199. Chuck Willis

As what was becoming Rock and Roll moved its way across racial boundaries, Chuck Willis was among the few whose songs reached white audiences. Willis scored hits that showed a progression from Jump Blues to Soul all the while proving to be the “everyman” of the new genre. Willis died at in 1958 at the tender age of thirty where he left behind a string of music that was covered by legends and amateurs ever since. If Willis was a little flashier he might have left more of a visual legacy that could have catapulted him into the Hall already. As it stands now, his best shot could be an induction in the Early Influences category which is possible considering he did have hits (pre-Elvis).