Sinead O'Connor on the "Che Tempo Che Fa" Italian TV show, in Milan, on Oct. 5, 2014. - Agf S.R.L/REX Shutterstock/Zuma Press/TNS
In a world of cookie-cutter pop music stars and automatons, Sinéad O'Connor was a one-off. The Irish singer-songwriter — whose death at the age of 56 was reported Wednesday by her family — was a singular artist who marched to the beat of her own, very idiosyncratic drummer. She not only courted controversy with her take-no-prisoners approach, she welcomed it. Or, as O'Connor said in a 2013 San Diego Union-Tribune interview: "I think artists can be inspiring, as long as we're courageous enough to be ourselves and to be bullied, but not run away." This Dublin native could have taught master clas...
