Of all the rock hairstyles, I find the mullet the most fascinating. No other haircut has transcended so many genres, from being worn by virtually everyone to being completely reviled. Somehow this style moved fluidly from Tom Jones in the 60s to Glam rockers like David Bowie in the 70s and then on to the antitheses of glam rock androgyny, machismo heavy metal. I myself had my hair cut into a mullet in the fall of 1986 just in time for kindergarten. I remember bursting into tears when the beautician turned me to face the mirror. Not only had she cut it into a mullet but she’d blown it out into a giant bouffant. Even at that tender age, I knew I looked ridiculous.

Style is an important part of rock culture and each generation and genre has had its own sense of what’s cool. Some rock movements take a cheeky approach to style, having as much fun with it as they can while other genres of rock use style as a political statement. No matter how different rock styles are, they all have one thing in common: Hair.

Check back every Tuesday through March 2nd, for the next installments of this series, on some of the most prolific rock hairstyles and their history.