December 15, 20178 yr A couple of years ago, Rolling Stone came out with its list of the Top 100 songwriters of all- time. I remember being frustrated at the list and I am still frustrated today. Too many GLARING omissions, in my opinion. How can you have a list of 100 best songwriters and leave off the likes of Gordon Freaking Lightfoot or Dan Fogelberg? Anyway, I do want to hear your list of top five or ten songwriters or songwriting tandem, however I want you also to post what you think are the glaring omissions from the Rolling Stone Top 100. Who would you include that RS left off? In addition to the obvious snubs of Lightfoot and Fogelberg, I would have to have Jeff Lynne(ELO) , Freddie Mercury(Bohemian Rhapsody, are you kidding me?) , Cat Stevens, John Denver, Rodney Crowell, Nick Lowe, , Bob Seger , among many others. Rolling Stone is fake news as far as this list is concerned. Who are your top five or ten songwriters? Looking at the RS list below, were the biggest snubs ? Rolling Stone/ August 2015 / Top 100 Songwriters: 100 Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson 99 Tom T Hall 98 Otis Blackwell 97 Taylor Swift 96 Timbaland and Missy Elliott 95 The Bee Gees 94 John Prine 93 Billie Joe Armstrong 192 Paul Westerberg 91 Eminem 90 Babyface 89 Felice and Boudleaux Bryant 88 Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill 87 Kris Kristofferson 86 Sam Cooke 85 R.E.M. 84 Kanye West 83 Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson 82 Marvin Gaye 81 Björk 80 R. Kelly 79 Lucinda Williams 78 Curtis Mayfield 77 Allen Toussaint 76 Loretta Lynn 75 Isaac Hayes and David Porter 74 Patti Smith 73 Radiohead 72 Fats Domino and Dave Barthomolew 71 Walter Becker and Donald Fagen 70 Dan Penn 69 James Taylor 68 Jay Z 67 Morrissey and Marr 66 Kenny Gamble and Leon A Huff 65 George Harrison 64 Bert Berns 63 Chrissie Hynde 62 Harry Nilsson 61 Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman 60 Willie Nelson 59 Tom Petty 58 George Clinton 57 Joe Strummer and Mick Jones 56 Madonna 55 Tom Waits 54 Kurt Cobain 53 Stevie Nicks 52 The Notorious B.I.G. 51 Willie Dixon 50 Billy Joel 49 Don Henley and Glenn Frey 48 Elton John and Bernie Taupin 47 Neil Diamond 46 Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong 45 Robbie Robertson 44 Jimmy Webb 43 Johnny Cash 42 Sly Stone 41 Max Martin 40 John Fogerty 39 David Bowie 38 Al Green 37 Jackson Browne 36 Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter 35 Bono and the Edge 34 Michael Jackson 33 Merle Haggard 32 Burt Bacharach and Hal David 30 Dolly Parton 29 Pete Townshend 29 Buddy Holly 28 Woody Guthrie 27 Ray Davies 26 James Brown 25 Randy Newman 24 Elvis Costello 23 Robert Johnson 22 Van Morrison 21 Lou Reed 20 Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller 19 Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry 18 Prince 17 Neil Young 16 Leonard Cohen 15 Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland 14 Bruce Springsteen 13 Hank Williams 12 Brian Wilson 11 Bob Marley 10 Stevie Wonder 9 Joni Mitchell 8 Paul Simon 7 Carole King/Carole King and Gerry Goffin 6 Mick Jagger and Keith Richards 5 Smokey Robinson 4 Chuck Berry 3 John Lennon 2 Paul McCartney 1 Bob Dylan
December 15, 20178 yr No Steve Goodman? He only wrote the greatest country and western song of all time!
December 15, 20178 yr Author No Steve Goodman? He only wrote the greatest country and western song of all time! Love that song!
December 15, 20178 yr What makes a great "songwriter"? Are we talking purely lyrical? Are we talking about musical form? Ability to write a complete album vs. a hit single? Innovation? Catchy-ness? Record sales? Methinks that's a pretty broad question without some kind of parameters.
December 15, 20178 yr ...I'm admittedly pretty entertained by John Prine, R. Kelly, and Björk all occurring on a list together :lol2:
December 16, 20178 yr I have no problem with the list. The Top 4 are set in stone. And I have no problem with the Top 20. May change the order a little bit. May bump Kristofferson up into the Top 30.
December 16, 20178 yr Author I have no problem with the list. The Top 4 are set in stone. And I have no problem with the Top 20. May change the order a little bit. May bump Kristofferson up into the Top 30. Mack, anyone you would take off and replace with someone else?
December 16, 20178 yr Why would a list like this not include Gordon Lightfoot? Anyone? Most people probably feel that they have to wait for him to finish singing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" before they can accurately evaluate his songwriting skills. I just looked it up and the song is only about 6:30 long. Maybe it's just me but it feels like it should be at least double that.
December 16, 20178 yr I'm admittedly biased towards country music, but I felt this list was lacking in that genre. But if we just focus on the country artist that were included, I have issue with the order. I love Johnny Cash but to have him ranked ahead of Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Loretta Lynn is just wrong. I think all three should be ahead of him if were considering their talents as songwriters. Of those listed in my opinion the worst ranking is having Kristofferson at #87. That is crazy.
December 16, 20178 yr Oh but if my OCD could just allow me to dismiss this thread just this once. For starters I'm with CWB on this one because there's just so many ways to look at this, and oh so difficult to know where to begin. The premise of the thread feels more like a rant that Dan Fogelberg and Gordon Freaking Lightfoot didn't make Rolling Stone's Top 100, which no doubt you have a valid argument. Not even Cat Freaking Stevens, or John Freaking Denver etc....??? So yeah, I get all that, but now where do I begin? No doubt that a lot of the Top 100 feel right-on valid, yet with me "popular" doesn't always equate to "good". There's been plenty of decent songwriters that nobody's ever heard of, and there's been plenty of popular songwriters that have achieved recognition through sales, yet it can be rather debatable whether or not they were good, and there again musical taste is oft times subjective. Some songwriters have put out a huge body of work, while some younger budding writers haven't maybe been around long enough to compete with that, but nevertheless are well on their way with their work already showing great promise. And what about collaborative efforts from bands, or multiple members of bands who often work together on building songs? And what about eras, styles, and genres? I feel a bit like Sheldon Cooper who's been asked a simple question, yet to him it's not at all a simple question for he's seeing too many perplexing obstacles that makes simply answering it a daunting and almost impossible task. My aim here will be at a list of those decent songwriters that didn't make the Top 100, either those who I believe belong there, and others who I'm not at all surprised that they're not considering their popularity, but still think of them and really decent songwriters. With that said, I'm bound to forget to name hundreds for every one that I list. Let me try to begin by naming well known names (before listing some not so well known names) that either I'm surprised aren't in the Top 100, or have at least a decent amount of popularity to have been considered, but I won't repeat names such as Cat Stevens, or John Denver in the process though I whole-heartedly agree that they belong. - Irving Berlin - Cole Porter - Johnny Mercer - Lerner and Loewe - Rogers and Hammerstien - Rogers and Hart - Jermone Kern -Jerry Herman - Stephen Sondheim - Andrew Lloyd Webber - Tim Rice - John Mellencamp - Ryan Adams - Peter Gabriel - George Michael - Jon Anderson (with obvious input from multiple other Yes members) - David Gilmore - Roger Waters - Moody Blues (Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder, John Lodge, Ray Thomas) - Neil Peart - Jacob Dylan - Robert Smith - Devendra Banhardt - Andy Cabic - Jeff Mangum - Jeff Tweedy - Jay Farrar - Elvis Perkins - Zach Condon - Paul Hayden Desser - Conor Oberst And the more I name names, I think about more, and this list will never ever end...
December 16, 20178 yr A solid list of famous and massively famous artists. Paul Simon gets mine if m picking just one.
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