What song has influenced you?
Rolling Stone Magazine recently published a feature exploring the songs that most influenced famous musicians.
Sleater Kinney's Carrie Brownstein cited the Replacements song "Can't Hardly Wait," while "Rhapsody in Blue" served as inspiration for Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
MPR's Kerri Miller spoke to some local musicians about the original songs that inspired them.
Minneapolis Songwriter Chastity Brown remembers growing up with Fats Domino, Mavis Staples and Dolly Parton. But it's Van Morrison who sticks most strongly with her.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
"The first time I heard him, I was like, 'What is that drunken gibberish?'" Brown said. "He's kind of unrelenting with his lyrics and the way he plays guitar, and it just gets me every time."
Many of the musicians bring up songs that are outside the genres they're most associated with. Indie-folk songwriter Haley Bonar remembers the song "Creep" by r&b group TLC and her introduction to the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby."
"I cried the first time I heard Eleanor Rigby," Bonar said. "I was haunted by 'the face she keeps in a jar by the door', I was just like, 'That is so creepy and I love it.'"