Prince

Concisely summing up the accomplishments of Prince is a nearly impossible task.

The undisputed heir to the funk crown worn by James Brown, Sly Stone and George Clinton, he is equally capable of writing and playing mind-melting rock & roll and concocting some of the greatest pop anthems of all time (can anybody say “Purple Rain”?).

Impressive as his mastery of these three ubergenres are, funk, rock and pop are just the tip of the iceberg. In the past quarter century, Prince has proved himself an alchemical genius, drawing on a wealth of vernacular American traditions including blues, gospel, soul, folk and jazz while' forging one of the most distinctive, rich and diverse bodies of recordings in American popular music history.