Jonathan Richman(I)

Massachusetts native Jonathan Richman first gained fame as the frontman for the legendary The Velvet Underground-influenced proto-punk band "The Modern Lovers", who recorded their first and only album in 1973. The self-titled record included such classics as "Roadrunner", "Pablo Picasso" and "She Cracked". Yet despite his punk rock notoriety - "Roadrunner" was famously covered by Sex Pistols - Richman had a musical change of heart and resurfaced in 1977 with a new incarnation of his band on the album "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers", and a new sound typified by simple, acoustic songs with sweet and often childlike lyrics. He gained a loyal cult following and has continued to release albums and tour. Richman made his first film appearance with a brief cameo in the Farelly brothers' 1996 film, Kingpin (1996), and later received some of his most notable mainstream exposure when he sang tunes such as "True Love is Not Nice" in 1998's Farelly smash-hit There's Something About Mary (1998).