An expert contributor to The New York Times' list of The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters reflects on their personal ballot and the list's composition.
Key Details
- The contributor submitted a ballot to The New York Times for the list.
- Between submission and publication, several songwriters on the contributor's ballot died, including Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, D'Angelo, Tom Lehrer, Alan Bergman, and Billy Steinberg.
- The contributor notes that some other contributors included personal connections, such as Aimee Mann naming her husband Michael Penn and collaborator Ted Leo, and Jeff Tweedy naming himself.
Contributor's Ballot
The contributor's submitted ballot included:
Bob Dylan, Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Willie Nelson, Carole King, John Fogerty, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits (and Kathleen Brennan), Stevie Wonder, Mike Stoller, Donald Fagen, Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham, Dolly Parton, Stephen Malkmus, Jimmy Webb, Billy Joel, Public Enemy (The Bomb Squad), Todd Rundgren, Neil Diamond, Lindsey Buckingham, and Dwight Yoakam.
Missed Songwriters
- The contributor acknowledges missing several songwriters they now consider obvious, such as Gamble & Huff, Bobby Braddock, and Miranda Lambert.
- The contributor expresses surprise that John Fogerty and Randy Newman were not included in the final list.
Criticisms
- The contributor criticizes the inclusion of Lana Del Rey and Diane Warren on the final list, stating they do not consider their songbooks to be of sufficient quality or depth.