I've listened to and admired several singers, mostly from the rock genre. Take equal parts Paul Rodgers, Wilson Pickett, Jim Morrison, Lowell George, Tom Paxton and Gram Parsons, shake well and add a jigger of whisky. That's where I believe it comes from, though sometimes I hear this high lonesome Kentucky hillbilly wail coming from deep down in some corner of my soul. This is not to say I'm any good, but I like it.