It was more than a band, it was a proving ground for many musicians who went on to successful solo careers. Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins both did time in Genesis, as did Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Ray Wilson; Gabriel and Rutherford were two of the founding members.

Gabriel, Rutherford, Tony Banks and Anthony Phillips, four schoolmates at a prestigious English public school (which, ironically, is a private school), founded Genesis in 1967.The teenagers already had band experience as most of them had played with other bands before coming together. With the addition of Chris Stewart on drums, they were officially a group called…not Genesis, but New Anon. The Genesis name was the brainchild of Jonathan King, a music producer and alumnus of the same school, who liked the youngsters’ demo and invested in their future. He was instrumental in securing a record deal for them with a new label, Decca Records. Their outing with Decca amounted to exactly zip and their album failed; but the band kept on playing despite all the personnel changes. Starting with Stewart’s exit in 1968, the group went through three drummers, none staying longer than a year. In 1970, Genesis said ta-ta to King and found themselves new representation and a new label.

They also found a new drummer, Phil Collins, and a new guitarist, Steve Hackett, to replace Phillips who had left by then. The ensemble worked; the band released Nursery Cryme and followed it two years later with Foxtrot. Their live act was developing nicely as well, helped by Gabriel’s eccentric showmanship that included costumes, masks and surreal song intros. Now that’s entertainment. Gabriel had the habit of telling the audience fantastical stories while the band tuned their instruments; some of the stories appear in their albums’ liner notes. Their live shows quickly became must-see experiences (what with the masks, story time and the 23-minute behemoth of a song, “Supper’s Ready”), while Foxtrot and the next album, Selling England By The Pound, secured their position within the record label.

It wouldn’t be progressive rock—which they really, really were—without an artsy concept album and that album was 1974’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, describing the spiritual journey of Rael, a Puerto Rican youth from New York City. This was an ambitious undertaking for a bunch of guys from Surrey and, despite a world tour to promote the album, sales proved rather disappointing. During the tour, Gabriel opted to leave the band citing professional conflicts and personal problems. Genesis soldiered on without him, holding auditions for his replacement; in the end, like any good company, they decided to promote from within and voted Phil Collins new lead man. The next two albums, Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering, scored in a big way with the fans, rising to the Top 10 in England and the Top 40 in the U.S.

Another exit, this time by Hackett, left Genesis with the wryly descriptive…And Then There Were Three… album, which revealed the new, softer direction their music had taken. The 80s brought even more success and fame: all five albums released during this time peaked at #1 in the UK charts and went multi-platinum in the U.S. Some of their most memorable singles were "That's All," "Invisible Touch" (reaching #1 in the US), "In Too Deep," "Throwing It All Away," and "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight." One song, "Land of Confusion,” spawned one of the most popular music videos ever shown on MTV: it featured caricature puppets of dozens of famous actors, musicians and politicians—including the Genesis members themselves—and satirized many contemporary events and attitudes.

Meanwhile, Rutherford had formed Mike And The Mechanics but continued to play with Genesis as well. Phil Collins left the band in the mid-90s in favor of his solo projects and was replaced by Ray Wilson, formerly of the band Stiltskin. The new, Collins-less Genesis released Calling All Stations in 1997, which did well in Europe but didn’t make even the Top 40 in the U.S. The band went on hiatus for a few years after that but reunited occasionally to re-record old singles and perform together.

Forty years after its inception, Genesis continues to influence artists and music. Whether it was their deft blending of rock, pop, jazz and classical music into a distinctive mélange of sound or their innovative and pioneering use of lighting during live shows or Peter Gabriel’s crazy masks or the darn puppets from “Land of Confusion”, it's difficult to pinpoint what made Genesis great and one of the best selling artists in the world. The talent was there, inspiration sparked and magic happened.

But let’s say it was the puppets.