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SUPPORT ME ON PATREON\n\nWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE\n\nBing Crosby. Frank Sinatra. Elvis. The Beatles. The Cars. \xa0Run-D.M.C. Pearl Jam. The White Stripes. Beyonc\xe9. Billie Eilish.\n\nRiiiight? But what about\u2026\n\nRudy Vallee. Mel Torme. Gene Vincent. The Kinks. Squeeze. The Fat Boys. Soundgarden. The Hives. Rihanna. Grimes.\n\nEvery era is defined by its most popular stars. Or is that just how we remember it? Almost none of the stars in that first list were the top sellers of their decades. Were they influential? Absolutely. The best? Debatable but at least top five in all cases. They all deserve their fame & respect. But even they will name check artists from the decade preceding them that were not so famous. Or MORE ACCURATELY \u2013 these \u201calso-rans\u201d were very famous in their day, and just didn\u2019t have the sales or historical legs to remain in our consciousness as long.\n\nI take for granted that I know not just the big mahoffs, but the second-, third-, and sometimes fourth-tier artists of most eras. Thing is, both revisionist history and subsequent generations often don\u2019t. And what a shame. I\u2019ll take Mel Torme over Frank any day. Squeeze over the Cars. The Hives over the White Stripes. For many of the other top artists, yeah, they\u2019re my faves or just about even. But there\u2019s no way I can diminish the impact of Gene Vincent or the Kinks or \u2026 the Fat Boys.\n\nThe Fat Boys. This week\u2019s pick. A band I was SO into when they came out. A band that maybe didn\u2019t invent but definitely popularized beatboxing. They were the first and biggest to make that happen. A band not afraid to be humorous. Or downright cheesy. Were they better than Run-D.M.C.? Nah. Did I like them more than Run-D.M.C. Nope. But I\u2019d bet most people have heard of THAT band, and very few people remember the Fat Boys, let alone how HUGE they were. So let\u2019s give a moment to all those bands that don\u2019t get as much press or credit, and celebrate how much richer & more diverse every era (or every-THING) is if we dig beneath the surface.\n\nMy music gets nutty & playful now & then. And yeah, hip-hop has always been a huge influence. As for the Fat Boys themselves, I\u2019ve done some beatboxing, and there\u2019s probably no better song of mine to represent their influence than the same one I shared last week, from my band REC\u2019s brand new EP, Syzygy for the Weird:\n\nREC - \u201cMake Me Mic My Mouth\u201d (from the album Syzygy for the Weird)\n\nDo you remember the Fat Boys? Do you remember how HUGE they were? What artists from other eras do you wish people remembered more than the ones everyone already knows? Discuss dammit!\n\n\n--- \n\nThis episode is sponsored by \n\xb7 Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app\n\nSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices