okay Jerry I put down what I listened to until I found Dylan.(interesting how Buddy Holly has come up more than most)then of course it just poured in as I was a resident at the Jug O Punch folk club run by the Ian Campbell folk group in Birmingham.So the influence since list is:
Woody Guthrie
Alex cambell
Ian Campbell
paul Simon
Tom Paxton
Phil Ochs
SteveGoodman
Harry Chapin
Early Charles Aznavour
Jacques Brel
Anon
And all those songs and singers that told stories about people's lives.Ordinary people like my Mum and Dad and me and our neighbours. Working people. Today I still get the same thrill when I hear that story well told by writers swimming against the tide.That's why I find it sad that the singer/songwriter is so denigrated today because so many of the bad ones are trying to swim WITH the tide.
It's hard to find but it's out there. This week I'm going to see Dave Mallett to my mind one of the very best.