Han, main maanti hoon. To me, my family and I are one. I never thought of a life separate from my family. Yeh baat kabhi mere dimaag mein ayee hi nahin. Ab to aane ka koi sawaal hi nahin. I have crossed that time in my life. Q. People want to know why you aren’t singing more songs these days. A. Achcha (laughs). Who told you this? Main jitna araam se gaa sakti hoon main gaa rahi hoon. If the younger composers feel they’ve something substantial to offer me – and I’m sure they do – why do they speak about this to others? Why don’t they ask me about it? No one has stopped them. If I want to tell them I don’t want sing for a specific reason then that’s another matter. But unless they ask me how would I know they want me to sing? Mujhe koi sapna to nahin aayega na? Q. Why do you think they hesitate in approaching you? A. Perhaps because I’m such a senior artiste. Maybe they feel inhibited because of my seniority. But I’ve worked well with younger music directors like A.R.Rahman, Vishal, Anu Malik and Jatin-Lalit. I don’t behave any differently with them. I learn a song from them exactly the way I did from more senior composers. I never try to exercise my will on them. Haan, agar mujhe gaana nahin achcha lagta main na keh deti hoon. Lekin mujhe recording mein jaa kar tan-tan karna achcha nahin lagta (laughs). Q. Do you intend to concentrate on non-film albums now? A. I do want to do non-film albums. But not at the cost of my other obligations. As far as singing for films is concerned, I’ll continue to do so for filmmakers with whom I have a personal tuning, like Yashji. He’s like family. I like singing for him. My relations with Rahman are also excellent. I love singing for him. I’d love to continue doing songs like these. Whatever I can do at my age, I will. Naturally I can’t run from studio to studio all day long like I used to. Q.And where are the songs to run around for? A. (laughs) This is a new trend.Youngsters like things like re-mix. So many singers are re-mixing our Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi songs. This too shall pass. We cannot say anything for sure about its impact. Only when it’s done with shall we know for sure. Singers who do re-mixes and cover versions of songs by Rafi Saab, Mukesh Bhaiyya or me do not benefit in any way from singing our songs.They have no repertoire of their own. I wonder what they get out of it! Q. Do you find this deluge of Bhangra music to be healthy for film music? A. We always had Bhangra-folk in film music. But earlier it was used sensibly with reason. It’s okay for a lark. But nowadays they sing and dance the Bhangra wearing anything from skirts to shorts. I can’t see myself approving of this trend, and never mind if people think I belong to the ancient times (laughs). Recently some of my Marathi compositions sung by my sister Asha were very badly re-mixed. My other sister Usha’s lavni songs from Shantaramji’s films – unka bhi halwa banaya (laughs). What to do about it? Aaj kal koi kissi ko kuch nahin keh sakta.To each his own. It’s better to remain quiet. The trend has to end somewhere. Better to sit quietly and watch the show. Q. That’s what you’ve always done. A. Achcha hai na? You suffer less that way and you don’t end up abusing anyone. If you ask me about present-day music I’ll say this much. It’s not all noise. Mohabbatein has melodious music. And didn’t Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam have lovely music? Q. Only you remain the artistic link between the last and current centuries. A. Again I’ll say it’s my parents’ blessings and God’s kindness. Mera contribution hai, yeh main maanti hoon. But what has really kept me going is I’ve never indulged in any kind of politics. I’ve never criticized or pulled down anyone. Perhaps that explains why I’m liked so much even now. Whenever I’ ve been required to sing for the country or for charity I have never stepped back. I’ve always tried to be useful to the country and society. All of us in my family lead a very simple middle-class existence. Right from the start, we’ve never indulged in mud-slinging of any kind. Q. At one time you were accused of indulging in a melodious monopoly.What do you call the monopoly of cacophony today? A. I wouldn’t like to say about that. But people who accused me of practising a monopoly were wrong. The media fuelled the rumours about my monopoly. The first question I was always asked during interviews was about my supposed monopoly. Once I was even asked if I tampered with the equipment during other singers’ recordings. Ab bataayiye main kyon aisa karun? I never bothered with what other singers were doing. When Runa Laila came to India for the first time, I went to her first recording for Kalyanji-Anandji even though I had a fever. They said I was just indulging in dikhawa, that in fact I had gone to see how she sang. Arrey mujhe kya padi hai kaun kaisa gaata hai! Runa Laila met me with lots of affection. Later she too was poisoned against me. Even Vani Jairam, I praised all the time. She still turned around to say I wouldn’t let her sing. Do you know Anuradha Paudwal sang the first song of her career for my brother in a Marathi film directed by Vasant Joglekar? Arrey, forget about female singers, even some male singers accused me of trying to stop them from singing. Ab isska kyon jawaab hai? Anyway I wish them all the best. If they were happy abusing me, then all the best to them. No abuse can make a hole in my soul. (This article first appeared in September 25, 2012) READ ALSO: Lata Mangeshkar had an affair with Bhupen Hazarika, says his widow
