Only I would have to say it was America
I love that band since the early 70s
Also, I love the Beatles
But America was the band that was it for me
Who was it for you?

That were a few, but probably Gordon Lightfoot was the first.

Interesting topic.  I'll jump in early on this one.

Can't say for sure since it was so long ago but it would be a toss up between Bruce Cockburn, Tom Rush and Gordon Lightfoot.

First heard Cockburn at the Montreal Expo '67 when he played with 3's a Crowd. Learned Sunwheel Dance back then and still play it once in a while.

Tom Rush was a heavy influence on my guitar style and was the one who introduced me to Joni Mitchell when he recorded two of her songs on his 'Circle Game' LP.  Still play those two Joni songs to this day.

And Lightfoot, of course had so many great songs performed by him and others back in those days.  Played and still play many of his tunes. 

This would have all been in the 1960's.  Saw all of them live and still enjoy their music.

Initially, it was just another way to play guitar. Another instrument in the mix. Then, I started playing classical pieces on acoustic. Even now, I don't play a lot of things that were written for acoustic. But, if I ever had an acoustic influence I'd say it was Joni Mitchell.

During my early teens age years, my key influences were Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce and John Denver. Gordon Lightfoot's chord progressions are both unique and fun to play. When I hit my early 20s, I lived in Northern Virginia and Philadelphia and broadened my horizons. The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA gave me access to a wide range of diverse musicians including Arlo Guthrie, Doc Watson, Norman Blake. Michael Cooney, David Bromberg, Roy Book Binder, John Prine, Harry Chapin and Leo Kottke to name a few. The Philadelphia Folk Festival, Tower Theatre and Robin Hood Dell West were three more great venues in SE PA.

Old acoustic blues guys,the beatles,a video from PBS of people skiing down a slope with finger style music on 12 string I think it was Leo and peter Lange,the Nonkees, and a bunch more later on.

Quote from: B0WIE on December 11, 2025, 04:18:34 PMEven now, I don't play a lot of things that were written for acoustic.

This makes sense to me.  Many times I take songs mostly done electric and turn them into my own arrangements on acoustic. 

On topic...

I've had an acoustic guitar pretty much from the start of my guitar journey. I'd been playing (owning) an electric for a year or so and wanted an acoustic.  The rock band Tesla had an all-acoustic album out (before that was really "a thing") when I was in HS and I loved it. It made acoustic guitars cool to me for the first time. 

I got some money together and headed to GC.  I didn't know much at all about acoustic guitars but just wanted one that had "TAKAMINE" written on the headstock.  That was my only criteria.  I have no idea why I thought those were "the good ones."  I was 18.

About 25 years ago I was watching a documentary on Johnny Cash's American Recordings. I was unfamiliar with those recordings till then and had never been a Cash fan before.  I was struck by the simplicity of what he was doing with an acoustic guitar and vox. 

After I watched that documentary, I went and grabbed that same old Takamine from when I was 18 and somehow played it differently than I ever had before.  I also began to realize it wasn't a very good guitar around that same time period.  The search (that led me to Larrivee) began in earnest.

I was 22 in the Army in Germany and a friend loved Jimmy Buffett and showed me some songs. Then I bought myself a Yamaha acoustic and started with Jimmy Buffett, then wanted to be like Neil Young and the Beatles. Later, got into acoustic blues with Stefan Grossman DVDs.

I always liked the MTV Unplugged series. I think an acoustic appeals to me because that is all you need. No amp, cables, pedals, board, effects, electricity. Can't remember the first fingerpicking song I learned but one of my favorites I still play is Guy Clark's Coat From the Cold.

A long long time ago - The Kingston Trio...(...did he ever return...)  :nana_guitar   :nana_guitar   :nana_guitar

John Denver—-then back into it because of Esteban  :arrow

Quote from: Strings4Him on December 17, 2025, 10:52:56 AMJohn Denver—-then back into it because of Esteban  :arrow

Esteban? Is this that guy who played quasi-flamenco in Las Vegas in the 80s and dressed in a black Zorro type outfit? My mom liked him and always sent me his CDs LOL!!! Well, Esteban does sound more Spanish the Steve. Didn't he come out with a cheap line of guitars under his name? Well, at least he was a guitarist and not a singer/ guitarist.

Quote from: William2 on December 17, 2025, 04:15:44 PMEsteban? Is this that guy who played quasi-flamenco in Las Vegas in the 80 and dressed in a black Zorro type outfit? My mom liked him and always sent me his CDs LOL!!! Well, Esteban does sound more Spanish the Steve. Didn't he come out with a cheap line of guitars under his name? Well, at least he was a guitarist and not a singer/ guitarist.

Yes, that's the guy.  I saw him on HSN back in 2005 or so and bought one.  Not the best guitar at all, but it served the purpose in getting me back playing. :nana_guitar

I was a Dylan guy. A bit weird for a 14 year old in 1985, but whatever.

Quote from: old folky on December 11, 2025, 03:24:19 PMThat were a few, but probably Gordon Lightfoot was the first.

Oh of course, yes
I've been listening to the song beautiful from Gordon Lightfoot for the last couple of weeks
Truly magical song

You inspired me to play some of my Gordon Lightfoot albums. So fantastic.

I came to the acoustic guitar as a recommendation by a friend who said I should try one. I liked the sustain and the fact you could get a decent instrument without spending a fortune as with a classical guitar. As a guitarist, I only listen to artists who primarily just play the guitar. I do like the work of John Renbourn and Duck Baker. And I do like the solo work of Lindsay Straw. When she isn't singing, her playing exhibits a clean, precise, technique coupled with a beautiful tone. Her videos of the Brouwer Studies display this. But even when she sings, her accompaniments are more involved than what I usually hear with a singer guitarist.

Quote from: DaveyO on December 20, 2025, 09:04:41 PMOh of course, yes
I've been listening to the song beautiful from Gordon Lightfoot for the last couple of weeks
Truly magical song

Big Lightfoot fan myself, Beautiful, Affair On Eighth Avenue, Don Quixote, A Winter Song, etc., all fun to play.

One thing that sets Gordon Lightfoot's songs apart is his chord progressions in tunes like Restless, Shadows, 14 Karat Gold and Seven Island Suite.

great thread.

A unusual influence for me - 1978(ish), Brian May playing '39 in Madison Square Garden.  The first concert I ever went to.  Queen is not a bad place to start (even if you may have fibbed a little to your parents).

I've had some kind of guitar since I was about 13 years old. The Beatles were on top then.
And I never really put the guitar away, but I wasn't really serious about it.
By the time I hit middle age I knew all 3 cowboy chords :winkin:  and I could fake a fingerpicking pattern as long as it repeated throughout from beginning to end.
Truth told, that's about all.

But about that same time it occurred to me that for a fellow my age it was rather unseemly for me to be singing songs about 'Sweet 16' and stuff like that.
I had to be honest with myself, as I knew I wasn't a great singer, and I really hadn't progressed with guitar very much, either. Still, my love of music drove me to continue somehow.
So I quit singing altogether and concentrated on guitar. I put away all the flat picks because I knew I would never be able to play like Tony Rice or Django.

I had been listening to Leo Kottke and John Fahey and Mississippi John Hurt for a long time; many years. I liked that music a lot and soon I discovered a whole world of beautiful fingerstyle guitar music and musicians.
At last I had found my place with the acoustic guitar. And I made so many new friends.

I'm always working on new music now. It's a great brain exercise.
Like so many of you here, I play every day, year 'round, and I can't even imagine what I might be doing without it. (Hopefully not sitting in front of the TV with a 6-pack every night.)

My story is similar but I think it was a combination of junior high, high school, college, part time jobs and just being a kid that slowed me down. When I bought my first good guitar in 1977 at 21, I made some progress for a couple of years, but then Marriage, three kids in five years slowed me down again. I got my first Larrivee in 2004.

I got my first guitar, which I still have, when I was 12 and am mostly self taught. After wading through Home on the Range, Oh Susannah, 500 Miles and Red River Valley for a few months, I discovered Gordon Lightfoot in 1970. His songwriting style, lyrics and chord progressions made an impression on me. After 50+ years of playing his music, my son bought me an 8 song GL Tutorial for Christmas from Homespun by the late Pete Huttlinger and I have picked some cool tips already. Along the way, I picked up on Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, James Taylor, John Denver, Bruce Cockburn, Steve Goodman and John Prine and an host of others. When I lived in Philadelphia, I used to go to The Main Point, Tower Theatre and Philadelphia Folk Festival on a regular basis. There I listened to Michael Cooney, Arlo Guthrie, David Bromberg, Jackson Browne as well as a lot of unknowns.

58 years later, I'm often asked if I play the guitar and I usually tell them that most people ask me to stop playing after I start but I still have a lot of fun.

I don't have a guru that led me to the acoustic guitar. I come from a family of musicians: everyone either sings, or plays piano, or plays guitar. The acoustic guitar was just there from the beginning, and I've always loved the sound.

But, being a young teen in the 90s, Clapton's Unplugged definitely influenced me. I also love classical guitar and flamenco music. I remember falling heavy for The Guitar Trio, too, but it was Paco de Lucia's playing that really stuck out. I guess there wasn't really a "first" for me.

Paco is amazing.

Quote from: StringPicker6 on January 24, 2026, 09:19:03 PMPaco is amazing.

That live version of Mediterranean Sundance is absolutely killer.

 :donut  :donut2  :donut2  :coffee  :coffee
 The big 3 , discovered all at the same time in my Dad's lp collection ; Doc Watson , Leon Redbone, Mississippi John Hurt.
  My Dad had an amazing record collection and until my teens I thought he was some kind of aficionado... turns out my Dad had terrible taste in music and the collection belonged to an Uncle who stored them at our house before a lengthy prison sentence 🫤 There was about 20 LP's in that collection that sold very little when released ( late 60's/ early 70's ) that later became "lost" classics.

Quote from: Fil on January 28, 2026, 10:34:19 PM:donut  :donut2  :donut2  :coffee  :coffee
 The big 3 , discovered all at the same time in my Dad's lp collection ; Doc Watson , Leon Redbone, Mississippi John Hurt.
  My Dad had an amazing record collection and until my teens I thought he was some kind of aficionado... turns out my Dad had terrible taste in music and the collection belonged to an Uncle who stored them at our house before a lengthy prison sentence 🫤 There was about 20 LP's in that collection that sold very little when released ( late 60's/ early 70's ) that later became "lost" classics.

Welcome to the forum. Great story! Some of the greatest forms of art and media I discovered as a kid were from my uncles.

So many great acoustic artists in the past.  Hard to say which one got me hooked. A couple of standouts for me were worlds apart; Jerry Reed, Kurt Cobain.

Definitely worlds apart, but great artists! I once saw Kurt Kobain's acoustic Martin at the Martin guitar factory's museum.

This is a great topic. Starting out in the 60's like many others, I began learning chords from Dylan and Beatles songs, but what really got me hooked was learning how to play James Taylor fingerstyle songs and discovering open tunings from CSN&Y.

It is interesting for me to listen to my original compositions which are all on acoustic. Because I hear the influences of many artists/bands most of whom were very light on acoustics.  For example I can hear the late great Malcolm Young's application of rhythm and power chords with ample time/space for vocals and solos.  I also hear Eagles transition from country to rock, though mine is more the inverse.  I would be remiss if I failed to mention the influence of the greatest and most enduring rock band in American rock history, Aerosmith. I named my son Tyler.  Yet, acoustic guitar is my favored medium for expression. 

I sure wish my fingerstyle was more developed though.  I can't even get close to doing justice to Jerry Reed's influence. He was the very first influence for me. 

Jerry Reed playing City of Nee Orleans live on YouTube is mesmerizing.