Originally Beefheart had simply been the lead singer of the group, formed by guitarist Alex St. Clair, but eventually they morphed into a backing band for him.

At this time Don Van Vliet (later dubbed Captain Beefheart) was simply the lead singer of the group, which had been brought together by guitarist and former classmate Alex St. Clair.

The group played numerous car-club dances and juke joint gigs, and won the Teenage Fair Battle of the Bands.

[7] The initial line-up of the Magic Band that entered the studio for the A&M recordings was not that which emerged by the second release, "Moonchild", also backed by a Vliet-penned number, "Frying Pan".

This release was titled The Legendary A&M Sessions, with a red-marbled cover and (later) members Moon, Blakely, Vliet, Snouffer and Handley seated in a "temperance dance band" photo-pose.

For the first A&M recording Mortenson had been called up for active service and Snouffer stood in on drums, with a recently recruited Richard Hepner taking up the guitar role.

He then left for a career in television and was replaced by John French by the time the band cut their first album, as the first release on the new Buddah Records label.

Personnel in the Magic Band for Beefheart's first album, Safe as Milk, were Alex St. Clair, Jerry Handley and John French.

Part-time Hollywood television actor and budding scriptwriter Bermann and his then wife Cathleen spent some time in Vliet's company prior to this release.

While appearing humorous and kind-hearted in public, by all accounts Van Vliet was a severe taskmaster who abused his musicians verbally and sometimes physically.

In his 2010 memoir Beefheart: Through The Eyes of Magic French recounted being "... screamed at, beaten up, drugged, ridiculed, humiliated, arrested, starved, stolen from, and thrown down a half-flight of stairs by his employer".

"[12] John French summarized the disagreement over composing and arranging credits metaphorically:[13] If Van Vliet built a house like he wrote music, the methodology would go something like this ...

"...When the house is finished no one gets paid, and Van Vliet has a housewarming party, invites none of the builders and tells the guests he built the whole thing himself.Most of the group quit after the recording of Unconditionally Guaranteed in 1974, owing to years of allegedly abusive treatment by Beefheart, lack of compensation, and dissatisfaction with his new crossover direction.

The group disbanded in 2006 but re-formed in 2011, with Lucas and Traylor replaced by Eric Klerks and Craig Bunch respectively, to play at ATP once again (which was due to take place in November, curated by Jeff Mangum).

[16] The festival was postponed until the following March but they honoured the other UK and Ireland dates which had been booked to coincide with it, the new line-up being dubbed "The Best Batch Yet" by Beefheart song-title-referencing commentators.