Don McLean-#12 on the list of greatest songwriters of all - TopicsExpress



          

Don McLean-#12 on the list of greatest songwriters of all time. Stan Rogers-Probably the best storyteller ever, beautiful songs Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter)-an extraordinary and diverse writer, maybe the most influential one of all Hank Williams-in a handful of years he created a legacy of song will never be matched in country music Paul Simon-a master of poetic imagery from the start, he wrote the greatest gospel song ever written as a goodbye gift for his partner Art Garfunkel and later created the album that jump started “world music” in America (and a quietly political album aimed straight at the heart of South African racism.) Paul McCartney-by far the dominant talent in the most extraordinary songwriting duo ever Jim Croce-beautiful imagery and wonderful storytelling, no tricks needed Phil Ochs-His songs are incredibly well crafted no matter the subject and they resonate just as strongly today. His The Power and The Glory is the great song that This Land is Your Land should have been Rodgers & Hammerstein-gorgeous melodies and beautiful, sometimes tough, songs Ewan MacColl-great legacy of songs some assimilated into folk song, some documenting the working class, some hard hitting activism and oh yeah, one of the greatest love songs of all time Stevie Wonder-a solid writer, he created a whole new style of music in the early 70s and a dozen incredible songs, influencing several generations and counting Joni Mitchell-a wonderful series of songs and albums that changed music and then a legacy of challenging influences Don McLean-The American Pie album is loaded way beyond the two big hits and that is just the start Robert Johnson-Not many songs in his short life, but so influential Utah Phillips-Used every tool at his disposal to tell the story of working and neglected folks and their world Woody Guthrie-Created modern songwriting, his legacy is really his influence more than his songs Van Morrison-Stunning soulful songs in his early career and still going Bob Dylan-learned his craft in the folk world, before changing music forever with his proto-punk, off-kilter and unapologetic take on relationships John Denver-Pop songs about the beauty of nature. How did he do that? great catalog John Phillips-Songs seemed to come so easy to him and he never reached his full potential Harold Arlen & EY “Yip” Harburg-If they just wrote Over the Rainbow and the rest of The Wizard of Oz it would be enough Willie Nelson-from his amazing string of songs when just arriving in Nashville throughout his career there is a long string of compelling songs Aretha Franklin-The burst of hard hitting and hard swinging songs when she signed to Atlantic is a revelation Johnny Cash-breaking the rules from the beginning, raw and wrenching AP Carter-along with Jimmie Rodgers, created country music Carole King-Just the Brill building songs or Tapestry would be enough Pete Townshend-the best of the real original rockers and an incredible catalog of songs Tom Lehrer-Wonderfully clever songs in many styles, including 4 or 5 in just his version of Clementine Billy Joel-one of the richest catalogs of songs, chronicling life in the world he grew up in Chuck Berry-put many genres together and created rock and roll, still influential Marty Robbins-The Gunfighter Ballads and Trailsongs album has unparalleled storytelling Harry Chapin-A great storyteller Nina Simone-The master interpreter of others was a powerful songwriter in her own right Stephen Sondheim-Many consider him Broadway’s best writer Dolly Parton-Underneath the costume is an honest compelling songwriter Hazel Dickens-wrenching songs chronicling the lives of regular folks Caetano Veloso-Considered by many one of the great songwriters John Prine-Perhaps the most stunning debut album ever Eliza Gilkyson-album after album of striking songs Holland, Dozier, Holland-incredible joyful music that quietly changed the world Cole Porter-Silly and forced lyrics, but full of joy Here’s the next 40 or so: George & Ira Gershwin, Brian Wilson, Tracy Chapman, Guy Clark, Billy Edd Wheeler, Otis Redding, Donovan Leitch, Smokey Robinson, Steve Goodman, Bob Marley, Laura Nyro, John Hartford, John Fogerty, Greg Brown, Jackson Browne, Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim, Richard Thompson, Prince, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Sam Cooke, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson, Bill Withers, Barbara Streisand, Sly Stone, Pete Seeger, Johnny Clegg, Jez Lowe, Neal Hagberg, John McCutcheon, Melissa Etheridge, Steve Tilston, Johnny Mercer, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Stephen Foster, Townes Van Zandt, Andy M. Stewart, Tom Waits, Leiber and Stoller, Jerome Kern, Cheryl Wheeler, Robbie Robertson, Mark Erelli, Mose Allison, Jesse Winchester Suggestions: Jacques Brel, Nanci Griffith, Chris Issak, Ben Bedford, Jonathan Byrd, Jenn Rawling, Erin Corday, Jean Ritchie, Bob Nolan, Annie Gallup, Dan Bern, Rogers & Hart, Bruce Cockburn, Dave Carter, Peter Gabriel, Carly Simon, Lou Reed, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton, Hoagy Carmichael, Van Heusen and Burke. Sammy Kahn, Kris Kristofferson, Janis Ian, Richard Farina, Jimmie Rodgers, Chuck Brodsky, Bonnie Raitt, Shel Silverstein, Jerry Jeff Walker, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Burt Bacharach
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:19:22 +0000

Trending Topics



Recently Viewed Topics




© 2015