Leaving aside electric 'lead guitarists', my inspirations for acoustic and acoustic-electric fingerstyle were Big Bill Broonzy and Lightnin' Hopkins. I've made countless attempts with limited success to get at least somewhere near the sense of rhythm that Big Bill seems to infuse so effortlessly into his playing. For pure blues down 'n dirty feel, I think no one touches Lightnin' Hopkins. In recent years I've liked Chet Atkins a lot and aspire to play a number of his arrangements.
