I know...I copied this from NWF's thread....but I think its a good question and one worth looking at/answering.
so...Why aren't there more artists that are influenced by Prince's Pop/Rock/Psychedelic side?
U know I think there are actually quite a few more artists influenced by that side of him than we realise. Here in Australia we have a music programme that comes on the ABC over the weekend called RAGE and basically the play music clips from midnight on a Friday till around 10am on a Sat...then Sat from Midnight....and every weekend they have a Guest Programmer, either a sole musician or a band, and these people rang from almost every music genre u can think of...
Now after watching this show for years Im actually amazed at the amount of musicians that actually throw in a few Prince songs...and not just the basics like Purple Rain and Doves cry
A while back (and I can't for the life of me remember who) there was a rock/metal band, reasonably young guys...that played a ton of Prince clips and talked about him quite I bit...I was impressed.
So perhaps there are more out there than are willing to admitt they are influenced , they just dont want to admitt it...unless of course its on some obscure Australian music show

sp edit
[Edited 7/17/08 3:05am]

the problem is that saying prince influenced your music has become a challenge that makes you less than you are the second you say it.

7e7e7 said:

Nonsense.

It's not nonsense. Prince will sue people for just saying his name these days. In reality many bands and individual s have been influenced over the years by Prince. Don't forget he's been in the business for almost 30 yrs. he didn't just get here.

I know what 7e actually meant by that, but I will leave it up to him to enlighten people if he chooses..
Also I think some people are simply embarassed to admitt openly that they were influenced by him, and not just because he sues if u even mention his name As far as I can tell for some it has always been that way. They seem to feel as if they admitt Prince has influenced them musically people will giggle behind their hands or something...if u get my drift
If u put aside all the drama, I really dont understand why. Like him or hate him he is a very talented musician IMHO...not perfect no...but no one is
[Edited 7/17/08 4:02am]

chillichocaholic said:

I thought 7e meant that people will immediately compare you to Prince and find you lacking.....Yes/No?

I don't think people are embarrassed to admit they're influenced by Prince at all, I'm not being 'fammy' when I say this but I would imagine it's more the former, that they know they'll be 'compared' to one of the best, most innovative musicians/performers there's probably ever been....that can't be easy... so they just don't say anything! Or maybe, sometimes, they don't even realise it themselves. I think a huge amount of people have been influenced by him, I can't imagine how you couldn't be as a musician to be honest! And, most really good, successful singers / bands / musicians openly RAVE about him, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks... well the list is endless....

crunkytown said:

I know I am not a musician, but I also believe that following someone's lead is just respect for a mentor. A musician grows up to be a part of the world musical symphony...whether they are at the top of "Billboard," or still struggling in the local club...Even if a musician doesn't make it to the heights of their own expectaions, their ability to express themselves through music...is still a creative place they go to for constructive release. Not everyone will excel to be a professional superstar, or become a band member that support them...However, those dreams are the hobbie's that escort their character into another place that was engraved for them.

Jeffiner said:

Yes, thats exactly what he meant

I just read somewhere that Raphael Saadiq refers to his new sound 'gospeldelic'and we know Prince had a huge influence on him early on. I didn't even know that he had toured with him during Parade. I also read that D'Angelo's new sound is going to be less neo-soul and one of the reasons he's taken so long to come back is he's doing the music mostly solo. Spin magazine has an interesting article in the new issue. Terr.. I mean Sananda has a little pop/soul/psychedic which could be attributed to a Prince influence.

I would like to mention:

- Lenny Kravitz, in his early years.

- World Party, aka Karl Wallinger, he has done quite a lot of psychedelic popsongs and rockballads that are Prince-influenced.

I think OutKast definitely is

Isn't it funny how often the serious threads barely make it past the first page?
Don't people read anymore?

chillichocaholic said:

I was just thinking how intriguing this thread is. I attribute the lack of popularity of this thread to boredom.

I'm not too sure why it seems that not many people are influenced by Prince. I know a lot of people my age [kids just getting out of high school and a little bit older] barely know anything about Prince aside from his career in the 80s. I don't know how it is with people who are slightly older.

Also: I think the younger crowd might be embarrassed, like you said, to admit that they have been influenced by Prince, at least among their peers. If he's not on the radio and bringing out number one hits, then he's not current or "what's in"

I don't know if that's applicable to musicians, since I'm not one, but that's how it is as a fan.
[Edited 7/17/08 19:27pm]