... that favorite musician that you feel a special connection to and why?
Rick. Your SRV post inspired me.
For me its Neil Young. My aunt gave me the CSNY Deja Vu album as a 14th birthday present. The first time I listened to the song Helpless on my crappy portable record player, I was hooked. It inspired me to pick up the guitar and eventually even to write some (really bad) songs.
What really got me was the lyrics. I think Neil has a real gift with words. The dark lyrics probably appealed to my teen angst as well.