Icons highlight IndyStar list of Top 25 Indiana musicians of all time

The entire world sings along to hits made by Indiana natives, from Brazilians who love Axl Rose to Nigerians who adore Michael Jackson.

Rose and Jackson are two superstars highlighted in IndyStar’s list of “25 Top Hoosier Musicians.” The list, originally published as a series in December 2012, includes representatives of blues, pop, country, hip-hop, R&B, rock, classical, jazz, Broadway and punk rock styles.

The roster, revised slightly after five years, includes subjective selections by IndyStar reporter David Lindquist. For this list, a “Hoosier” is defined as someone who helped shape the cultural identity of Indiana or someone whose identity was shaped by the state.

Here’s who made the cut, from No. 25 to No. 1, including YouTube and Spotify playlists:

25. Rusty Redenbacher, inventive voice of Mudkids and Birdmen

Indiana has yet to send a hip-hop act to the top of the charts, but you shouldn’t believe the state lacks a transcendent MC. Rusty Redenbacher, born in Gary in 1970, has a catalog of razor-sharp rhymes stretching across four Mudkids albums with producer/DJ Tyler Knapp, three solo albums and a duo album with Mr. Kinetik. Redenbacher’s songs brim with drama, comedy, romance, intelligence, pride, humility, perseverance, celebration and gratitude. Before the Mudkids, he blazed a trail through Indiana’s hard-rock scene as frontman for Birdmen of Alcatraz.

Essential songs: "MK Hustle,” “Another Journey," “Cashin’ In.”

He said it: "Lyrically, man, I’m always pushing the envelope. I’m John Glenn. I’ve been to space and I’m trying to go back," Redenbacher told IndyStar in 1998.

24. Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon singer and MTV fixture in the ’90s

After earning nine varsity letters at Lafayette's McCutcheon High School, Shannon Hoon left Indiana to pursue his rock 'n' roll dream in Los Angeles. Fellow Hoosier Axl Rose provided an assist by inviting Hoon to sing backing vocals on Guns N' Roses songs and even appear in the video for 1991 single "Don't Cry." Hoon's own band, Blind Melon, took MTV by storm one year later with its "No Rain" single and memorable "Bee Girl" video mascot. Blind Melon sold more than 2 million copies of its debut album, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and performed as part of the 1994 Woodstock festival. Hoon (1967-1995) died two months after the release of Blind Melon's second album, "Soup." An accidental drug overdose was the cause of Hoon's death.

Essential songs: "No Rain,” “Tones of Home," “Three is a Magic Number.”

He said it: "I was never satisfied," Hoon told IndyStar in 1995, "but that wasn't a bad thing for me. I want to do more. I'm never satisfied with what I've done."

23. Bob Flanigan, head of the class for Four Freshmen harmonies

Formed on the campus of Butler University in 1948, the Four Freshmen sang vocal harmonies that defied the rules of math. Bob Flanigan (who grew up in Greencastle), brothers Don and Ross Barbour (Columbus, Ind.) and Hal Kratzsch (Warsaw) spread four voices across what seemed to be five- or six-part harmony. Ross coined the term “purple chords” to describe their lush-sounding arrangements, and Flanigan (1926-2011) sang lead atop the shifting stack of sound. Credited by Brian Wilson as a prime influence on the Beach Boys, the Four Freshmen were Inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.

Essential songs: “It’s a Blue World,” “Poinciana,” “Their Hearts Were Full of Spring.”

He said it: “We think like horn players. The way we blend is due to our approach as instrumentalists,” Flanigan told The Los Angeles Times in 1991.

22. The Rev. Josh Peyton, modern guitar hero of timeless country blues

It wasn't long after Josh Peyton graduated from Westfield High School in 1999 that he began to spread the country-blues gospel popularized by Charley Patton and Furry Lewis in the 1920s. As leader of the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band (featuring his wife, Breezy, on washboard and Maxwell Senteney on drums), Peyton has performed in 32 countries and every state aside from Alaska and Hawaii. Audiences are wowed when he multi-tasks melodies and bass lines on his resonator guitar. Peyton also made a 2016 video featuring his “guitgun” — a three-string guitar that's also an operational shotgun — that's racked up more than 25 million online views.

Essential songs: "Clap Your Hands,” “We Deserve a Happy Ending," “Two Bottles of Wine.”

He said it: "If they played music in Claire's at the mall instead of in bars, I'd go to Claire's at the mall," Peyton told IndyStar in 2017. "I'd suck it up, carry my guitar down there and play. I love making music. I love everything about it."

21. Dale Lawrence, boundary pusher with Gizmos and Boatmen

Dale Lawrence supplied the rootsy jangle when two underground styles — punk and indie rock — surfaced in Indiana. The singer-songwriter played in the second version of the state's first punk band, the Gizmos, and he's led the Vulgar Boatmen through multiple decades of critical acclaim. When the Gizmos made a split album with the West Lafayette-based Dow Jones and the Industrials (a 1980 gem titled "Hoosier Hysteria"), Lawrence served as primary vocalist and songwriter. The Boatmen specialize in clean, refined pop-rock — skittering along a rhythmic path established by Bo Diddley and later subverted by the Velvet Underground.

Essential songs: "Change the World All Around," "Mary Jane," "The Midwest can be Alright."

He said it: "In New York, we got lost in the shuffle and we felt that we were just playing in a void. In Bloomington, at least people disliked us," said Lawrence, telling IndyStar about the Gizmos in a 2000 interview.

20. Scrapper Blackwell, collaborative and influential blues master

The story of blues music doesn’t begin with Robert Johnson, the mysterious 1930s singer-guitarist from Mississippi who captured the imaginations of Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. Johnson borrowed the framework for two of his signature tunes — “Sweet Home Chicago” and “Kindhearted Woman Blues” — from Indianapolis-based musicians Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell and Leroy Carr. Vocalist-pianist Carr and guitarist Blackwell recorded more than 160 songs together between 1928 and 1935. Blackwell Carr Memorial Playground, part of Brookside Park, is named in honor of Blackwell (1903-1962) and Carr (1905-1935).

Essential songs: “Kokomo Blues,” “How Long, How Long Blues,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.”

He said it: “The records sold so fast that the company couldn’t keep them, that’s the truth,” Blackwell on 1928 recording “How Long, How Long Blues,” as told to Jazz Monthly magazine in 1960.

19. Crystal Gayle, ‘Brown Eyes’ singer who became a crossover queen

Crystal Gayle recorded one of the biggest country-pop crossover hits of the 1970s as well as 31 more songs that reached the Top 10 of Billboard magazine's country chart. Born near Van Lear, Ky., in 1951, Brenda Gail Webb was the youngest child of coal miner Melvin "Ted" Webb and Clara Marie Ramey Webb. One of Brenda's seven siblings, Loretta, found country music fame after she married Oliver "Mooney" Lynn. Brenda's parents moved to Wabash in the mid-1950s, and she adopted the stage name Crystal Gayle before releasing debut single "I've Cried (the Blue Right Out of My Eyes)" in 1970. Seven years later, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" made Gayle a mainstream star.

Essential songs: "Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” “I’ll Get Over You," “You and I.”

She said it: "On the weekends, I was always out there in whatever clubs I could get into, the VFWs. I'd get up there with my brother's band and sing a few songs," said Gayle about early performances in Indiana, as told to The Indianapolis News in 1993.

18. Charlie Fuqua, responsible for signature riffs on Ink Spots hits

Most hit songs by the Ink Spots began the same way: in the hands of guitarist Charlie Fuqua. “If I Didn’t Care,” “My Prayer,” “Maybe,” “Do I Worry?” and “I Don’t Want to Set the World On Fire” are difficult to tell apart in their opening moments, because Fuqua applied his signature “bom-ba-dee-da, bom-ba-dee-da” intro to all. The formula worked. The Ink Spots, founded in Indianapolis in 1934, sent 20 songs into the Top 10 of Billboard magazine’s Hit Parade between 1939 and 1949. The original Ink Spots were Fuqua (1910-1970), Jerry Daniels (1915-1995), Ivory “Deek” Watson (1909-1969) and Orville “Hoppy” Jones (1902-1944). In 1989, the Ink Spots became Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees in the category of “Early Influence.”

Essential songs: "If I Didn’t Care,” “My Prayer," “I Don’t Want to Set the World On Fire.”

He said it: “The act was known as King Jack and the Jesters and included Deek Watson, Orville 'Hoppy' Jones, Jerry Daniels and myself. Upon arriving in New York, the group, sitting in Moe Gale's office, tried to figure out a new name for the group. All of a sudden a drop of ink spilled from Moe Gale's fountain pen, and Deek Watson snapped his fingers and said, 'That's it. The Ink Spots,' " Fuqua, recalling the group's origins for The Carolina Times in 1952.

17. Steve Wariner, one of Music City’s few ‘Certified Guitar Players’

Steve Wariner isn’t the flashiest guitar player in Nashville, but he’s recognized as one of the best. Born in Noblesville on Christmas Day, 1954, Wariner is one of just five people to be designated as “Certified Guitar Players” by country music icon Chet Atkins (1924-2001). Atkins gave the title to himself, Wariner, Jerry Reed, Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles. Wariner’s career highlights include four Grammy Awards, more than 30 Top 10 country hits as a performer and three Top 5 country hits in the role of songwriter for other artists. Wariner’s 1998 hit “Holes in the Floor of Heaven” collected Single of the Year and Song of the Year honors at the Country Music Association Awards.

Essential songs: "Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” “Lonely Women Make Good Lovers,” “If I Didn’t Love You.”

He said it: "I remember when I was living in a town called Noblesville. I remember driving around listening to country music on WIRE radio. I'd pull up at a red light and all my friends would be in the next car and there'd be some girls over there. I'd either roll my window up or real quick turn the radio off. I was embarrassed that they might think I was listening to country music. But it's not that way anymore," Wariner, in a 1991 IndyStar interview.

16. Yank Rachell, mandolin ace and patriarch of Indianapolis blues

James “Yank” Rachell lived a low-key life in Indianapolis when the folk music revival exploded in the early 1960s. People wanted to hear the man who played mandolin on 30-year-old country blues recordings, and Tennessee native Rachell was newly widowed and available for gigs. "I didn't have nothing else to do,” Rachell told The Indianapolis Star in 1997. “I went on, me and Sleepy John (Estes) and Hammie Nixon." The trio played the festival circuit in the United States and Europe, waking up the echoes of “Diving Duck Blues” (recorded in Memphis, Tenn., in 1929) and “New Minglewood Blues” (recorded in Memphis in 1930 and frequently covered by the Grateful Dead). To Indianapolis-based musicians, Rachell (1910-1997) was the long-running patriarch of the local blues community. He made “Pig Trader’s Blues,” a 1995 album recorded with guitarist David Morgan, and “Too Hot for the Devil,” a 1997 album recorded with guitarist Pat Webb and harmonica player Allen Stratyner.

Essential songs: "She Caught the Katy," "Diving Duck Blues" "New Minglewood Blues."

He said it: “You’ve got to have that feeling to play the blues,” Yachell told IndyStar in 1992. “Sometimes it makes me cry, I feel so good.”

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15. Paul Mahern, Zero Boys trailblazer and production wizard 

The Zero Boys' "Vicious Circle" album was made Aug. 18-19, 1981, at Keystone Recording in Indianapolis. At age 17, Paul Mahern accomplished enough during those two days to earn his spot on a list of top Hoosier musicians. "Vicious Circle" is a breakneck document of American punk rock, fueled by Mahern's youthful energy and the adept musicianship of Zero Boys' band mates guitarist Terry "Hollywood" Howe, bass player David "Tufty" Clough and drummer Mark Cutsinger. Mahern's adult life has been filled with more time spent in studios, as he's worked as producer or engineer on recordings by Iggy Pop, John Mellencamp, the Blake Babies, the Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band and many more.

Essential songs: "Civilization's Dying," "Livin' in the '80s," "Dirty Alleys, Dirty Minds.”

He said it: “In reality, my life hasn't changed that much. I'm still completely surrounded by music and do exactly what I want to do," Mahern told IndyStar in 2012.

14. Kenny Aronoff, in-demand drummer with star-studded discography

Kenny Aronoff’s name is listed in the liner notes of hundreds of albums, and he’s seated at a drum kit for some of the world’s biggest gigs. In 2009, Aronoff backed an A-list lineup at President Obama’s inauguration celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. Aronoff, who grew up in Massachusetts and studied music at Indiana University, played drums during 2014's "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles." Seventeen years of work in John Mellencamp’s band cemented Aronoff’s reputation as a powerhouse drummer, and tours with Melissa Etheridge, Bob Seger, Fogerty, Joe Cocker, the BoDeans, Smashing Pumpkins and Chickenfoot followed.

Essential songs: John Mellencamp’s “Crumblin’ Down,” the BoDeans’ “You Don’t Get Much,” Hollywood hit “That Thing You Do!”

He said it: “Music makes me feel good. It's a physical thing, it's a mental thing, it's a spiritual thing. Those are the big three. That's what makes a complete person. To be able to play music every day — and get paid for it — the question isn't why do you do it. Why not? You'd be a fool not to,” Aronoff, to IndyStar in 1992.

13. Joshua Bell, violin sensation and Indiana Living Legend

The star power of Joshua Bell, who emerged as a violin sensation at age 14, has yet to burn out or fade. Born in Bloomington, in 1967, Bell is a Grammy Award winner who collected Indiana Living Legend honors from the Indiana Historical Society in 2000. He studied under Indiana University professor Josef Gingold and earned an artist diploma in violin performance in 1989 — the same year Bell made his debut on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.” Bell’s mainstream appeal translated into a 2002 appearance on “Sesame Street,” a 2000 spotlight in People magazine’ ”50 Most Beautiful People” issue and a 2010 PBS special in which Bell’s guest stars included Regina Spektor, Sting, Kristin Chenoweth and fellow IU alum Chris Botti.

Essential songs: “Excerpt from ‘West Side Story Suite,’ ” "Rondeau (Tempo di minuetto)," "Allegro ben ritmato e Deciso."

He said it: “These days, getting a wider audience is really important, with orchestras folding right and left. I'm not trying to popularize the music I play in the way I play it; I just try to open people to it," Bell, to IndyStar in 1993.

12. Janet Jackson, pop superstar who maintained ‘Control’

Janet was the ninth and final child in the musically mighty Jackson family, born after Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael and Randy. By embracing reinvention within dance, pop and R&B styles, Janet’s career eclipsed all but Michael’s. Born in Gary in 1966, Janet Jackson has sold more than 100 million recordings. Her first two albums flopped, but a commercial breakthrough arrived with “Control,” her 1986 statement of independence that yielded five Top 5 singles: “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” “Nasty,” “When I Think of You,” “Control” and “Let’s Wait Awhile.” Jackson’s next four albums — "Rhythm Nation 1814" (1989), "Janet" (1993), "The Velvet Rope" (1997) and "All for You" (2001) — stretched her impact era into the 21st century. 

Essential songs: “Nasty," “When I Think of You,” “That’s the Way Love Goes."

She said it: “I wrote my very first song when I was 9. ‘Fantasy’ is the title. I remember being a kid and my brother Randy, my brother Mike and myself, we have our chores to do after dinner, especially, I remember one night in particular, I was doing dishes, I think Mike was sweeping the floor. And Randy was cleaning off the tables and all the countertops. And that's how we would always create music. We could come up with melodies and then we would add lyrics to them. And we would sing a three part-harmony," Jackson, on “Larry King Live” in 2010.

11. J.J. Johnson, the unlimited innovator of jazz trombone

J.J. Johnson made the trombone a high-profile instrument in bebop jazz, giving it stature in context with Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet and Charlie Parker’s saxophone. "In those days the trombone was a slow instrument, but that didn't matter to J.J.," Indianapolis jazz great Jimmy Coe said following Johnson’s death in 2001. "He opened a new field for trombonists. He was unlimited." Born in Indianapolis in 1924, James Louis Johnson (the “J.J.” nickname sprung from arrangements he initialed) attended Crispus Attucks High School. Johnson’s career highlights include popular collaborative albums made with Danish trombonist Kai Winding, playing on sessions that became Miles Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” album and being honored as an National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master in 1996. For 19 consecutive years, 1955-1973, Johnson was selected as top trombonist in annual Down Beat magazine reader polls.

Essential songs: “Blue ‘n Boogie,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” “Lament.”

He said it: "I've never been preoccupied with speed or technique or agility or any of the things that I'm accused of. I've been preoccupied — and consumed — by performing on the trombone with clarity, definition and logic,” Johnson, to IndyStar in 1995.

10. John Hiatt, your favorite songwriter’s favorite songwriter

Armed with sharp wit and a human touch, John Hiatt has written a mountain of songs popularized by himself and a laundry list of his peers. Bonnie Raitt made a hit of Hiatt’s “Thing Called Love”; Eric Clapton and B.B. King built a collaborative album around Hiatt’s “Riding with the King”; Buddy Guy mined extreme blues from Hiatt’s “Feels Like Rain”; and the Jeff Healey Band reached the Top 5 with Hiatt’s “Angel Eyes.” More than 30 acts covered “Have a Little Faith in Me,” a song that appeared on Hiatt’s “Bring the Family” — his 1987 album that provided a mainstream breakthrough following seven albums that were commercially ignored. Born in Indianapolis in 1952, Hiatt grew up near the intersection of 57th Street and Central Avenue. At 18, he left town for Nashville, Tenn. In 2008, Hiatt received the Americana Music Association’s lifetime achievement award for songwriting. He was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame the same year.

Essential songs: “Have a Little Faith in Me,” “Drive South,” “Slow Turning.”

He said it: "We used to get up a dozen people and ride around in this guy's hearse. We'd inevitably wind up Downtown with quarts of Boone's Farm apple wine wrapped in paper bags — sitting on the Circle or the War Memorial. Figuring it all out, so to speak, only to go back to our parents and realize we didn't have anything figured out," Hiatt in 1999, telling IndyStar about his teenage years.

9. Freddie Hubbard, trumpet great who played with Coltrane and Hancock

From bebop through the fusion era, trumpet/flugelhorn master Freddie Hubbard played jazz with a sense of daring and a knack for versatility. Hubbard, characterized as a “fiery individualist”  by former IndyStar critic Jay Harvey, represented the next big thing in trumpet after the towering careers of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Across a 57-album career, Arsenal Tech High School alum Hubbard (1938-2008) made notable projects for Blue Note Records (including “Ready for Freddie” and “Hub-Tones” in the early 1960s) and CTI Records (including “Red Clay” and “First Light” in the early 1970s). As a supporting player, Hubbard appeared on landmark albums such as Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage,” John Coltrane’s “Ascension,” Eric Dolphy’s “Out to Lunch!” and Wayne Shorter’s “Speak No Evil.”

Essential songs: “Red Clay,” “Arietis,” “Lament for Booker."

He said it: “I've played some things that I don't think too many cats can play that are alive today," Hubbard told the Associated Press in 2008. "Whatever they play, it's not going to surpass that. You see, I played like a tenor saxophone, so a lot of the things with me are kind of different, kind of hard to play.”

8. Axl Rose, Guns N’ Roses bad boy fueled by anti-Indiana sentiments

After hitchhiking from Indiana to California, William B. Bailey adopted the stage name W. Axl Rose and sang in one of the most popular hard rock bands in history. Guns N’ Roses (featuring fellow Hoosier Izzy Stradlin on rhythm guitar) sold 30 million copies of 1987 album “Appetite for Destruction.” The album included songs based on Rose’s memories of authority figures in Indiana (“Out Ta Get Me”) and his perspective on big-city life (breakthrough single “Welcome to the Jungle”). Born in Lafayette in 1962, Rose dropped out of Jefferson High School. As an adolescent, he ran cross-country, sang in the choir and built a police record of minor offenses. Guns N’ Roses melded metal and punk styles to refreshingly jolt a rock scene dominated by hair bands. 

Essential songs: “Sweet Child o' Mine,” “Patience,” “November Rain.”

He said it: "People that I used to go to school with, people that used to hate my guts, want me to invest money in this and that. People say (things) like ‘Axl thinks he's too cool to party with us.’ But those people never wanted to party with me before,” Rose, talking about Indiana to Rolling Stone magazine in 1989.

7. Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, R&B heavyweight and 11-time Grammy winner 

In the words of late IndyStar columnist Lynn Ford, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds was a shy Northside nerd who grew up to be a world champ in pop and R&B. Edmonds has worked on more than 100 hit songs as a singer, songwriter or producer. His 1993 solo album “For the Cool in You” sold 3 million copies. His songwriting credits include Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road,” which spent a record-breaking 13 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart in 1992. His production credits include Madonna’s “Take a Bow” and Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).” In 1999, 17 miles of I-65 were named “Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds Highway” to honor the 11-time Grammy Award winner.

Essential songs: “Whip Appeal,” “For the Cool in You,” “How Come, How Long.”

He said it: "I call success having been lucky and having been blessed. But there are so many things that come with it: pressure, managers, contracts, record companies. There are battles all the way through — making sure you're making what you're supposed to make and getting what you're supposed to get. And trying to stay sane through it all,” Edmonds, to IndyStar in 1994.

6. Hoagy Carmichael, composer of iconic ‘Stardust’ and ‘Georgia’ tunes

Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael composed enduring tunes "Stardust" and "Georgia (On My Mind)." "Stardust," written in Carmichael's hometown of Bloomington in 1927, has been recorded more than 1,500 times — making it one of the most popular songs of the 20th century. Pianist Carmichael recorded an instrumental version of "Stardust" at Gennett studios in Richmond, and Tin Pan Alley lyricist Mitchell Parish added words to the song in 1929. "Georgia," written in 1930 by Carmichael with lyrics by fellow Hoosier Stuart.Gorrell, became a signature hit for Ray Charles in 1960. Carmichael (1899-1981) won an Academy Award in the category of best original song. "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" appeared in 1951 film "Here Comes the Groom."

Essential songs: “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Baltimore Oriole.”

He said it: "Jazz maniacs were being born and I was one of them. There were leaping legions of them from New Orleans to Chicago and Bloomington was right in the middle. Alleged to be in the exact center of population at that time and a part of the population was going jazz crazy," Carmichael wrote in his 1946 autobiography, "The Stardust Road."

5. John Mellencamp, ‘Small Town’ rock star who explores music’s roots

Among Indiana’s musicians, none has maintained a closer bond with the state than John Mellencamp. The no-nonsense yet good-timing rock star outlasted comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger to establish a respected career from his home base near Bloomington. Mellencamp, a 2008 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, co-founded Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. Born in 1951 and initially saddled with a stage name of “Johnny Cougar” he didn’t want, the Seymour native became a fixture of MTV programming during the 1980s. His videos for “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” “Authority Song,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Rain on the Scarecrow,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Paper in Fire” and “Check It Out” were aired in heavy rotation. The album "American Fool" (1982) sold 5 million copies. "Uh-Huh" (1983) followed with 3 million. "Scarecrow" (1985) hit 5 million, and "The Lonesome Jubilee" (1987) reached 3 million.

Essential songs: “Paper in Fire,” “Minutes to Memories,” “Pink Houses."

He said it: "Life is exhausting. To make it not exhausting, you have to continue to challenge yourself and try to do something that you never thought you could do. So many people think about me as 'Pink Houses' and 'Jack & Diane.' That's great. I'm very fortunate to have those songs. But I've written thousands of songs that aren't like that," Mellencamp told IndyStar in 2010.

4. Bill Monroe, father of bluegrass who worked and played in Indiana

The father of bluegrass music wasn’t born in Indiana, but he embraced the state as hallowed ground. Monroe (1911-1996) spent significant time in Indiana during two phases of his career. As a teenager, he moved to industrial Lake County to find higher wages than were available in his hometown of Rosine, Ky. According to 2001 biography “Can’t You Hear Me Callin’,” written by Richard D. Smith, Monroe worked as a barrel loader and washer at the Sinclair Oil Refinery from 1930 to 1934. Away from the refinery, the Monroe Brothers (Charlie on vocals and guitar, Bill on mandolin and Birch on fiddle) played tunes at house parties and square dances in Hammond, Ind. Bill’s first radio appearances were broadcast from Hammond station WWAE and Gary’s WJKS. The dry-witted Monroe was widely quoted as saying, “Bluegrass is wonderful music. I’m glad I originated it.” Monroe lived in Indiana as a young man for reasons of self-preservation. He returned to make a mark in the state because he wanted to. In the early 1950s, Monroe purchased a 55-acre country music park in Brown County, within the unincorporated town of Bean Blossom and 5 miles north of Nashville. He presented his first bluegrass festival at the park, now known as the Bill Monroe Memorial Music Park and Campground, in 1967.

Essential songs: “Uncle Pen,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “New Mule Skinner Blues."

He said it: "You know, I never wrote a tune in my life. All that music’s in the air around you all the time. I was just the first one to reach up and pull it out,” Monroe, quoted in The New York Times in 1994.

3. Wes Montgomery, guitarist whose picking transformed jazz

John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery transformed jazz guitar after World War II, playing a fingerpicking style initially embraced by the genre’s purists and later by the masses. Indianapolis native Montgomery was the innovator of a smooth, warm sound he coaxed by picking strings with the flesh of his thumb (instead of using a plastic or metal plectrum) and by doubling melodies via simultaneous “octave” notes. The two-time Grammy Award winner influenced the work of George Benson, Jimi Hendrix and Pat Metheny. In annual Down Beat magazine polls, Montgomery was selected as top guitarist five times in the 1960s by critics and four times by readers. Montgomery (1923-1968) took no formal training on guitar, but he cited Indianapolis-based pianist Erroll Grandy (1918-1991) as a mentor. Necessity proved to be the mother of invention for Montgomery’s distinctive style. In deference to his wife and neighbors, he turned down the volume on his amplifier during home rehearsal sessions and found he could hear his playing better by strumming strings with his thumb.

Essential songs: “Four on Six,” “Jingles,” “West Coast Blues."

He said it: "Working three gigs all that time was not the worst thing that could have happened to me. From all that scuffling, I learned a lot about discipline as an entertainer," Montgomery, telling Down Beat magazine in 1968 about six years in which he worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in a radio parts factory, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. playing music at the Turf Bar and from 2:30 to 5 a.m. playing music at the Missile Room.

2. Cole Porter, Broadway genius who crafted enduring classics

Peerless in style, sophistication and suggestive phrasing, Cole Porter ranks among the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. Born in Peru, Ind., in 1891, Porter composed music and lyrics for Broadway shows across 39 years — highlighted by "Paris" (1928), "Anything Goes" (1934) and "Kiss Me, Kate" (1948). Porter's songs, remarkably durable across generations, feature lyrics that are "urbane or witty" paired to melodies boasting a "sinuous, brooding quality," as The Associated Press reported in his 1964 obituary. "You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Love for Sale," "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and "It's De-Lovely" rank among Porter's immortal tunes. His maternal grandfather, J.O. Cole, amassed a fortune by selling supplies to miners during the California Gold Rush. He returned to Indiana to oversee Westleigh, the 750-acre estate in Miami County where Cole Porter grew up.

Essential songs: “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You."

He said it: "I've been accused most of my life of being remote. But that's not so. I've been working. It's awful to tell people things like that. I've done lots of work at dinner, sitting between two bores. I can feign listening beautifully and work. That's the reason I like to go out. I have no hours. I can work anywhere. I work very well when I'm shaving or when I'm in a taxi,” Porter told The New York Times in 1955.

1. Michael Jackson, ‘King of Pop’ for joyful dance hits and empathetic ballads

A new era of superstars dawned when Michael Jackson sold more than 40 million copies of 1982 album "Thriller." Gary native Jackson (1958-2009) earned his "King of Pop" nickname by making joy-infused dance hits and empathetic ballads. Within a career packed with honors, awards and superlatives, Jackson was named "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006. "Thriller" was bookended by significant-selling albums "Off the Wall" (20 million copies in 1979) and "Bad" (30 million in 1987). In 1985, Jackson and Lionel Richie co-wrote landmark charity single "We Are the World." Jackson's singing career began in Gary, where he spent his earliest years in a white house roughly the size of a two-car garage — 2300 Jackson St. Nine children of Joseph and Katherine Jackson lived in the house, and sons Michael, Tito, Marlon, Jackie and Jermaine became the dynamic Jackson 5 singing group. The quintet made its live debut at Gary nightclub Mr. Lucky's in 1964.

Essential songs: “Billie Jean,” “I Want You Back,” “Man in the Mirror."

He said it: "My motto has been ‘Heal the World,’ ‘We are the World,’ ‘Earth Song,’ ‘Save Our Children,’ ‘Help Our Planet.’ And people want to persecute me for it, but it never hurts, because the fan base becomes stronger. And the more you hit something hard, the more hardened it becomes — the stronger it becomes. And that’s what’s happened: I’m resilient. I have rhinoceros skin. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing,” Jackson, quoted in Interview magazine in 2003.

Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.