Michael Marshall / Equipto

In 1985, Michael Marshall was the lead singer for a loosely organized musical collective known as the Timex Social Club. They were bound together simply; they started with the limited ambition of creating a song or two for the types of multicultural parties that they frequented. But in less than a year, they would have a top-ten single and be loudly announcing the birth of a new musical form: hip-hop soul. Neither Michael nor the other members had any way of knowing that in less than two decades this sound would become far more than just the sound of their parties, but sound of the planet, the soundtrack to everything from fast food to vacation. And today, though Mary J. Blige and P. Diddy collect a disproportionate share of the credit, it was years earlier that the form first came to national prominence. This came with the release of the hit single "Rumors" and was cemented during the summer of 1986 as the song and a nascent musical form gained traction in the national consciousness.