What Goes Around, Comes Around...?

My college-aged son enjoys the music of John Mayer. Ever since he was old enough to appreciate and give comment to some of the newer the music he likes, I have always tried to point out similarities between said artist(s) and those from the past that may have influenced them. I have the general theory that little is truly "new", but perhaps a bit different. My intention has not been to disparage newer music because much is good, and in some cases very good, just not strictly original or "ground-breaking" (how over-used is THAT term?).

Anyway, I find distinct parallels between John Mayer and Michael Franks, an artist with many recordings beginning in the early-70's. I find this a rather striking comparison because John Mayer is all the rage and Michael Franks would seem much lesser known, even among old geezers like me. My son found some the Franks LP's to his liking and quickly burned a few off my LP's off for his modest digital rig at school.

I am wondering who find comparative similarity between contemporary artists who are touted as "all that" and perhaps lesser known artists from the past. Might be helpful to go both ways with this so that "youngsters" and "oldsters" might find music they like that would otherwise go unheard.