Musical Influences



I sometimes get asked if my lyrics are based on true stories and many of them are. Hopefully in those cases I've disguised character names and locations well enough to protect innocent parties and keep guilty ones curious but still in the shadows. My stories also often are inspired by something I've observed in nature, like the seagull shown here. He stands with the confidence we all should dare to claim every time we put our best foot forward or soar to heights beyond what we've attained to date.

Other lyrics and stories seem to come to me as if they were real, I see them like a movie, and the characters in those works are sometimes as beloved to me as my closest friends. It is as if they emerge from some doorway onto the subconscious and enter into my world like uninvited but always welcome guests. I often consider these characters to be "friends of friends" of some other song characters. That is to say, the characters and their stories often come to me after hearing a song by another artist.

It's a bit difficult for me to define my musical tastes, but I think the common thread between the artists I love has to do with their ability to tell a great story about compelling characters we can all relate to on some level. Over the next while, I intend to flesh out this list a bit by listing the particular songs that have influenced me and where possible identify specific lines that have come to me as a result of interacting with these songs.

The artists are in no particular order, except for the top seven or so. It turns out a lot of my characters are friends of Leroy Brown, so it only makes sense to start with Jim Croce.

  1. Jim Croce
  2. Paul Simon (the "and Garfunkel" days and beyond)
  3. Woody Guthrie
  4. Peter Paul and Mary
  5. James Taylor
  6. Tom Petty
  7. Bruce Springsteen
  8. Johnny Cash
  9. Neil Diamond
  10. Kenny Rogers
  11. Canned Heat
  12. Arlo Guthrie
  13. Harry Belafonte
  14. Earl Scruggs
  15. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  16. Emmylou Harris
  17. Van Morrison
  18. The Clash
  19. R.E.M.
  20. Roy Orbison
  21. Steve Martin
  22. The Bear's Jamboree
  23. Zachary Richard
  24. Clifton Chenier
  25. Ricky Nelson
  26. The Roots
  27. Neil Young
  28. Bob Dylan
  29. Joni Mitchel
  30. John Denver
  31. The Beach Boys
  32. The Mamas and the Papas
  33. Fleetwood Mac
  34. Smothers Brothers
  35. John Fogerty (and CCR)
  36. Sonny and Cher
...and the list goes on!

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