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5 Legendary Eccentric Musicians

Some claim the music is always better when it comes from an eccentric and their beautiful mind. We may not know so much about that,  but what we do know for sure is that these legendary eccentric musicians paved the way for so many of the trailblazers we have today. Individually or collectively, many of…

Some claim the music is always better when it comes from an eccentric and their beautiful mind. We may not know so much about that,  but what we do know for sure is that these legendary eccentric musicians paved the way for so many of the trailblazers we have today. Individually or collectively, many of them did it with their music, style, approach or personalities.

Here are five eccentric legends that have influenced music today.

Roky Erickson

eccentric

Photo Credit: Austin Chronicle

Texas guitarist Roky Erickson was part of the pioneering psychedelic band, the 13th Floor Elevators. Roky’s amazing guitar skills had a profound influence in the 70’s and 80’s. However, the eccentric Erickson believed he was  inhabited by a Martian, and he was jailed for stealing his neighbors’ mail. He was also known to write letters to dead celebrities.

Captain Beefheart

eccentric

Photo Credit: Rolling Stone

The TEMPER!!! Former child prodigy named Don Van Vliet in the late 60s released  his third album, Trout Mask Replica, the era’s psychedelic classic. He always had a bizarre answer to any question an interviewer could give, and was rumoured to have supernatural ability. On his list of eccentric behaviours, Captain Beffheart once threw his drummer down a flight of stairs because he couldn’t “play a strawberry” on the drums. Even more amazingly, he recorded an album by noodling on the piano, asking a musician to transcribe what he played, joining the noodling together and then teaching a band how to play the results.He then recorded his vocals over the music without listening to the backing track being played .

Prince

eccentric

Photo Credit: Rolling Stone

Through his name, the legend was an eccentric royal in the music and pop culture circles. It was all purple rain with the popular musician and producer. He changed his name to a squiggle, performed with “slave” written on his cheek, converted to the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith and refused to allow the use of tape recorders during interviews. Say what you may, but there is no denying Prince’s personality quirks are inextricably tied to his genius.

Aphex Twin

eccentric

Photo Credit: BBC UK

A DJ who uses discs of sandpaper. Aphex Twin lives in a bank, drives a military vehicle and has a submarine. He releases music videos and soundtracks for short films which give adults nightmares, and frequently makes it onto the “most controversial” lists. He is responsible for some of the weirdest and most popular electronica on the planet, an example is his album Syro, which won a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album..

Michael Jackson

Regardless of the bad press around the legend, Michael was as eccentric as they get. We definitely remember the rumours of oxygen tents inside his vast Neverland ranch, the nappy-wearing pet chimpanzees and shrines to Elizabeth Taylor. Different as he was, Michael was, and is still, loved, adored and idolised by many for his musical genius.

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