I keep hearing about someone or something being a 'musical influence' - what exactly does that mean

�A.� Broadly speaking, an 'influence' can be anyone who has created an impression on a pop or rock musician, in such a way that his or her work reflects something of the earlier style or sound.

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Q.� What are some of the best examples

A.� Let's start with the biggest influence on any pop or rock band�- The Beatles. You can see and hear the effect of The Beatles' work to a greater or lesser degree in just about anything that has followed since. It is virtually impossible to over-estimate the effect that they had on pop and rock music, and�the wider aspects of youth culture.

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Q.� Did The Beatles have any influences

A.� They did,�and some of them are easy to hear in their music. A major influence on Lennon and McCartney's writing and singing styles was Buddy Holly, the Texan musician who died tragically in a plane crash while still in his early twenties. His use of orchestral backing, as well as his percussive use of guitar and drums in his compositions led the teenage John and Paul to listen for hours to his vocals and his music, looking for ways to unlock the secrets of his magic formula. If you want to see how closely they mirrored the Holly style, listen to 'Words Of Love' on the 'Beatles For Sale' album�- it fits right in with the Lennon / McCartney material, but it's a Buddy Holly song. The band were equally keen to promote their other influences�- rock and roll legends Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins have songs covered by the Fab Four, and Paul McCartney is candid about borrowing the falsetto whoop that characterised their early songs, from his own personal hero, Little Richard.

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Q.� Does all pop music stem from The Beatles

A.� It does, but the whole point about musical influences is that you can trace them right back to their origins.

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Q.� How do you mean

A.� Well, if you take a band like Led Zeppelin, and examine their fusion of the power chords and bombastic style with blues music, you find that again, some of their early material was written by early blues musicians like Willie Dixon.

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Q.� So influences go as far back as you like to look

A.� Possibly. If you listen to, or read interviews with major musicians�- those who write and play their own material, then you will usually find them relating tales of listening to a hero or heroine, which inspired them to start learning to play an instrument, or sing. For guitarists like Eric Clapton and Ritchie Blackmore, it is the early blues masters, as well as the immortal Django Reinhardt.

Q.� Who was he

A.� Django Reinhardt was a Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist who played swing and jazz music from the 1930's to the 1950's. His unique playing style was a combination of the metal string he used on his guitar, which gave a distinctive 'twangy' sound, and the awesome technical skill he used to overcome the handicap of losing two fingers on his left hand, the result of a caravan fire. Reinhardt's swing sound was heard by a generation of embryonic guitarists, everyone from Clapton to Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, right through to Hank Marvin of The Shadows, are all happy to admit the debt they owe to Django, and the breadth of his influence on modern pop music is incalculable.

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Q.� Is there anyone else who can compare

A.� As far as blues players go�- and any rock band today can trace its roots back to blues music, via sixties bands like Fleetwood Mac and Cream�- the ball stops rolling when you get to a guitarist called Robert Johnson.

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Q.� Another unfamiliar name!

A.� Unless you are a blues fan, that's probably so. Johnson was known as the 'King of the Delta blues and his story is steeped in myth and tragedy.

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Q.� How is he famous
A.� Johnson was known as an average blues player who travelled around the Mississippi delta area playing in juke joints and bars. He disappeared, simply dropped out of sight for about a year, and when he returned, his ability to play the blues had increased to legendary status. A rumour started that Johnson had sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads at midnight, in exchange for fame as a bluesman. A few years later, Johnson was dead, poisoned the legend says, by a jealous girlfriend, and the myth simply grew from there. Even today, no-one is really sure if the very few photographs that are claimed to be Robert Johnson are actually him, but the haunting vocals and sparse guitar that tell tales of womanly betrayal, and pacts with the devil have ensured his place in the top flight of musical influence. Without Robert Johnson, there would be no Rolling Stones, his effect on guitarists through the last seventy years is there for anyone to see, and hear.

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Q.� Can you predict if anyone is going to be an influence

A.� No, because only time actually proves if musicians or bands are an influence or not. A perfect example is Abba�- ridiculed and dismissed by the pop and rock cogicenti of the seventies�- revered and lauded as the blue-print for all modern pop from Bucks Fizz to Boyzone, Abba have seen how the passage of time can turn scorn into respect.

Q.� Who else has evolved from wannabe to icon

A.� Madonna is another shining example�- the Britney Spears of the 1970's has turned into a respected artist, and will doubtless be cited as a role model by Britney, Christina and so on, in years to come. As the stigma attached to manufactured bands slowly evaporates, maybe people will speak in hushed tones of the musical and cultural contribution made by Hear'say. Sounds laughable Don't forget that skinny kid with the afro haircut, used to play with the Isley Brothers and got spotted playing small bars around America ...�Jimi Hendrix was his name.

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