I would’ve liked to see Conor Oberst on the list.
The difficulty for a list of only 30 is that it is barely enough to touch on enough eras and genres to be credibly interesting instead of just a magnifying lens of omissions.
Warren Zevon, Michael Stipe, David Byrne, Madonna, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Garth Brooks, Billy Idol, Jack White, Harry Nilsson, et cetera and so on…
Was Randy Newman even on that list?
No, and it’s kind of amazing because Newman appears on NINE voters’ lists at the link in RitterSport’s post #38 above. I know that’s not all the voters, but still.
Warren Zevon and Harry Nillson are dead. Billy Idol is English.
Doh, head slap, of course!
I’m listening to a NYT podcast and there are frequent ads touting the list and the associated interviews. It concludes with, “Check out our list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters and see if you agree with our experts…I’m sure you won’t.”
It’s obviously easy for anyone to name a dozen omissions. Even given specific criteria (which we aren’t), we’ll all have different opinions. A better way to evaluate these lists might be to ask if there’s anyone on the list who clearly should not be? And I’d give a firm no on that.
As for my personal omissions: Beck, and Mike Doughty (solo career and formerly Soul Coughing). They both had killer music, and lyrics like no one else.
I think Missy Elliott should not be on it, or she should share the spotlight with Timbaland. There’s not one song where she’s solo credit as writer. And, I’m a fan.
I know nothing about Young Thug - did he write for anyone else? Did he write the music, too?
YouTuber Rick Beato weighs in.
Can’t wait to watch that!
What is a songwriter? Is a lyricist a songwriter? Is someone who creates the sound but not the lyrics a songwriter? Is someone who does both an actual songwriter? What’s the criteria here?
Apparently, a lyricist is sufficient, because that’s really what Missy Elliott is (and maybe Young Thug, I don’t know who does his tracks). Or, just really the track, because Nile Rodgers isn’t a great lyricist.
A great songwriter should do both, in my mind, but the NY Times disagrees with me. OutKast does both well, Paul Simon, etc.