Your Favourite Songwriters

[Shuley]

Bruce Springsteen

 

[hammy]

Rob Thomas

 

[GuardianofOa]

Just like before, no order.

Barry Gordy
Duke Ellington
Randy Travis
Brian Setzer
Lou Rawls
Smokey Robinson
Stevie Wonder
Tyler/Perry

 

[AlteredEgo]

just throwing this out there, i think Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service fame is an extremely good pop music writer.

he consistently writes songs that have great, catchy melodies and lyrics that aren't incredibly deep, but are better then your average pop writer.

i concur. and the way he matches vocals and lyrics and music is awesomazing.*

*awesomazing trademark by AlteredEgo

 

[The Chairman]

Cole Porter (no one has matched words to music better than he did. Ever)
John Lennon
George Harrison
Stevie Wonder
Bob Marley
Bob Dylan
Paul McCartney
Bruce Springsteen
Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Bobby Darin
Joe Strummer
Pete Townshend
Paul Simon
Trent Reznor
Stevie Nicks
Jimmy Page
Roger Waters
Jim Croce
Tom Petty
Joni Mitchell
Carly Simon
James Taylor
Axl Rose
Neil Young
Holland / Dozier / Holland
Jagger / Richards
Billy Joel
Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Vahn Huesen
Rogers & Hart / Hammerstein
Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen
Irving Berlin
George & Ira Gershwin
Duke Ellington

 

[oakzap425]

Don't forget T.I., Slim Thug, Snoop Dogg, and of course Lil Wayne.

How dare I.

 

[rodhulk]

Jagger/Richards

 

[Danny No-Shame]

What do you think makes a songwriter then?

As much as I love Rap music, I don't think many rappers qualify. Tupac Shakur may have been a great lyricist, but lyrics alone do not a great song make. The artist should have as much input into the musical make up of a song as possible, and as most of Tupac's stuff has been produced post-humously from his freestyle demos he can hardly be called a song writer.
An artist like Chuck-D, or Cube are constantly producing and working with other producers in order to make a unique sound(Okay, maybe not Cube any more).

I also can't help comparing one artist with another, that's why The Stones, or Jimi didn't feature on my list. Jimi's a legend but his songbook isn't as interesting to me as, say David Bowie's. But then Bowie didn't die when he was 28.

Carry On. This is a neat thread, even if I do say so myself!t:

 

[Mee]

Lennon/McCartney, Paul Simon, Jack White, Bob Dylan

Forgot Brendan Benson.

 

[Danny No-Shame]

Forgot Brendan Benson.

Who he?

 

[Mee]

Co-wrote all the Raconteurs' songs with Jack White. Also has some great solo stuff.

 

[Fran]

Jack White

 

[Archangel]

Tom Waits
Dan Bejar
Lennon/McCartney
Jeff Tweedy
Andrew Bird

 

[animefan]

just throwing this out there, i think Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service fame is an extremely good pop music writer.

he consistently writes songs that have great, catchy melodies and lyrics that aren't incredibly deep, but are better then your average pop writer.

i agree with you 100% my frriend

 

[Green Lantern]

No one's mentioned ERIC F**KING CLAPTON?!?

 

[Captain Planet!]

Weird Al FTW