Billy Childish

Immeasurably prolific, Billy Childish has been involved in the garage rock scene since the 1970s, participated in over 50 recordings, written 40 books of poetry and an autobiography, been at the helm of fanzines, given spoken-word performances, dabbled in visual arts, played guitar and sung in a zillion bands -- everything. Despite his ubiquitous presence in the underground, Childish enjoys far less fame in the United States than his female protege Holly Golightly, undoubtedly a matter of little consequence to Childish, who seemingly has no desire other than to create any manner of art and to perform joyous rock 'n' roll music. Among Childish's projects, the most famous would be bands Thee Headcoats, Thee Mighty Caesars, Thee Milkshakes and the Pop Rivets. He also tours and records alone as Wild Billy Childish. No matter the band and whatever he does, a supernatural charisma emanates from the man at all times, and while his discography may suffer from repetitiveness, the sheer volume of it -- as well as the aforementioned charisma -- make it impossible to discount his contribution to underground rock 'n' roll.