Having lost 65 kilos, I know what it was like to be fat. Never affected my singing, though, because I can't sing. But I am sure there is a lot of undiscovered talent out there (or at least there was), where their obesity has held them back, or they were discriminated against. Cass Elliot is a case in point. We may all smile at that line in "Creeque Alley", but how must she not have felt, performing alongside Michelle Phillips? So she struck out on her own, and became the most successful of the four members of Mamas & the Papas. Hip hop has a fair share of heavies, more than other genres, I should think. Perhaps hip hop is not so reliant on image. Urban R&B certainly is, but not hip hop. This thread salutes the artists who found success in spite of their BMI. Leslie West actually released a 1975 solo album called "The Great Fatsby," which happens to feature one of the skinniest rockers ever, Mick Jagger, on rhythm guitar.

1. Cass Elliot
2. Meat Loaf
3. Demis Roussos
4. Fats Domino
5. The Big Bopper
6. Barry White
7. The Weather Girls
8. Leslie West
9. Fat Larry
10. Big Pun
11. Fat Joe
12. Notorious B.I.G.