John Lennon of the Beatles inspired him to write "Beatle-ish" songs on a Stratocaster, while Cage's influence helped nurture his musique concrète compositions, both of which were later hallmarks of his material.
[1] Stoughton had formed The Cambridge Electric Opera Company, who mixed electronic and traditional-based idioms.
[3] In his book Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968, Ryan H. Walsh noted that the Opera Company were one of several bands "forming practically overnight" in the period of the Newsweek article, which was influential in Boston.
[6] The Arts Desk described Stoughton as a "lost" Elektra signee with peers in Tim Buckley and Love.
[7] AllMusic describe him as being similar to singer-songwriter Marc Jonson,[8] whose album Years (1972) has drawn comparison to Stoughton.