3 Iconic Musicians No One Has Ever Successfully Copied

Some musicians are so singular that no one can ever fully measure up to them. Sure, they might have influenced countless subsequent bands and artists, but they have no true equal. The three iconic musicians below fall into this category. No one has ever successfully copied their singular appeal.  

Videos by American Songwriter

David Bowie

Sure, there are other artists who have made a career on being musical chameleons, but no one has ever done this quite as effortlessly as David Bowie. Bowie was the kind of artist who only comes around once in a lifetime. When he passed, the world didn’t just mourn a great talent, but also a true original.

[RELATED: This 1973 Song Helped Bruce Springsteen Get Signed and Scared David Bowie From Riding the Subway]

Bowie’s music was equal parts oddball mystique and mainstream appeal. He knew how to write a compelling melody, but he didn’t sacrifice his point of view either. An artist can try on larger-than-life clothes and blend genres, but they will never be Bowie. That ship has long sailed.

Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse has many admirers setting the music scene on fire today. Her unique brashness, pushed up against golden-age musicality, has been the call of the day in England. Though many artists have come close and even earned success through comparisons to Winehouse, they can never truly match the uniqueness of her talent in her heyday.

Winehouse was a completely unique artist at the height of her fame. No one else had really thought about combining old-school sounds with modern ideas. Others may have adopted that approach, but it will always be Winehouse’s. There’s a reason those who see her as an inspiring force are so easy to pinpoint. Her sound was that distinctive.

Prince

Prince was unlike anyone who came before him, and no one has come around to rival him since. Yes, his music had traditional soul elements and funky qualities, but no one was using those genres quite the same way Prince did.

There are plenty of R&B artists today who count Prince as a major source of inspiration, but they aren’t Prince and will likely never reach the exact heights of his artistry—that distinction cannot be missed. There was an effortlessness about him that no imitator will ever be able to claim. We will always see these acts through the lens of Prince’s indelible career.

(Photo by Jack Kay/Daily Express/Getty Images)