Top 15 Greatest Rock Writers Ever!
The greatest rock songwriters of all time have a lot in common. First, they are some of the biggest names in the history of rock music. And these famous names have written some of the most popular songs in the world… Secondly, even if you are not too familiar with these songwriters, you have definitely heard their songs at least once or twice in your life… Yes, you may not be familiar with their names or faces, but you should know their music! For some strange reason, you may not have heard of John Lennon or Paul McCartney, but you have definitely heard of The Beatles and their music. Same with Freddie Mercury and Queen...
Bob Dylan is considered one of the first songwriters to incorporate poetry, imagery, and social consciousness into rock music. His influence is very wide. Many of the songwriters on this list consider Dylan one of the most important songwriters in rock history. He may not have had the same impact as Dylan, but Kurt Cobain has proven to be one of the most important songwriters in recent history. His career may have been short, but his influence on the history of music cannot be underestimated. It's not easy to determine which of these songwriters is the best. It's up to you to decide who is the greatest rock songwriter of all time... However, remembering their names will not be superfluous.
Paul McCartney
A more mature audience knows Sir Paul McCartney as a cult "Beatle", but in addition to participating in The Beatles, he gave the world the great music of Wings ... Paul McCartney several times got into the Guinness Book of Records, in particular - for his contribution to the modern history of music! His 60 discs became gold, and the total circulation of records has long exceeded 100 million copies worldwide ...
One of the author's most legendary creations is the famous "Yesterday": the song has been re-recorded by other performers more than 3 thousand times! And “Mull of Kintyre”, already released as part of Wings, set a record as the first ever British record, the circulation of which exceeded 2 million copies…
John Lennon
The Lennon-McCartney duo has become one of the most influential and successful songwriting unions in the history of contemporary music. Paul's colleague in The Beatles, Lennon wrote dozens of cult compositions that do not cease to sound to this day ... The clearest example of this is "Imagine".
In his work, John Lennon expressed his point of view and views on life, he boldly spoke about how, in his opinion, the world should be arranged ... The musician preached the ideas of equality and brotherhood of people, peace, freedom ... This made him one of the most influential people of the 60s — 70s.
Bob Dylan
Having radically changed his sound vector in the mid-60s, Bob Dylan released the legendary six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone": the innovative concept of the track is considered one of the turning points in pop music of the 20th century.
Dylan's texts contain a wide range of political, social, philosophical and literary trends. In his work, the musician threw a daring challenge to all existing rules! A unique trait is considered to be the ability to raise serious topics, comparing them with high poetry ...
It was Dylan who had a great influence on such masters as Johnny Cash, Neil Young and even The Beatles!
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury has always been the creative center of Queen ... It is worth noting that each member of the group was the author of at least one hit! However, the iconic "Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by none other than Freddie...
Quite often, the lyrics written by Mercury remained a mystery to the public ... The author himself clearly liked this: the Queen frontman preferred not to disclose the essence of the tracks, giving the listener the opportunity to think about it for himself ...
David Bowie
Over the course of a 50-year career, David Bowie's image has changed more than once ... Because of this, the musician is often called the "chameleon of rock music." In his songs, Bowie raised difficult topics and serious social issues. The innovative creativity and stage production of his live performances brought a new paradigm to the popular music of the early 70s!
The unique trait of David Bowie has always been the devotion to his own recognizable style, the unique timbre of his voice and the intellectual depth of his works ...
Prince
During his lifetime, this great genius wrote dozens of cult hits, including the famous "Purple Rain"! The composition, which merged rock, pop, gospel and orchestral music, remains one of the most outstanding works of Prince in his entire career ...
The total circulation of Prince's records has long exceeded 100 million copies. The musician's name was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...
Robert Plant
After the breakup of Led Zeppelin, Plant began a successful solo career that continues to this day. Plant's talent as a songwriter first became apparent on the Led Zeppelin II album. At the same time, his passion for black blues music was noted ...
Plant's author's pinnacle is the legendary "Stairway To Heaven", the text of which captivates with its mystery, mystical mood and extraordinary beauty...
Johnny Cash
The stable phrase "The Man in Black" has long been closely associated with this genius. In many ways - because of his love for black things ... Johnny Cash's lyrics were distinguished by their extraordinary depth, simplicity ... They were also close to the public.
Cash continued to record until his death. Unfortunately, the country music icon that was proclaimed in the first place was gone in 2003 ...
Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler gained the greatest popularity as a songwriter, lead guitarist and vocalist of Dire Straits. In addition to the legendary songwriter, the musician is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitarists: it was Knopfler who popularized the finger-playing technique.
Mark Knopfler has worked with celebrities such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Sting... He also produced Tina Turner's album and wrote music for many films, including Local Hero and Diary of a Terrorist.
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton is one of the most influential rock musicians in history! He also remains the only musician to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times... In addition to being a great guitarist, Eric Clapton has also carved out a reputation for himself as a great rock songwriter! Let's listen to his famous hit "Layla"...
In addition to "Lyla", Clapton became widely known by performing a cover version of "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley ...
Tom Petty
Popularity came to Petty after the formation of the band The Heartbreakers. Tom was also a member of the super band The Traveling Wilburys! As the musician himself said, his future fate was determined after he saw The Beatles perform in 1964: "... this event changed my whole life ..." Of the most popular and truly beautiful hits of Tom Petty is the magnificent "Mary Janeʼs Last Dance" …
In October 2017, Petty was found unconscious at his home in Malibu. The musician had a complete cardiac arrest. After a long struggle for life, the doctors decided to turn off the life support system ...
Kurt Cobain
Probably, the legendary "Smells Like Teen Spirit", written by the leader of Nirvana just a few months before his death, will never be forgotten ... This song became a timeless hit, in fact, what it should have become (judging by the title ...)
Perhaps, against the background of the rest of the participants in this top, Kurt Cobain clearly contrasts ... His career as a grunge musician turned out to be unforgivably short ... But his influence on the history of music cannot be underestimated.
Roy Orbison
Is it worth talking about Roy Orbison's endless writing talent? Or just listen to the legendary "Oh, Pretty Woman" (which will be much nicer...)
By the way: the cult hit, which is already over 50 years old (!!!), was written by Orbison together with Bill Dees in exactly as long as the composition itself lasts!
David Gilmour
Speaking of the greatest authors of rock hits, it would be unforgivable to ignore David Gilmour: after recording Animals, he decided that his musical potential was only half used ... The musician decided to correct this by releasing the solo David Gilmour in 1978. Here Gilmour fully demonstrated his talent! From now on, each of his works only confirms his status as a talented author of music and lyrics!
It is noteworthy that in the mid-80s, at the height of tensions within Pink Floyd, Gilmour stated: "... the group has exhausted its creative possibilities ..."
Pete Townsend
Pete Townsend is known as the founder, leader and author of almost all the songs of The Who, called one of the most influential bands of the 20th century. And to be convinced of Townsend's authorial talent, it is enough to listen to "Won't Get Fooled Again"...
Today, Pete Townsend is also one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time! In a word, a truly talented person is talented in everything ...
