Who is Lemmy Kilmister?

William Christopher Handy is the father of the Blues. Elvis might have been the founder of Rock N Roll. James Brown was the Godfather of Funk. But why don't people give homage to the Father of Metal and Punk? Let me tell you a story....

Growing up, I was forced to listen to rock music - loved it but it got old when I turned 16. With so much music out there I had to explore and find what I really loved and what really tickled my ear drums the right way. So I went on a musical adventure and found out I like three genres of music the most.

1. Blues
2. Rock/Punk
3. Ballads

OK, ballads aren't actually a genre, but who doesn't like a good story. With eagerness I did my research and found the roots of each except one.. Punk...

Punk is emotion. Punk is angst and hatred to the core, which I love. After watching so many documentaries and reading countless mags to find an answer, I found the father of punk/metal. His name.. Lemmy Kilmister.. seriously that's his name.

Lemmy's music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre.^[1] He was known for his appearance, which included his signature friendly mutton chops, his military-influenced fashion sense, and his gravelly rasp of a voice that was once declared "one of the most recognisable voices in rock". He was also noted for his unique way of singing, which was once described as "looking up towards a towering microphone tilted down into his weather-beaten face".^[2] He was also known for his bass playing style and using his Rickenbacker bass to create an "overpowered, distorted rhythmic rumble",^[2] while another notable aspect of his bass sound was that he often played power chords using heavily overdriven tube stacks by Marshall.

Lemmy was born in Stoke-on-Trent and grew up between there, the nearby towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Madeley, and later the Welsh village of Benllech. He was influenced by rock and roll and the early works of the Beatles, which led to him playing in several rock groups in the 1960s such as the Rockin' Vickers. He worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and The Nice before joining the space rock band Hawkwind in 1971, singing lead vocals on their hit "Silver Machine". In 1975, he was fired from Hawkwind after an arrest for drug possession; that same year, he became the founder, lead singer, bassist, and songwriter of Motörhead. The band's success peaked around 1980 and 1981, including the hit single "Ace of Spades" and the chart-topping live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith.

Why do we look over this monster of a man who started a genre of music that changed hundreds of million lives? Because he didn't want the notoriety. Which is noble.

Let this article give him the justice he deserves.