Bono
Rock music is about escapism. Get away from the 'real world'. There's the appeal. That there were people (parents, preachers, politicians and even straight 'A' students) who didn't have much use for it, made it the new religion. Of course, Rock n' Roll is just entertainment. Right? If somebody actually tried to do live the Rock N' Roll lifestyle they would either die young, spend serious time in jail or suffer a complete mental breakdown. That's exactly what happened to countless Rock stars who believed the myth.
During its first two decades Rock musicians had little political involvement other than being pointed to by members of the establishment as one of a handful of evil forces trying to corrupt America's youth. In the late-60s hit Rock was a unifying force against the Vietnam War but that was largely a street movement: anti-establishment. The Beatles' John Lennon first spoke out against the war in '66. His subsequent peace efforts, including the infamous Bed-In For Peace with his wife Yoko Ono, raised the anti-war profile but in the short term only managed to land Lennon on President Richard Nixon's 'Enemies List' and motivate the government to try to deport him as an "undesirable" (they failed). Jim Morrison wanted people to think of his band, the Doors, as "erotic politicians" but that and the anti-war song "Unknown Soldier" was about as far as it got.
Musicians rarely got within arms-length of the levers of power. In fact, the first time a Rock musician met with a sitting president was the stilted, improvised Elvis Presley/Nixon encounter at the White House in the early '70s. There was an uncomfortable Nixon talking to a stoned Presley (those big sunglasses came in handy) about, ironically, the youth culture's rampant drug use. A few years later, Jimmy Carter invited Rock musicians to the White House but these were strictly social events.
It was about this time that U2, fronted by Paul Hewson, who had changed his name to Bono Vox, and then simply, Bono, made their debut. The Irish band played a kind-of-Punk. They weren't as rough-cut as other Punks but they could actually play their instruments. Even in those early years, it was evident from songs like "New Year's Day" and "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" that U2 was a band with a political bent and a message. They weren't terribly interested in prom night romances or a 'last kiss'. There were larger issues to deal with. Bono was fond of making political pronouncements from the stage that could be chalked up to youthful exuberance. Even so, U2 was called a band with a "social conscious."
In 1985, Live Aid was created to bring awareness of and help to millions starving in Africa. U2 participated in this effort and Bono contributed vocals to the hit charity single, "We Are The World." At the time, there were performers with much higher profiles; organizer Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats), Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson, talking extensively about the dire situation in Africa. Bono was clearly on the second tier.
The relief effort eventually ran its course and everyone went about their business, except Bono. First, he advocated the cancellation of third-world debt: that the industrialized nations forgive what is owed so underdeveloped nations could use the funds to build or rebuild their infrastructure and economy. Soon Bono was meeting with heads of state. Early, politicians probably thought these where little more than grip-and-greet moments where they could get their picture taken with a popular Rock star. Just nifty. Funny thing, Bono came prepared. He knew his stuff. There was no shunting him off.
Then there was aid to Africa and getting the industrialized nations to commit funds to underdeveloped countries so they could build or rebuild their infrastructure and economy. Same message different tact. At times it seemed Bono was meeting with more government officials than a president.
U2 concerts would regularly stop as Bono preached about the urgent need for action in Africa. Sometimes this would greatly dismay his fellow band members. No doubt some audience members felt the same. On top of that, hardly a week went by when some organization wasn't honoring Bono for his humanitarian efforts. The notoriety earned him the derisive title "St. Bono."
His persistence, knowledge and passion began to gain traction. World leaders were listening. Not only that, they were responding. Sometimes positively, sometimes negatively, but the issues regarding Africa were being moved toward center stage. Bono met with President George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to the start of the '07 G8 Summit (a meeting of the world's richest and most industrialized nations) in Heiligendamm, Germany, to discuss the G8's commitment to helping Africa. He was not shy about his requests and even got into a 'row' with Merkel over the level of Germany's aid. In Bono, Africa has a friend and a proponent. He's not going to save the world. But his work will probably improve a big chunk of it.
Please see U2.