Early Influences
Howe was the youngest of four children who grew up in a musical household listening to brass band music on 78 rpm records. He cites several influences from his parents' record collection including Les Paul and the singer Tennessee Ernie Ford who had Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant playing guitar. In addition, Howe listened to classical guitar and jazz, citing Barney Kessel as a primary influence, "his playing was a remarkable mixture of 'single line' and 'chords', ya know, which inspired me to believe that any guitarist who doesn't understand chords won't be able to play much in the single line because they relate so much". Howe also credited Wes Montgomery and Chet Atkins, whom he first heard in 1959, as a major inspiration. Howe said he took from Atkins, "the idea that one guitarist could play any kind of guitar style."
Read more about this topic: Steve Howe (guitarist)
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