Favorite singer-songwriter ever

I'm afraid I couldn't back up my promise to spam the board with evil polls, so here's a pleasant one for my first. Whooooooo's your favorite singer-songwriter?

This is tough! I had to knock out one of my personal gods, Harry Chapin, on the grounds that, frankly, he's not very good. I wanted to slip in John Wesley Harding, but I knew he'd only get one vote, mine. The only person I'd likely vote for ahead of JWH would be Lyle Lovett, but I suspect that few even think of Lyle as a songwriter because he's such a superlative singer. But read the lyrics; he is.

Anyway, have fun with this, and don't beat me up if I didn't list your favorite. As I said, I didn't even list mine!

PS: Just bipped Phil Ochs in favor of Neil Young. Don't beat me!

Where's John Lennon? Carly Simon?

I'll have to go with other, and say John Lennon. Those others are good (great, in fact) but I can think of no other more influential singer/songwriter

I can't think of anyone that even comes close...

(ps - terwilliger, we have found common ground :-) )

:)

for the better. Bob Dylan is the only choice.

Beatles are my favorite artist, but for an individual, Paul has the best combination of singing and songwriting.

along with a need to explore his creative impulses. No doubt - he's the one.

Saw him in concert last month; my 25 year-old son took me. His response? A shocked "awesome."

For sheer volume of great songs, it's Bob. Even though he left his prime 30 years ago, a lot of his songs are timeless. And actually all your choices for polling are good. Too bad there was no space for Nick Drake, but maybe like Ochs, there just wasn't enough output...my thoughts, at least!

no one else would, and that would be complete bullshit. Dylan's the greatest, but Earle doesn't get nearly enough props. In my estimation, he should be heralded right alongside the Springsteens, Dylans, Costellos, and Youngs of the world.

Steve Earle is GREAT songwriter, he has something to say, and he doesn't mince his words.

Those two gentlemen wrote some of the most clever lyrics of all time. So why aren't they credited as part of the singer/songwriter crowd? Did they come along too early? Were they the wrong skin color? Or did their songs lack a so-called "deep meaning"? Whatever the case, the singer/songwriter movement's failure to embrace Berry and Robinson as two of their own is complete bullshit!

Chuck Berry is an American Genius on a par with Mark Twain or Tennessee Williams. It particularly rankles me that Robinson does not enjoy the same status as Brian Wilson in the pop pantheon. In 1969, Dylan himself said that Robinson was the best lyricist in the business.

...that Smokey Robinson was "America's greatest living poet." A hefty admission, coming from Mr. Zimmerman!

what about James Taylor?

He pretty much defined the genre.

Steve Earle is the best today.

John Hiatt is like another species he's so good.

Lou Reed
Chuck Berry

Died last night at age 40. One of a kind. A true underground legend.

===================================================
Don't Curse in God's House
Found on Wesley Willis

Once upon a time, I was cursing in Morning Star Baptist Church
I called the evangelist a stupid crucifuck
Reverend Richard Price preached about my vulgar language
He told the congregation in the sanctuary that I got a nasty filthy mouth

Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house

At this time, I told the preacher to fuck off
I told Reverend Richard Price to suck a male camel's dick
Suddenly, he ordered one of the deacons to throw me out of church
He then escorted me to the door

Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house

When I went to church that same Sunday, I picked up a beating stick
I went up to the pulpit and clocked Reverend Richard Price in the head
He fell to the floor
Suddenly, the police was chasing me out of church after I called the preacher an asshole

Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house
Don't curse in God's house

Hardees, we're out to win you over

Chicago's Wicker Park misses him immensely.

.....his simple sophistication in word and tune set a standard during my childhood that I would, then, demand from all later singer-songwriters.

edited for 'd'..

River in the Rain

damn!

And he also did a killer cover of Bobby McGee....

"You can't go to heaven in a strapless gown
'Cause when you go up it might come down"


Or "Kansas City Star"

"Kansas CIty Star
That's what I are
Yodel-odel-ay-ee
You oughta see my car"


"King of the Road" is definitely his masterpiece though.

Dude won a Tony.

.

All the ones in the poll selection are excellent choices. I just aspire to be difficult.

Elvis Costello is another great one.

his political satire is on the money.

followed by Pete Shelley (The Buzzcocks).

Stuart Davis
Kevin Gilbert (RIP)
Sean Kelly
Mike Keneally

He didn't compose all his hits but he did author a few.

Richard Thompson. It shouldn't be the last...Help me out, fellow fans of the Guitar God!

-SM

"red hair and black leather
my favorite color scheme"

Just cast the second vote for RT.

Probably, blasphemy to say so but I think RT is better than Dylan. More consistent in material, better guitartist, better singer, etc.

followed by Neil Diamond, then Elvis, and running up would be James Taylor.

not on your list;-)

:hi:

The newest album, The Naked Ride Home is excellent.

I like the song Sergio Leone. Terrific biography.


And how true is Casino Nation?

the cowboy mogul rides

:-(

He also has been generous with members of his band.

Casino Nation

In a weapons producing nation under Jesus
In the fabled crucible of the free world
Camera crews search for clues amid the detritus
And entertainment shapes the land
The way the hammer shapes the hand

Gleaming faces in the checkout counter at the Church of Fame
The lucky winners cheer Casino Nation
All those not on TV only have themselves to blame
And don't quite seem to understand
The way the hammer shapes the hand

Out beyond the ethernet the spectrum spreads
DC to daylight, the cowboy mogul rides
Never worry where the gold for all this glory's gonna come from
Get along dogies, it's coming out of your hides

The intentional cultivation of a criminal class
The future lit by brightly burning bridges
Justice fully clothed to hide the heart of glass
That shatters in a thousand Ruby Ridges
And everywhere the good prepare for perpetual war
And let their weapons shape the plan
The way the hammer shapes the hand

Lyrics by Jackson Browne
Music by Jackson Browne, Kevin McCormick, Mark Goldenberg, Mauricio Lewak, Jeff Young
(Swallow Turn Music, ASCAP; Eye Cue Music, ASCAP; Bossypants Music/Songs of Windswept Pacific, BMI; Bateria Music, ASCAP; Glad Brad Music, Inc., ASCAP)

talk about a political point of view and a way with words.

And Gord Downy, Johnny cash

He's a songwriter's songwriter.

"Crossing Muddy Waters" and "The Tiki Bar Is Open" are just killer.

...and he's been one of my all time favorite songwriters and rockers ever since.

i like his older material better than his newer stuff, tho. "bring the family", "slow turning", and "riding with the king" are my favorite CDs of his.

anyone ever heard him play "since his penis came between us"? i don't think he ever recorded the song. i saw him play it at a songwriter's workshop and it was hilarious.

nt

Hear that lonesome whippoorwill,
He sounds too blue to fly.
The midnight train is whining low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by.
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry.

Did you ever see a robin weep,
When leaves began to die?
That means he's lost the will to live,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky.
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

And Willie and Merle and John Lennon, not necessarily in that order.

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is a classic, as are most of his songs.

I love Peter Gabriel and I got the chance to see him when I was a kid and he was with Genesis.

previns album..mythical kings and iguanas was a heart felt cry after breaking up with andre..but there are so many...

....but my favorites that pop into my mind right away are:

lennon & mccartney
george harrison
elvis costello
john hiatt
steve goodman
john prine
michael smith (the guy from chicago, not the religious song songwriter)
lyle lovett
joni mitchell
willie nelson

He was a big influence on Steve Earle & Lyle Lovett (among others).

Richard Thompson is also a special favorite--so bitter & twisted, in a humorous way.

(That Dylan fella's pretty good, too.)

Hands down, the man was a genius. Let's not forget John Prine, though.

when I was a computer operator at American Bank on 6th Street I worked with a gal who lived with Townes, his wife and kid in Austin. Now, when I say I KNEW HIM, well, I'd say very remotely. The guy was a severe alcoholic and was pretty much glazed over every time I spoke to him.

He suffered from serious depression which he "self-medicated" from time to time with alcohol, etc. (Still, he could be funny & charming.) Many young songwriters bought into his "legend" by engaging in serious substance abuse rather than concentrating on their music.

Steve Earle faced down his demons & has prevailed.

Lyle Lovett was smart. He learned about songwriting but avoided going to hell in Nashville. His double album "Step Inside this House" is a tribute to Townes & other (mostly Texan) singer/songwriters who were his friends & influences. A fine piece of work, it was also a very generous way for some neglected artists to earn royalties on their songs.

...and, i feel he was overrated as a songwriter. whenever i hear people say he was the greatest songwriter ever (like steve earl said) i have to laugh. texans are very provincial and they can't accept that a non-texan could ever be better at anything than a texan. not a slam on townes, i just couldn't put his songwriting up there with the lennons, mccartneys, paul simons, of the world.

townes' lyrics could be interesting and sad but musically speaking his songs weren't all that interesting. maybe my opinion is like that because i got burned out on the folk scene in austin. having grown up in chicago, i also have to laugh when i hear people brag about how austin is the live music capitol of the world...again, more of that texas provinciality.

anyways, i must say that townes was the gentlest and most charming alcoholic i had ever met. he was an all around nice guy.

somehow. We always do that, when we compare artists, but can't live without doing it. It's like comparing someone, who's using simple toys to express complex things with someone, who has an exellent and complex technique. Both can lead to extraordinary works of art - both can lead to BS.
I love Townes songs, esp. the last songs and some he rerecorded in the years before he died. Saw him 3 times. The last time, he couldn't even do all of his guitar stuff properly. According to his manager he didn't eat for days, he was just drinking.
I miss him
Dirk

....i was actually thinking about that as i read through this whole thread. the term "singer/songwriter" has long been one i don't really care for because it's usually the genre where people get placed if they don't fit into rock, jazz, blues, pop or some other well defined genre. it always conjures images of obscure, folky people who play a few chords on their yamaha acoustic guitar and have an axe to grind. lennon/mccartney, jagger/richards, elvis costello, fats waller, billy joel, fenton robinson, albert collins, marvin gaye are all singer/songwriters, yet their CDs would never be found in the singer/songwriter section of tower records.

when you live in austin, where half the town considers themselves singer/songwriters you'd understand why the term is less than desirable to me. i dare you to try to sit through an open-mike night at flipnotics or even the cactus cafe.

I lived in Austin 17 years and have to agree - music capital? LOL, perhaps ther's LOTS of music there but most of it SUCKED.

do you get out to see a lot of live music? ever hang out at artz ribhouse on lamar? i used to go there several nights a week when i lived a few blocks from there. i even played there a coupla times.

and now live north of Dallas. I feel like I lived in Austin the best years she had to offer - now when I visit it feels like a mini-Dallas. Will you attend the DU get-together in Austin next month? I'm pretty sure I'll be there.

.

If the Make a Wish Foundation ever asks me what I want, it will be to hear an acoustic concert featuring Elvis Costello and Graham Parker - and to hear them play a couple of tunes together.

That's what I want.

I sang last night (at an icky little bar in Allston MA). I did two Richard Thompson songs: "Pharaoh" (repeated later by audience request) and "Pavane." I also did a song by Peter Blegvad (one of my obscure heroes, who was a Golden Palomino, and gave some lyrics to John Paul Jones) called "Something Else is Working Harder," and Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marching Any More," and a couple traditional folk songs, and Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" for dessert.

And a bunch of my own stuff, but I am but a gnat fanning my little wings on the shoulders of giants. I need a real lyricist to kick my ass.

"Shawn Phillips is one of most fascinating and enigmatic musicians to come out of the early '70s singer-songwriter boom. The mere fact that he was a musician as much as a singer and songwriter made him stand out, and helped him attract a dedicated following. His refusal to shape his music — which crosses between folk-rock, jazz, progressive, pop, and classical — to anyone else's expectations has allowed him to hold onto a large and dedicated cult following, without ever achieving the stardom that his talent seems to merit. "

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Bv2jb7i6jg74r~C

.

I think Hank Williams Sr is a close second.

.

Warren Zevon
Ani DiFranco
Patti Smith
Ray Davies of The Kinks

.

My faves.

Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, LLDOB were the epitome of songwriting.

Don't argue, cuz you'll just die tired.

But beginning with Nursery Cryme: ... I was HOOKED on the original goth band forever .... I remember calling KNAC and requesting "Supper's Ready" every night, .... and getting it ....

Sighs ... those were the days ....

Damn: .. I didnt even think about Peter ..... my bad .....

I love that old Genesis stuff, but PG has been doing truly extraordinary music for the last 20 years. Greatest musician alive as far as I'm concerned.

n/t

Elvis Costello ??? ...

GOTTA agree: .. Lennon, Bowie, Simon, Costello ..

Page and Plant ? .... Hmmmmmm ....

Toss in Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, ... and perhaps even the Late Kurt Cobain shoud get honorable mention for his effect on the punk movement .....

Best Ever!

The best singer / songwriter ever

good list in the poll ... i like to think of all the people listed as "folkies" or at least of folkie roots ...

but no list of folkies is complete without Kate Wolf ... easily one of the best singer-songwriters of all time ...

...the song is so poignant.

She is praticaly the singer/songwriter poet laureate of California as her songs are very place specific to Califas.

But want to put in a plug for Ronnie Van Zant.

...Kristin Hersh!

http://www.alwaysontherun.net/kristin.htm

Laura Nyro was a genius.

They were both incredible in their bands, and as solo artists they are incredible as well. Just incredible people really.

... Amused to Death is way underrated.

... and Peter... well... he's released so much amazing material (including excellent film scores and one of the first great CD-ROMs) and done so much other great stuff, like WOMAD and Real World.

I have to vote for my son. You don't know him yet, but you will. He just signed two contracts with two different labels last week. Proud Mom will keep you posted. Single out soon and album on the way.

:party: :toast:

I respect it if you want to keep your privacy, but I'm sure we'd all like to listen out for him!

Anyhoo...just keep us posted & I'll be listening to the radio.

Congrats! Mazel Tov!

.... Jim Osterberg aka Iggy Pop.

Many think of him as just a proto-punk wild man, he is really a gifted songwriter who has written songs that rival the best ever.

He's written some crap too, but who hasn't :)

Hank Williams
James Taylor
Bob Dylan
Van Morrison
Steve Earle