Missing Persons

Darlings of early MTV, Los Angeles' Missing Persons exemplified the glammier side of New Wave, cribbing synth-pop stylings from the U.K.'s hair-sprayed wonders and borrowing chugging guitar riffs from their hard-rocking cousins on the Sunset Strip. Singer Dale Bozzio's wild, low-cut outfits may have been the obvious attention-grabber, but the band's songwriting carried them further than many of their peers, turning out their best-known hit, "Words," as well as memorably punchy songs like "Destination Unknown" and "Walking in L.A." The group split in 1986, after the dissolution of Bozzio's marriage to Terry Bozzio, the band's drummer. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo went on to play with Duran Duran; keyboardist Patrick A'Hearn has enjoyed a successful career recording New Age music for labels like Windham Hill.