Howie Jarrett (Howie G) from The Classic Rock Show!!!!!!!
Just freaken awesome !!!Oh, at first I thought you meant people who have influenced you when it comes to how you want to live your life.
When it comes to the guitar it is definitely Edward Van Halen, Peter Green, Derek Trucks and Eric Clapton, if we have to stick to people still alive.
Since I thought this thread was about something completely different than it really is, I'm going to do my best to derail it, so here we go:
When it comes to how to live my life it is a different matter. I'm not a religious man although I was brought up in a religious home and environment, but I guess Jesus has been an influence. You know, be nice to people and all that. My mum, who died a couple of years ago, was an inspiration as well. She went through a lot of hardships but never complained, and she always cared about and was interested in other people. She was a devout Christian, but very open, tolerant and including. She never ever judged other people and taught me a lot about respect. The next one I'll mention might sound very odd, but David Lee Roth has been an inspiration. I think a lot of people really don't get him. He might seem flamboyant and REALLY full of himself at times, talking all the time and so on, but when you actually listen to what he is saying, he is one hell of an interesting dude. He is really well read, has an immense thirst for knowledge, loves culture, speaks several languages and is kindhearted and very focused on being someone who can contribute to society. He worked as an EMT in New York, he paints, all in all I guess you could call him a bit of a renaissance man. I love that attitude. Living is learning and you should strive to learn as much as you can about as many things as possible. Simply because it will make you a better and more useful person.
There are tons of others as well, but those are the ones that come to mind first for me.