Chris Blackwell (founder of Island Records) was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2001. He promoted Marley to the world. And Blackwell said "He trusted my instincts, which were that he should go after being a rock star, rather than a star on black American radio. "

A lot of stuff being done in earlier days (50s-60s), like ska ("My Boy Lollipop") or rockabilly or "Doo-wop" was a foundational part of the *rock'n'roll' era. Depends on whether you draw a hard line on when Classic began ( like Wikipedia tries to do) and leave out all the the great artists that built up the foundations.

To me 'Classic' would include all Buddy Holly's stuff (died in 1959), Chuck Berry, Bill Haley ('Rock Around the Clock' (1954), and earlier, and a WHOLE LOT MORE great artists. Without the trunk, the branches wouldn't reach so high.