Greatest Songwriter of 20th Centuty

[horacejesse]

No, I know what you mean, Ed. It is about as subjective as one's favorite food. There would probably be about the same statistical dispersion. I like lobster and Bob Dylan.

[edteja]

I don't know, some of those long-winded lobster songs are boring, and I bet Dylan would taste rather gamey. A bit long in the tooth (like me).

[og]

A good marinade and moist heat....

[ernstinen]

Ahem --- I've been running this question in the back of my pea brain for awhile, and since I'm a sucker for melodies (that's why I love Richard Rodgers), I think we've missed someone:Stevie Wonder! -------- (nevermind "Ebony & Ivory" )I think "My Cherie Amore" is as good as anything McCartney has ever written.Ern

[pogodog]

Quote:Ahem --- I've been running this question in the back of my pea brain for awhile, and since I'm a sucker for melodies (that's why I love Richard Rodgers), I think we've missed someone:Stevie Wonder! -------- (nevermind "Ebony & Ivory" )I think "My Cherie Amore" is as good as anything McCartney has ever written.Ern Ditto that. Ern"Higher Ground" , "For The City" , " The Fomer Living" etc...

[aubreyz]

I can't dispute any of the opinions offered so far, and I can't say that I would even have a strong vote for THE greatest writer. There is a writer that I really respect that I don't think is duly recognized:StingFrom catchy pop to eclectic rock, I think he pushed boundaries in a very unique way. Who else sounds like Sting? How many songs have you heard and thought, that sounds like the Police?How fragile we are, I hope the Russians love their children too, king of pain.... on and on - unique, meaningful, intelligent writing.Maybe not THE writer, but in my book definitely ONE of THE writers worth noting.

[horacejesse]

Stevie Wonder has a lot of great songs, no doubt about that. For my taste he reached his peak with Fulfillingness First Finale, or whatever that silly title was. Every song on it was a masterpiece. Heaven and Lately just kill me everytime. Same with some of the earlier stuff: Blame it On the Sun, Yester-me Yester-you, Superstition, Cherie. It doesn't get much better to listen to.On the lyric side he might be rather ordinary, but the lyrics fit perfectly, you can listen to the songs over and over and they still seem great, so what is there to complain about?

[edteja]

The other problem, if we say "greatest songwriter" is that you can't even beging to discover all the unpublished songwrites, who might be even greater than the ones on record. There are people, believe it or not, who write songs with no intention of getting them published.