Jerry Rasmussen certainly has that universality. His songs radiate strength and contentment to me.
There's an interesting distinction to be made between songs you can sing and songs you can relate to. When Joni Mitchell sings "Woman of Heart and Mind," I always hope very much that no woman ever felt the same way about me (although they probably did)! I like that sort of personal song because it gets about as close as a woman ever will to making me understand how she actually feels about that man. I couldn't sing it of course. I would look ridiculous. So I am not sure that a great personal song has to have universality.
Let's throw in another idea. Is the hallmark of a good personal song the ability to speak to the listener rather than to oneself?
Hi Michael. Mir geht's nicht so schlecht in Köln danke - aber das Wetter ist bestimmt angenehmer in California in der Jahreszeit!