Willie Scott The Shepherd's Song lp. Particularly the track The Dowy Dens of Yarrow. That was it for me at age about 18. I (metaphorically at least) threw all the Guthrie/Dylan/Leadbelly albums I had spent years listening to out of the window. I knew ballads were what I wanted to sing and this was how you were supposed to sing them. Still can't, but still trying.