Famous Songwriters

• Acuff, Roy

  "The King of Country Music"

• Allen, Peter

  Aussie cabaret performer and subject of the musical The Boy From Oz

• Anderson, Ian

  The main guy in the rock band Jethro Tull

• Anka, Paul

  The singer/songwriter who did "Diana" and "My Way"

• Bacharach, Burt

  The pianist who co-wrote "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" and "Walk On By"

• Badu, Erykah

  The neo-soul singer of "Bag Lady" and "On & On"

• Bennett, Tony

  The crooner who sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

• Björk

  Eccentric singer from Iceland

• Blige, Mary J.

  The "Queen of Hip-Hop and Soul"

• Bridgers, Phoebe

  The indie rock singer who did the album 'Punisher'

• Brown, James

  The musical "Godfather of Soul"

• Buffett, Jimmy

  Singer of the pop hit "Margaritaville"

• Burnett, T Bone

  Oscar-winning producer/songwriter for Crazy Heart

• Carlile, Brandi

  The singer who did 'By the Way, I Forgive You'

• Cash, Johnny

  The singer of "Folsom Prison Blues"

• Cash, June Carter

  Country music legend and wife of Johnny Cash

• Chapin, Harry

  Singer of the 1972 hit "Taxi"

• Chesney, Kenny

  Singer of "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem"

• Cohan, George M.

  "Mr. Broadway" and the composer of "Yankee Doodle Dandy"

• Cohen, Leonard

  The writer of the haunting song "Hallelujah"

• Costello, Elvis

  The guy who did "Watching the Detectives" and "Radio, Radio"

• Crow, Sheryl

  Singer of "All I Wanna Do"

• Curtis, Catie

  Singer of "Magnolia Street"

• Day, Andra

  The singer of "Rise Up" who played Billie Holiday in 2020

• Denver, John

  Folk-pop singer of "Rocky Mountain High"

• Diamond, Neil

  The pop musician who sang "Sweet Caroline"

• DioGuardi, Kara

  The fourth judge on TV's American Idol

• Dylan, Bob

  Singer of "Like a Rolling Stone"

• Etheridge, Melissa

  Singer of "Come to My Window"

• Flack, Roberta

  Singer of Killing Me Softly

• Frey, Glenn

  The guitarist who co-founded The Eagles

• GaGa, Lady

  The pop singer who co-starred in the 2018 film 'A Star Is Born'

• Gaye, Marvin

  Singer of "Sexual Healing"

• Gibb, Robin

  One-third of the pop group The Bee Gees

• Gill, Vince

  Country music superstar who did These Days

• Gryner, Emm

  Singer of the folk single "Summerlong"

• Guerra, Juan Luis

   The Dominican guitarist who did "Bachata Rosa"

• Guthrie, Woody

  The guy who wrote "This Land Is Your Land"

• Haggard, Merle

  The Okie from Muskogee

• Hammerstein, Oscar II

  Co-writer of Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music

• Idle, Eric

  Creator of The Rutles and SpamAlot

• Jackson, Wanda

  The "Queen of Rockabilly"

• Jewel

  The singer of the hit "You Were Meant For Me"

• Joel, Billy

  Pianist and singer of the tune Piano Man

• Johnston, Daniel

  The eccentric singer/songwriter of 'Hi, How Are You?'

• King, Carole

  Singer of "It's Too Late"

• Lady Antebellum

  The country music trio who did "I Run to You" and "Need You Now"

• Lang, K.D.

  Country and pop vocalist

• Lee, Peggy

  Singer of "Fever"

• Legend, John

  Singer of the 2005 hit "Ordinary People"

• Lennon, John

  One of the songwriters from The Beatles

• Lorde

  The teen singer of the hit song "Royals"

• Lovett, Lyle

  Singer of The Road to Ensenada

• Lynn, Loretta

  The country music legend who sang "Coal Miner's Daughter"

• Marley, Bob

  The reggae hero who did "Get Up, Stand Up"

• Mayer, John

  Singer of "Your Body is a Wonderland"

• McCartney, Paul

  Singer and composer for The Beatles

• McKeown, Erin

  Singer of "Queen of Quiet"

• McLachlan, Sarah

  Singer/Songwriter who co-founded Lilith Fair

• McLean, Don

  The guy who did "American Pie" and "Starry, Starry Night"

• Megan Thee Stallion

  The featured vocalist on the 2020 hit "WAP"

• Menken, Alan

  The composer behind The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast

• Mitchell, Joni

  Singer of "The Circle Game" and "Free Man in Paris"

• Morissette, Alanis

  The singer of the hit "You Oughta Know"

• Morrison, Van

  The singer of "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Moondance"

• Morrissey

  Lead singer of the 1980s band The Smiths

• Nelson, Willie

  Singer of "On the Road Again"

• Nicks, Stevie

  Singer for the rock band Fleetwood Mac 1975-2001

• Nilsson, Harry

  The guy who sang "Jump into the Fire"

• Oberst, Conor

  The singer/songwriter behind the band Bright Eyes

• Ocasek, Ric

  The big-eared founder of the rock band The Cars

• Ocean, Frank

   The hip-hop creator of the the album channel ORANGE

• O'Connor, Sinead

  The bald-headed Irish singer of "Nothing Compares 2U"

• Orbison, Roy

  Singer of "Only the Lonely"

• Paisley, Brad

  Singer of "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)"

• Parsons, Gram

  The Flying Burrito Brother who helped countrify 1960s rock

• Parton, Dolly

  Singer of the hit tune I Will Always Love You

• Petty, Tom

  The singer of "Breakdown"

• Porter, Cole

  The Broadway master who wrote "Night and Day"

• Prince

  The funky star who recorded 1999 and changed his name to a symbol

• Prine, John

  The singer/songwriter who did "Angel From Montgomery"

• Redding, Otis

  Soul singer who did "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

• Shakira

  Sexy Latin singer of "Whenever, Wherever"

• Sheeran, Ed

  The redheaded singer-songwriter who did of "The Shape of You"

• Silverstein, Shel

  Author of Where the Sidewalk Ends

• Simon, Carly

  The singer of "You're So Vain"

• Simone, Nina

  Eclectic singer of "I Loves You Porgy" and "Mississippi Goddam"

• Simon, Paul

  Half of the singing duo Simon and Garfunkel

• Smith, Elliott

  The singer of "Miss Misery" who stabbed himself

• Springsteen, Bruce

  The New Jersey rocker who did the song "Born to Run"

• Stapleton, Chris

  The country singer-songwriter who did 'Traveller'

• Strait, George

  Top-selling country star who did "Fool Hearted Memory"

• Taylor, James

  Folk-pop singer of "Fire and Rain" and "Carolina in My Mind"

• Waits, Tom

  Raspy-voiced singer of "The Piano Has Been Drinking"

• Williams, Dar

  Singer of "Spring Street"

• Williams, Hank

  The country singer who did "Your Cheatin' Heart"

• Wilson, Jackie

  R&B pop/soul singer who did "Baby Workout"

• Winehouse, Amy

  The talented, boozy and short-lived singer of the song "Rehab"

• Withers, Bill

  The singer of "Leon On Me" and "Ain't No Sunshine"

• Wonder, Stevie

  The singer of "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"

• Young, Neil

  Renegade rock star

• Zevon, Warren

  The darkly funny musician who sang "Werewolves of London"

See: Index by Occupation