Influences

[DetroitBlues]

What song/artist influenced you to pick up the guitar?

[DetroitBlues]

Clapton, SRV, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Robert Cray, Angus Young, Eddie Van Halen, Buddy Guy, the three Kings (Albert, B.B., and Freddie), Muddy Waters, Davy Knowles.... just to add a few... Oh ya!  Robert Renman and Anthony Stauffer!

[robert]

Wow, I am glad to be mentioned in that company! 

As for me, it's hard to list them... Jimi, SRV, the 3 Kings, Prince, John Scofield, Mike Landau, Scott Henderson, Robben Ford, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Tommy Emmanuel, EVH, KISS, Deep Purple, Nazareth, Wes Montgomery, Thin Lizzy...

[pictoratus]

Some of the artists I was listening to back when or around the time I got my first guitar were:

Procol Harum, Rolling Stones, The Isley Brothers, The Doors, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight & the Pips and a lot of others.

Although some of them weren't really 'guitar' oriented artists, they made the kind of music that made me want to learn to play.

[DetroitBlues]

You must have a few years on me....

[Bluefingers]

Long long time ago
Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Donovan, Hank Marvin, Big Bill Bronzy, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississipi John Hurt, Blind gary Davis, New Lost City Ramblers, Graeme Allwright, Gary Peterson, Doc Watson, Chet Atkins, Marcel Dadi, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Stephan Grossman, Keb' Mo', Rory Block, Doyle Dykes, Tonny Emmanuel, Kelly Joe Phelps, Larry Carlton, robben Ford, Keziah Jones...
Rolling Stones, Beatles, Kinks, Troggs, Spencer Davis Group, Animals, Lovin' Spoonfull, Who, Roy Bucchanan, Hendrix, SRV, Ten Years After, The Band, ACDC, Hoax, Bone Shakers, Brian Setzer, Jimmy Spacek, Police, Sting, Lucky Peterson, Trust, Paul Personne, Long John Baldry, Mayall, Santana, Rory Gallagher, Steve Morse and Renman (hi Robert)...
Carlos Jobim, Chiquino Timoteo, Gilberto Gil...
Fifty years of good music
I missed a lot
Hey, We talk about influence, and not play like them, isn't it? 
 

[pictoratus]

You must have a few years on me....

Yeah when I was about 10 or 11, this was about 1967, a friend of my fathers who played in a local Country Band gave me some lessons. It didn't last long since I wanted to play the songs I heard on the radio and he wanted to teach me how to play and fret different chords, C, G, D, E, etc.

In retrospect I probably should have listened and paid more attention. He was pretty good. But even so, I decided I wanted to play guitar.

[DetroitBlues]

My stepdad was a rocker from the 60's and 70's.  He gave up guitar because he had part of his left hand fingers crushed by a machine.  He got me started with my first guitar when I was 15.  Only problem was I didn't have much of a ear for music at the time and he got frustrated teaching me sometimes.  But it was still fun and 20 years later, I'm still playing guitar!

[hagarfreak33]

my original reason for picking up a guitar was Ace Frehley from KISS-i have since found many others- Clapton-Frampton-Van Halen-James Taylor-And recently John Mayer and Joe Bonnamassa