Authors who have and are still influencing my life and my writing, namely  Rod McKuen, Leonard Cohen, Jimmy Buffett, even Erich Fromme. I favor the music of singer-songwriters for the same reason I read books.  It's their voice and the words ring so much truer coming from a place of genuine emotion.  I consider them authors as well.  In fact, I prefer to read Bob Dylan's lyrics as poems, essays and short stories rather than hearing them as song.