Name your favourite top 6 songwriters

[mancity2012_eamo]

Morrissey / Marr
Difford / Tilbrook
Bob Dylan
Lloyd Cole
Pete Shelley
Springsteen

Lloyd Cole - good call. Had considered him myself.

 

[Barcon]

My takeaway is that apparently there have only been about 20 artists in music history, and the last ones who ever wrote anything were Rivers Cuomo and J Mascis :)

JK. For me:

Neil Young
Walter Becker/Donald Fagan (that I am the first to mention these guys is sad)
Neil Tennant/Chris Lowe
Adam Schlesinger/Chris Collingwood
Corin Tucker/Carrie Brownstein
Eric Bachmann

I was going to mention them earlier along with Gord Downie but I couldn't be arsed coming up with any more at the time.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Our own Phil Lynott could write a catchy lyric too.

 

[chesterbells]

My takeaway is that apparently there have only been about 20 artists in music history, and the last ones who ever wrote anything were Rivers Cuomo and J Mascis :)

JK. For me:

Neil Young
Walter Becker/Donald Fagan (that I am the first to mention these guys is sad)
Neil Tennant/Chris Lowe
Adam Schlesinger/Chris Collingwood
Corin Tucker/Carrie Brownstein
Eric Bachmann

Haha, so your top 6 is actually 10 ;-)
Go on, be brave, go for it, gimme your top 6!

 

[Protein Junkie]

Jon Anderson
Kate Bush
Amy Lee
Neil Finn
Jem Godfrey

Only named five.
Joe Dolce

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Haha, so your top 6 is actually 10 ;-)
Go on, be brave, go for it, gimme your top 6!

I'd remove Fountains of Wayne and Sleater-Kinney and keep Young, Steely Dan, Pet Shop Boys and Archers of Loaf.

 

[Xhavenjoe]

When I was thinking of this, I was concentrating on songwriters whose main hits were for other artists.
I was omitting the likes of Kate Bush, Springsteen etc.
Torn between Albert Hammond and Jimmy Webb.
I know there are probably several but cannot think offhand of anyone whose songs were covered more and wrote more hits for others than Hammond.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I was going to mention them earlier along with Gord Downie but I couldn't be arsed coming up with any more at the time.

They are my favo(u)rites of all time; I just put Young first because he's on so many lists. Best combination of music, lyrics, longeveity and consistency of any artist IMO. Many others on these lists have a flaw -- they also wrote some really BAD songs. Steely Dan wrote, effectively, none IMO, at least up through Gaucho.

 

[MCFCTrick]

Prince
Rick Neilsen
Ian McNabb
David Sylvian
Kate Bush
Jeff Buckley

 

[chesterbells]

I'd remove Fountains of Wayne and Sleater-Kinney and keep Young, Steely Dan, Pet Shop Boys and Archers of Loaf.

Brill - and original too - I can’t imagine many others putting Neil’s Tennant and Young in there together- though I agree both are excellent.