There are many songwriters that have "influenced" me. But, then, everything I have heard has had some influence upon me.
Cat Stevens was an excellent writer, though he has had several duds. Ditto for Stephen Stills, Mark Knopler, James Taylor, and many more.
All of these have weighed heavily upon my own writing, but I never consciously held any up as my standard.
When writing, I just "let it out". Some times it "clicks", some times it doesn't.
I think it is like running my hand into a sock. I grab the toe from the inside and pull, turning the sock inside out. A song written by a writer that does that to himself while writing is usually a "keeper".