Generally, if your musical instrument of choice is a child’s toy, you wouldn’t expect to be a musical success. Augustus Pablo bucked that belief with his electric use of the melodica and as such ushered in a new sound in Reggae. Pablo was very much an accomplished musician who was capable of utilizing other instruments to create beautiful music, but he will always be best known for the additional layer he added to Reggae in the 70’s.

A rare case of an American band finding success in Europe yet virtually unknown in their own country, the Sparks were probably not a group designed to find success in America anyway. Looking like a Novelty act, Sparks was constantly reinventing their sound running the gauntlet of Glam Rock, New Wave, Synth Pop and Chamber Pop. Far more crafted than at first glance they were a key influence on many acts of the New Wave era. British acts are in the Hall, but as a rule they struck it big in the States. Despite their influence and British success, there really isn’t a lot of reason to think that an American band with virtually no American success will get in.

Although they were certainly white, our next listed band proved to be anything but average. The Average White Band was a Scottish group who blazed through the 70’s with a string of Soul, Funk and Disco tunes that displayed technical brilliance. They blurred the expected color lines of music and anyone who just heard them (that is without hearing their ironically titled band name) would never have guessed what they would have looked like and where they were from. Chances are that they may not have had a successful enough run and enough hits for Hall consideration, but they are certainly worth a glance.

The Chantels were very significant historically as they were among the first girl groups to chart with hit songs. They were not as successful (or as good, frankly) as many of the other girl groups that they set the stage for, but they did help to open that door, and they were good enough to get a look from the Hall. They have been nominated before, so their chances for a future induction are actually decent.