Which Artist Are You Most Influenced By?

[jimi thing]

the very first song i learnt was heart of gold by neil young.... and still love a lot of his stuff.

i am really into Dave Matthews Band / Dave Matthews solo stuff as well
John Mayer
John Hiatt
George Straight
James Taylor
Keb Mo
Eric Clapton

oh the list could go on... but i love the stuff Dave Matthews comes up with, the rhythms, and the cord shapes are unreal! what a sound that guy has!  :D  

[Mikeymac]

Can't believe it took until Rusty Chicken for someone to mention Bruce Cockburn (a Larrivee player for many years, BTW; now he plays Manzer guitars; she worked for/learned from Larrivee).

Bruce Cockburn's songwriting and playing just pulled me in!  The others:

David Wilcox
Dylan
Neil Young
Johnny Cash (!)
Buddy Miller
Paul Simon

Instrumental/Acoustic:
Chris Proctor
Doyle Dykes
Chet
Parkening
Sharon Isbin
LA Guitar Quartet
Kaki King
Preston Reed
Hedges
Ralph Towner

Instrumental/Jazz/Electric:
(Canadian) Ed Bickert (THE BEST!)
Danny Gatton
Martino
Larry Carlton
Keaggy (also his acoustic side)

Misc./The Rest:
SRV
Johnny Winter
The Holmes Brothers (check 'em out!)
Chris Duarte
Ronnie Earl
Luther Allison
Robben Ford

Plus all the other obvious ones: Beatles, CCR, Zep, Yes, Police, Allman Bros., Atlanta Rhythm Section, AWB, Queen, Buddy Guy, Clapton, B.B., Freddie, Muddy; yeah, it could just go on forever...

[HangFire]

[Koamon]

Koamon, like most everyone, was overtly or subliminally influenced by The Beatles and Dylan. Beyond that, I would have to say the older acoustic music of Stephen Stills, James Taylor, Neil Young, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell.  

[AcousTronic]

Through the years it keeps changing... Early years was EVH, Joe Perry, Pat Travers... Then it moved to Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Johnson, Micheal Hedges, Joe Satriani... Nowadays, it's Dave Matthews. His guitar playing is great but I really like his songwriting and lyrical abilities!!

[12barBill]

Good one Hang. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."  

[Michael K]

Neil Young
Gordon Lightfoot
Joni Mitchell
Richie Havens

I'm a strummer, mostly.  I like lots and lots of others, but as far as actually influencing the way I play, these would probably top the list.

[MaRio]

Usually it depends on what I am currently listening to. That turns into what I'm humming and that turns into what I play (sorta). Some artists stay constant cuz they're too good to put down for too long. Lyle Lovett, old Dan Fogelberg, Allison Krauss, old Billy Joel, David Grier, Tommy Emmanuel, Van Morrison. The list grows longer all the time...  

[Walkerman]

The first two songs I learned were Gloria and House of the Rising Sun.  But the first artist I tried to emulate was Donovan....Catch the Wind, Josie, Universal Soldier, Colours....those taught me how to pick and  strum.....and that I didn't have a voice that was good for anything but singing in the shower, or late at night when everyone else was asleep.  Then, I moved on to Neil Young, who taught me that I didn't need a good voice to sing.  I bought my first new guitar and got serious about playing because my girlfriend loved "Cowgirl in the Sand".....I have no idea where she is now, but I still have that old guitar (among others) and I still love playing Cowgirl.......ain't life sweet.

[Johnny B. Good]

.

Artists that I sing and play:

Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Mac Wiseman,
Roy Orbison, the Stanley brothers, Buddy Holly,,,,,



Most of ya won't know who the heck I'm talkin' about.


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[wyodeb]

Gordon Lightfoot; Simon & Garfunkel (& Paul Simon, solo); Peter, Paul & Mary; Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger; Michael Card; Cat Stevens; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; early John Denver (don't laugh!); early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; mostly folk & acoustic stuff. I love a lot of 70s rock stuff, but don't play it on the guitar.

Deb

[Randy_R]

Gordon Lightfoot; Simon & Garfunkel (& Paul Simon, solo); Peter, Paul & Mary; Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger; Michael Card; Cat Stevens; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; early John Denver (don't laugh!); early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; mostly folk & acoustic stuff. I love a lot of 70s rock stuff, but don't play it on the guitar.

Deb

I'm beginning to appreciate artists like John Denver more and more. Forget trying to be 'heavy'. Fun songs and light romance songs are going to have the continued appeal.  

[dr461]

Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King for that genre

Leo Koetke for his musicianship

Tom Paxton for the '60's style folk songs

Bob Dylan for wonderful songs (better for the covers than Blind Boy Grunt himself).

Sweet Baby James Taylor


CSNY for great guitar playing and vocals

[mnewton]

David Crowder