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Greatest Songwriter of all time

I was reading the Dylan post and it got me thinking. There are many great songwriters that come to mind, my expertise/knowledge is primarily with rock music. If you could only pick three, what would they be? My vote for best lyrics goes to:

Jim Morrison
Bruce Springsteen
Elvis Costello

Best music goes to:

Mark Knopfler
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Frank Zappa
jeffloistarca
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duddley
78 posts
 
How about,

Pete Townsend
Paul Simon
Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Rogers and Hammerstein
John Philip Sousa
Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Sting
Lennon and McCartney
Irving Berlin
Glen Miller
Benny Goodman
Lou Reed
Paul Anka
Prince: Aka Unpronouncable Glyph guy with large head
timf
237 posts
 
Laura Nyro-maybe not the greatest, but a true original & one that helped considerably in widening the arena for women in music. I think her lyrics strike this uneasy balance between music and poetry
dizbuster
40 posts
 
John Hiatt.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
Caveat; I seem to prefer music without lyrics. The names that immediately jumped to mind, and interestingly (maybe not?) in this order:
Tom Waits
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
and maybe Jackson Browne
oh, John Fogerty could sure lay down a hook
Mind you, I don’t listen to much of the above. Well, maybe Waits and CCR.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 
Lots and lots of great nominees already mentioned, most of my favorites. To which I will add Holland/Dozier/Holland and Boudleaux & Felice Bryant.
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