OK, trying to keep away from the one man bands and listing them by era:
Elvis- OK, I’m playing it safe, but without Scotty Moore’s guitar playing, Elvis wouldn’t have been famous.
Patsy Cline- Willie Nelson was here ;), decades before he became famous.
Bill Monroe- Earl Scruggs: no offense to String Bean, but who do you think of as Bill Monroe’s banjo player?
The Beatles- George Harrison, just because he was a good lead guitarist, and to cut anyone off at the pass before they screw up and say that Ringo, who doesn’t deserve to drum on a oatmeal box, was a musician.
The Rolling Stones- He played piano for them, helped produce their records and guided the band musically, yet I can’t think of his name (HELP, who was this guy!!!) Of course, if you’re not listed as a member of the band, you’re bound to be unsung…
The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Mitch Michell’s drumming made the band. Hendrix was a good guitarist, but so were a lot of other blues guitarists. Mitchell’s jazz influences, and his knowledge of so many styles, helped add depth to the songs.
The Who- Musically, they were possibly the most solid lineup of all of the Sixties bands. Keith Moon’s drumming sounds like a drunk falling down a flight of stairs, but it’s good and it works! Besides, can anyone name a more innovative drummer? John Entwistle got his due as a bassist and knew how do a running bass line in rock (even though I may kill if I ever hear “Boris the Spider” again…)
Buddy Rich- No band, just because. If you don’t know why, you’ve never heard him play drums.
Hank Garland- For much the same reason as Buddy Rich, except guitar.
James Brown- Playing it safe again, but Bootsie Collins changed the band. The band was good before, but floated with Bootsie on bass. If you need an example, watch Robert Palmer’s “History of Rock and Roll”, the documentary that played on PBS, for pre and post-Bootsie versions of “In a Cold Sweat”.
Sex Pistols- Steve Jones only knew two chords, but whoever recorded them knew how to layer guitar tracks. Besides, I don’t know if anyone else in that outfit knew what chords were.
Prosser, it’s David Byrne, FYI, but if we’re looking for unsung, I’d try Chris Frantz.
Black Flag- Greg Ginn isn’t really unsung, but I think a lot of people think of Henry Rollins as being the band, when he was just the third or fourth singer.
Hootie and the Blowfish- Without a top notch A&R guy, they would still be another college band.