There are many artists on this list who are easy to categorize. If you were take one look at Billy Idol, you would assume he was a Punk Rock star, and while he was initially one (with his band Generation X), musically it would be difficult to say that he was the first Punk star of the MTV generation. It would be more accurate to say he was the first star of MTV who “looked” like a Punk superstar.

We hate using an American Idol reference but how many times does Simon and company tell the contestants after they nailed a performance that “they made the song their own”. Somehow, this just seemed like the right quote for Joe Cocker.

It has been said that the Velvet Underground was the Ground Zero for Alternative music. There are levels of truths to that and the disciples they spawned via vinyl were incalculable. Jonathan Richman was a man who was greatly influenced by the Velvets, so much so, it could be argued that he literally picked up where they left off. 

Once again, we are faced with a group that may not belong on this list as they may be better placed in the Early Influences category and could very well get into the Hall under that umbrella. For now we will discuss the merits of The “5” Royales, a group that may have been one of the first vital cogs in Soul music.