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Artists that influenced your taste in music

Dave918

Dave918

Super Member
Banned
Saw something similar on another board and thought it might be interesting to hear what artists had the biggest influence on your overall taste in music.

Mine, off the top of my head and in no particular order, are:

John Hiatt
J.J. Cale
Emmylou Harris
Johnny Cash
Bob Dylan
Merle Haggard
Van Morrison
Gram Parsons
Neil Young
Joni Mitchell

There are more of course, but I believe these had the most influence.

How about you?

-dave
 
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Hendrix. Without him I would have never dove into the blues
 
Lots of them. Here's a few:

EmmyLou Harris
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Allman Bros.
Eagles (early on)
Doobie Bros.
Clapton
Neil Young
Jimi Hendrix
Led Zeppelin (the bluesy side of Zep)
The Clash
Johnny Cash
BB King

More recently (really started delving into these in the past few years. And all I can say is Damn, why didn't I start earlier):
Allison Krauss
John Hiatt
Townes Van Zandt
Guy Clark
JJ Cale

JD
 
Les Paul and Mary Ford. Without Les I wonder where the electric guitar and sound on sound recording would be? Anybody remember "Mocking Bird Hill"? It was the first time over dubbing was used on a commercial recording. He was quite the innovator which few are aware of. Besides being a excellent guitarist.

As far as songwriters go it would be
Gordon Lightfoot
John Prine
Mark Knopfler

Groups as far as sound or type of music
John Mayall
Led Zep
Pink Floyd
Moody Blues
The Who
Dire Straits

Players
Mark Knopfler
Robin Trower
Duane Eddy
Les Paul
Pat Metheny
Billy Joel
Eric Clapton
Jimmy Paige
 
Yeah, that's kind of a tough question because I think more in albums than artists when it come to influences. So many, but here's a quick ten that kind of shaped the conglomeration of sounds I like best today, since it can usually be traced to one of these either directly or through some circuitous pathway....
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Beatles
Neil Young
Velvet Underground/Lou Reed
Talking Heads
The Clash
Brian Eno
Television/Tom Verlaine
Pink Floyd
David Bowie
Johnny Cash
 
Probably be considerable overlap in all these lists, but off the top of my empty Saturday AM head and in no order at all:

Velvet Underground
Guy Clark
Townes
Van Morrison
Neil Young
Taj Mahal
Richard Thompson
Dylan
John Prine
John Lennon

Common trait- artistic integrity throughout their careers. Well, sometimes I have to wonder about Dylan; not so sure he hasn't been having us all on for the last 40 years.

-edit- The Kinks should have been on this list of mine.
 
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I will keep mine short and sweet. These are the ones that really got me to enjoy music when I was a little guy.
Animals
Beatles
Chuck Berry
Buddy Holly
Beach Boys
Kinks
It all grew from there to this day I still seek and enjoy the music these artists got their ideas/roots, and where artists have "taken the ball and run with it"
in creativity of the new.

Carl
 
Being a teen in the mid-late 60s really was quite a blessing musically. My guitar playing friends introduced me to all sorts of great stuff like British blues, psycedelia, the San Francisco sound, etc.

Here's a few off my list:

Van Morrison
John Prine
Pete Townshend
Eric Clapton
Rod Stewart
Grateful Dead
Canned Heat
Linda Ronstadt
Jackson Browne
Neil Young
Rolling Stones
Led Zepplin
Asleep at the Wheel
Earl Scruggs
Charlie Musselwhite
James Cotton

When you like an artist and start exploring their roots, it's amazing where you can wind up :yes:
 
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Here's a few, in no particular order...

Elvis
Carl Perkins
Link Wray
Beach Boys
Byrds
Merle Haggard
George Jones
Johnny Cash
Howlin' Wolf
Hound Dog Taylor
James Brown
Allman Brothers
Gram Parsons
Mickey Newbury
Tony Joe White
Curtis Mayfield
Herbie Mann
Antonio Carlos Jobim
 
I remember Link Wray and the Raymen. Rumble was their one hit I remember. I was always interested more in instrumentals. Cozy Cole, Bill Black, John Buck & the Blazers, Ventures, Jorgen Ingman, Duane Eddy, Sandy Nelson, Santo & Johhny, Booker T & the MG's and a host of others.
 
Andyman said:
When you like an artist and start exploring their roots, it's amazing where you can wind up :yes:
Click to expand...

Exactly! That is what keeps me moving, exploring, never tiring and constantly making new discoveries.

-dave
 
Dylan

Hiatt

Guy Clark

R .Dean Taylor

Rodney Crowell

Joe Ely

Lightfoot

HeavyFoot

Muddy

Pinetop Perkins

Richard Thompson

Gary Brooker

Zevon
 
Mainly Paul Simon (with or without Garfunkel) and McCartney/The Beatles.

Then would be:
the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
Nick Drake
The Nits
J.J. Cale
Jefferson Airplane 'til '71 and the early Hot Tuna
Pink Floyd
the 1st Nina Hagen ('79)
almost all of Mozart
Von Weber's Der Freischütz
Strauss' Die Fledermaus
Haydn 6th, 7th and 8th symphonies
Mahler's 2nd
Dvorak's 9th

...and plenty of obscure and/or now-forgotten bands or specific cuts.

I must forget at least a thousand others but, bar the Airplane and to a certain extent JJCale & Nina Hagen, they're all unbelievable melodists.
 
T Bone Burnette
Julian Cope
Mark E. Smith of the Fall (my current avatar)
Al Jourgenson of Ministry, Revolting Cocks, et. al.
Marc Almond
Cocteau Twins
Cabaret Voltaire
Johnny Cash

-- Foe
 
George Thorogood converted me from disdaining the blues to flat-out craving to hear it. His extensive covering of older tunes also got me into seeking out the original artists. Digging his music was also a big push for me to pick up a guitar.

Deep Purple through their own records and the extensive links of their members in other projects put metal in my veins.

Another big influence wasn't an artist, but a TV show: Austin City Limits. It was on one of the two channels we got in my hometown and there wasn't exactly an overflow of music on the regional CBS affiliate. Watching that show with my headphones on for the stereo simulcast on the local public radio station was a Saturday night ritual for me. Through them I got introduced to
Jimmy Buffett
Bonnie Raitt
Stevie Ray Vaughan
The Blasters
Fabulous Thunderbirds
Eric Johnson
Roy Orbison
Ray Charles
Charlie Pride
(Well, OK, Mom had already tuned me in to those last two)
And to this day the show can hook me on a new performer. The Derailers and Kasey Chambers are the latest to get their hooks in. Something about that show seems to draw out a hell of a performance. Actually, I'm still waiting for the Derailers to come out with a CD that sounds as vital as their set on that show.
 
Bach
Beatles
Beethoven
Chuck Berry
Johnny Cash
BB King
Jerry Lee Lewis - Saw JLL New Year's Eve show at the Bamboo Club in Enid, OK just after I turned 17. Used to be OK's number 1 ****-kicking night-club back in the '50's-60's. Amazing the things one could sneak into underage back then.
Mozart
Paganini
Puccini
Rolling Stones
Rossini
Strauss
Verdi
Big & Little Walter
Muddy Waters

Others I'm sure I've missed.

When nothing else in life seems to be going right, there is always music. Thank you, lord, thank you for the music.
 
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