Greatest Singer-Songwriter-Musician

[FlaGator]

Greatest country writer hands down Dean Dillon . Best musician , because I play guitar is Mr. Vaughn . Sunday we leave for Europe I will be joining the Sahm Covers Sahm show. This is Doug Sahm’s son Shandon . Shandon tells story of his father preparing for an east coast show with Bob Dylan , Kris Kristofferson and Ringo Starr at their home in Austin . They were due to leave one day and started playing music drinking and smoking and never left Austin for the start of the tour. In October I will be with Sahm covers Sahm in Texas and I am praying the great Flacco Jimenez shows up, he is 86 in a wheel chair . If he does I will pee my pants on stage . Too bad Freddy Fender is gone.

Great experience for you, congratulations! That would be wonderful to have Flacco there. The Texas Tornados are my favorite Super Group

 

[youbet]

Steve Goodman

Yeah, a sidekick of John Prine during the Chicago singer/song writer club years of the 60's and 70's. "Chicago Shorty" was a superb guitarist and super talented song writer. His biography "Facing the Music" by Clay Eals is a long, long read but does contain some really interesting sections. There are even pics of Steve with Hillary Rodam (Clinton) at Maine South High School in Park Ridge which they both attended! I was concurrently attending high school a few miles away but "on the other side of the tracks" in Chicago.

 

[Montecfo]

Getting back to "greatest" discussion, consider Paul McCartney and Elton John. Both amazingly prolific and commercially successful.

Yet McCartney has virtually all of his Beatles (and arguably best) credits as co-author with John Lennon. Similarly, Elton's best writing was with Bernie Taupin.

Certainly co-authorship has value but I wonder how each stacks up solely looking at his exclusive work? Very differently for sure.

And not sure Lennon was even mentioned in the thread? He should be considered prominently.

 

[Gumby]

Getting back to "greatest" discussion, consider Paul McCartney and Elton John. Both amazingly prolific and commercially successful.

Yet McCartney has virtually all of his Beatles (and arguably best) credits as co-author with John Lennon. Similarly, Elton's best writing was with Bernie Taupin.

Certainly co-authorship has value but I wonder how each stacks up solely looking at his exclusive work? Very differently for sure.

And not sure Lennon was even mentioned in the thread? He should be considered prominently.

I agree on the co-writing issues. I was originally thinking about Don Henley and Glen Frey of the Eagles, but I went with Prince, who did it all himself.

I think W2R was a very strong proponent of John Lennon earlier in the thread. I love the Beatles and John Lennon too, but I took the assignment as "best" rather than "favorite". In my opinion, John was excellent songwriter, an extremely innovative but not technically superb musician, and his voice was "thin". Paul McCartney had a much better voice. And there is also the co-writing thing. So, while Prince is not my favorite artist, in my opinion he is close to being the best.

 

[Northforker]

I can't even imagine how much great southern rock material we lost with the premature death of Ronnie Van Zant.

Same with Buddy Holly and early rock.

These two were just hitting their stride when they were killed by airplanes, sad.

 

[steelyman]

Since McCartney continues to be discussed, I want to mention that the post in this thread (#44) about the song “Lovely Rita” has lodged it in my mind (a welcome earworm?).

I’ve really liked that tune since it came out and it strikes me that the main part of the song, while catchy although a bit on the slow side for “rock”, is not what hooked me. Rather, it’s the final part with all the noises, grunts, and a really inventive bass line that makes it great (for me, anyway). I think John Lennon had something to do with that ending.

And I can’t listen to it without expecting the opening rooster crow of “Good Morning, Good Morning”. Thanks again, John!

 

[Music Lover]

Yet McCartney has virtually all of his Beatles (and arguably best) credits as co-author with John Lennon. Similarly, Elton's best writing was with Bernie Taupin.

Certainly co-authorship has value but I wonder how each stacks up solely looking at his exclusive work? Very differently for sure.

McCartney and Lennon agreed early on to share song credits, so even songs written entirely by McCartney or Lennon were credited to both. For example, "Yesterday" was entirely a McCartney song, in fact he also played the guitar on the recording but it's credited to Lennon/McCartney.

 

[steelyman]

McCartney and Lennon agreed early on to share song credits, so even songs written entirely by McCartney or Lennon were credited to both. For example, "Yesterday" was entirely a McCartney song, in fact he also played the guitar on the recording but it's credited to Lennon/McCartney.

Nellie McKay tells this story about the song “World Without Love”, a hit for Peter and Gordon. McCartney wrote it and was running through it for Lennon.

The first line is “Please lock me away…”. Lennon’s comment was “s’ok but you can stop after the first line”. Never became a Beatles song.

Nellie adds, “Poor Paul. He always came second.”

 

[dixonge]

Before I got to your pick, Paul McCartney came to my mind.
I always liked but was never a big follower of Stevie Wonder, however the score of many of his songs had many threads of sound tied together going on at the same time, that made them interesting and fun. If not complicated. There is usually more there, than you get the first time.

Stevie is a national treasure. True polymath when it comes to music. Played most of the instruments on most of his early albums.

Jim Croce was the 1st name that came to mind.

Had one of his songs stuck in my brain the other night. I'd put him up against Gordon Lightfoot any day.

I would put Dan Fogelberg right up there with the best of them. Well known for his songs like Leader of the Band, Run for the Roses, Same Old Lang Syne and Longer. His catalog is pretty extensive. I was a fan of his late 70s and early 80s stuff.
After learning of his passing in 2007 I explored his whole catalog. His early stuff is excellent too. We were lucky to have a few gifts since his passing. He left us with an album called Love in time. Then his wife discovered a DAT recording of Dan's 1979 solo performance at Carnegie Hall and went to great lengths to get that released. Dan was nervous that night because his parents were in the audience and did not want to record the event. Lucky someone did anyways and captured a great performance.

I had his Netherlands album in the late 70's and it haunts me to this day. High vocal range, lyrics that I can still quote to this day. Themes much broader than simply another love song. Music like this is my version of 'classical' music. Throw in Auld Lang Syne for a similar vibe. I probably get misty-eyed from his music more than any other artist. Just found this great quote from Dan:

“This may sound pompous, but I don’t want to be a rock star. I don’t want to be Peter Frampton. I’ve lived on food stamps before and I can live on them again. All I want is respect.” He expanded upon that thought with this: “Rock ’n’ roll is terrific, but it’s confining. I think I have much more to say musically. I think classical composers have said a lot more than anybody in the last 20 years has in pop. One Tchaikovsky concerto says a lot more than Sgt. Pepper as far as I’m concerned. It’s very limiting to write lyrics and melodies and chord changes. And I’m getting real bored with that, to tell you the truth.”

https://oldgreycat.blog/2021/06/19/the-fogelberg-files-nether-lands/

 

[dixonge]

Tom Scholz

Don't recognize the name? Main guy behind Boston. Why would I put him on this list?

1. Multi-instrumentalist - guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums.
2. Wrote or co-wrote almost all songs on debut album.
3. Recorded and engineered almost the entire album in his home basement.
4. Used lots of elements from classical music
5. Originated the album cover design
6. Had a Masters degree from MIT

Not as long a period of major success as others, but Boston burned bright in a multi-platinum way for a decade or so. Part of the soundtrack of my youth.

 

[FlaGator]

Getting back to "greatest" discussion, consider Paul McCartney and Elton John. Both amazingly prolific and commercially successful.

Yet McCartney has virtually all of his Beatles (and arguably best) credits as co-author with John Lennon. Similarly, Elton's best writing was with Bernie Taupin.

Certainly co-authorship has value but I wonder how each stacks up solely looking at his exclusive work? Very differently for sure.

And not sure Lennon was even mentioned in the thread? He should be considered prominently.

I agree on the co-writing issues. I was originally thinking about Don Henley and Glen Frey of the Eagles, but I went with Prince, who did it all himself.

I think W2R was a very strong proponent of John Lennon earlier in the thread. I love the Beatles and John Lennon too, but I took the assignment as "best" rather than "favorite". In my opinion, John was excellent songwriter, an extremely innovative but not technically superb musician, and his voice was "thin". Paul McCartney had a much better voice. And there is also the co-writing thing. So, while Prince is not my favorite artist, in my opinion he is close to being the best.

Those 3 examples tell the tale of rock/pop in the 60-70's, maybe into the 80's. All were far better together than they were as individual artists, IMO. The work of Lennon solo, Elton after Bernie, and Henley and Frey solo, while good, doesn't compare to what they did as a team. The magic just isn't there, for me.

McCartney and Frey needed the cynicism of their partners to bring out their best, and Elton needed a storyteller.

McCartney had a great solo/Wings career and showed he could still write "silly love songs" that people liked. Elton is clearly a great composer, musician and entertainer.

With all that, I would nominate McCartney and Elton for their respective talents, and Brian Wilson.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I had his Netherlands album in the late 70's and it haunts me to this day. High vocal range, lyrics that I can still quote to this day. Themes much broader than simply another love song. Music like this is my version of 'classical' music. Throw in Auld Lang Syne for a similar vibe. I probably get misty-eyed from his music more than any other artist. Just found this great quote from Dan:



“This may sound pompous, but I don’t want to be a rock star. I don’t want to be Peter Frampton. I’ve lived on food stamps before and I can live on them again. All I want is respect.” He expanded upon that thought with this: “Rock ’n’ roll is terrific, but it’s confining. I think I have much more to say musically. I think classical composers have said a lot more than anybody in the last 20 years has in pop. One Tchaikovsky concerto says a lot more than Sgt. Pepper as far as I’m concerned. It’s very limiting to write lyrics and melodies and chord changes. And I’m getting real bored with that, to tell you the truth.”



https://oldgreycat.blog/2021/06/19/the-fogelberg-files-nether-lands/

Thanks for your input on Dan Fogelberg. I agree Netherlands was one of his best albums. His Carnegie Hall acoustic live album is a real treasure from around that same time period.
That's a great review on that link. Love it when they add some of the actual songs they are talking about for you to listen to.
This is the story of how the Carnegie Hall album came to be told by his wife Jean.
https://www.danfogelberg.com/live-a...nce told me that,would only add more pressure.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm one of the few that thinks Bod Dylan is highly overrated. He wrote a few good songs and has some interesting lyrics, but he can't sing.

You are not. I'll add Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Brown to the overrated writer list, although Bruce can't sing either.

I like how Bob and Bruce had huge hits they wrote but others recorded.

My favorites:
- "Blinded by the Light" : Manfred Mann
- "Mr. Tamborine Man" : The Byrds, William Shatner

Yeah, Shatner. Pull it up some day. Better than Bob's version.