The Family Tree of Inspiration
- The American Guitar Academy
- Oct 11
- 4 min read
In the age of a million different music streaming services, and algorithm-driven music suggestions, it is easy to discover new music. However, another great way to discover new music, and also to deepen your understanding of the music you already love, is to discover who inspired your favorite artists, who inspired them and start to build up a family tree of styles, musicians and songs that shaped your interests into what they are today.
Now, this is really a journey of self-discovery and I encourage you to do the research for yourself. I would also suggest against using Wikipedia for specific facts – if you do, check out the references linked at the bottom of the webpage. I prefer to rely on interviews and biographies from official websites.
In this blog post, I will write about a few of my favorite artists, and then some of the great music I have discovered as a result of liking that initial artist.
Megadeth and Budgie
It is no secret that one of my favorite bands is Megadeth. I discovered this band after reading Slash’s autobiography where he mentioned riff writing with Dave Mustaine, frontman and guitarist of Megadeth. When I was at the local HMV (the famous UK record store), I saw the 1994 Megadeth album ‘Youthanasia’ and instantly fell in love.
I had soon listened to the entire back catalog, and the song linked below is from the 1992 album ‘Countdown to Extinction’.
Megadeth – Skin O’ My Teeth
I was soon in possession of Mustaine’s own autobiography, and I was particularly interested in the section concerning his time with Metallica. The story goes that the advert Metallica had put out specifically named the band ‘Budgie’ as a major influence, and this is what inspired Mustaine to apply. I remember thinking that if this band could inspire what would become Metallica and Megadeth, surely they were special? I checked them out and discovered this gem that is linked below, Budgie’s 1974 classic ‘Crash Course in Brain Surgery’.
Budgie – Crash Course in Brain Surgery
This tune is raw, aggressive and everything that British rock/metal was and always should be - check it out!
George Benson and Charlie Christian
When I was at college there was a video of George Benson used as an example within a lesson, and I remember being deeply impressed overall, but especially with the singing the solo whilst playing it. At university I was exposed to Benson yet again, and was given the song linked below to play during a jazz workshop. It was my first time playing a Benson tune and it started me off on a journey with seemingly no end in mind!
George Benson – This Masquerade
There is a fantastic series of part instructional, part interview videos that George did with another great guitarist, Jody Fisher (check out his jazz chord melody book!). In part of one of these videos, Benson mentioned that he was heavily influenced by Charlie Christian and how he blended jazz and blues phrasing in his signature, instantly recognisable style. Having started out playing the blues, this interested me as I had always thought that jazz was just too far removed from my own skillset (I now know that this is not true!).
Charlie Christian has an interesting style, and not too technically demanding. I thoroughly enjoy listening to his guitar playing, and I always wonder what he would have created if he had not sadly died at the age of 25.
Charlie Christian – Rose Room
BB King and T Bone Walker
BB King was the man who really started to make me take playing the guitar seriously. When I want to go back to my roots, or play something that makes me feel grounded, I will play some BB King tunes - from phrasing and vibrato, he was instrumental in my development as a guitar player.
BB King - How Blue Can You Get (Live)
Due to being prolifically active from the 1940s up until shortly before his death in 2015 at the age of 89, King was a key figure in the guitar world, inspiring countless guitar players. Despite this, he still has figures that inspired him; people deeply rooted in the development of the blues even before his time.
“T-Bone Walker has a touch that nobody has been able to duplicate. He seems to scrape his pick across the strings – how he hits specific strings, I just don’t know! He was the first electric guitar player I heard on record, and he made me go out and get an electric guitar.”
T-Bone Walker had a distinctive playing style that not only inspired BB King and countless others, but his performances helped influence other great performers like Chuck Berry, one of the greatest showmen of the 20th century.
T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday
This song is a staple of every blues musician, regardless of instrument or geographical location. I have played this tune at blues jams in the United Kingdom and Japan, each time it was as simple as calling the tune and counting off.
Final Thoughts
In the last couple of years there has been a large number of students, influenced by Taylor Swift, that have decided to learn how to play the guitar. Regardless of how talented the student is, they will never be like Taylor Swift because she is her own person, and I encourage my students to be unique to themselves. With one student in particular, I followed the inspiration of Taylor Swift back through the years, and we started to learn some classic country and western songs, like Conway Twitty and George Strait - she LOVED this and never would have discovered those artists, and by extension developed her own unique approach to music, if she had stayed solely a Swifty forever.
Viewing things from an alternate perspective, it is possible that you might not actually like the music that inspired your favourite artists, however, it would be a wasted opportunity if you did not at least see the connection, and how you can apply that to yourself. Please also bear in mind that it might not even sound remotely the same, but can still spark something in you.
In your next guitar lesson, why don’t you ask your teacher what made them start to play and if they know who inspired those people?
