Warren Haynes - Influences

Influences

In a 2006 interview with Gibson.com's Backstage Pass Haynes explains his early influences : "When I first started—chronologically speaking—Hendrix and Clapton and Johnny Winter were the first three people I got turned on to. That was the Cream era of Clapton. Then eventually, I heard the Allman Brothers and everybody else from that era that I stole something from (laughs). Of course, I would read interviews with all these people and find out who they listened to. And they all listened to B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King and Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters and Elmore James, so I would go back and discover that stuff."

During the same 2006 interview Haynes talked about his realization of how much the blues had influenced his one-time employer, David Allen Coe. "When I joined Coe’s band, I realized how much he loved blues. Whenever his voice was tired on tour, we would go out just the two of us and open up with a bunch of Jimmy Reed songs. Then segue that into the show. One by one, the drummer would walk on and the bass player would walk on, and eventually the whole band would be onstage. He was really influenced by Jimmy Reed and Lightnin’ Hopkins. That stuff was way back in his formative years, so whenever it came out, it was very genuine."