Music
The Greatest Rock Songwriters Of All Time
The greatest rock songwriters of all time have a lot in common. Firstly, they are some of the biggest names in rock music history. These household names have written some of the most popular songs. Secondly, even if you aren't too familiar with these songwriters, you've definitely heard their songs at least once or twice. You may not be familiar with their names or faces, but you should know their music. For some bizarre reason, you may not have heard of John Lennon or Paul McCartney, but you definitely have heard of The Beatles and their music. The same goes for Freddie Mercury and Queen, who like The Beatles' songwriting duo, wrote some of the most popular songs in music history.
Bob Dylan is widely considered one of the first songwriters to incorporate poetry, imagery and a social consciousness to rock music. His influence ranges far and wide. Many of the songwriters on this list count Dylan as 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 impact on music history cannot be understated.
It's not easy to determine which of these songwriters is the greatest of all time. It's up to you to determine who is the greatest rock songwriter of all time by voting for who you think deserves that title.- 1Pop music, Rock music, Rockabilly
- Albums: The Solo Collection, Barcelona, Mr. Bad Guy, Time, Guide Me Home
Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the ...more - 2Blues-rock, Heartland rock, Rock music
- Albums: Full Moon Fever, Wildflowers, Highway Companion, Mary Jane's Last Dance, Free Fallin'
Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, ...more - 3Outlaw country, Christian music, Americana
- Albums: American V: A Hundred Highways, American IV: The Man Comes Around, At Folsom Prison, American Recordings, American III: Solitary Man
John R. "Johnny" Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and author. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...more - 4Blue-eyed soul, Pop music, Rock music
- Albums: The Stranger, Piano Man, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, An Innocent Man
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his first hit and signature song of the same name, he has led ...more - 5Folk rock, Progressive rock, Art rock
- Albums: The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, Amused to Death, When the Wind Blows, Music From the Body, Ça Ira
George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943) is an English songwriter, singer, bassist, and composer. In 1965, he co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters initially served solely as the ...more - 6Blues-rock, Rock music, Folk music
- Albums: Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan (born May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, poet, and visual artist who has been a major figure in popular culture for more than fifty years. Much of his most celebrated ...more - 7Blues-rock, Pop music, Rock music
- Albums: Imagine, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey, Walls and Bridges
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon, 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as the rhythm guitarist for the ...more - 8Pop music, Rock music, Experimental rock
- Albums: Flaming Pie, Ram, McCartney, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Press to Play
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and record and film producer who gained worldwide fame as bass player for the Beatles. His ...more - 9Pop music, Rock music, Experimental rock
- Albums: All Things Must Pass, Cloud Nine, Living in the Material World, Thirty Three & 1/3, George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer-songwriter, and music and film producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. ...more - 11Rock music, Experimental rock, Grunge
- Albums: Harvest, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, Tonight's the Night, On the Beach
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in the 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he formed Buffalo Springfield with ...more - 12Rock music, Psychedelic pop, Electronic music
- Albums: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Hunky Dory, Diamond Dogs, Aladdin Sane, "Heroes"
David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie (, BOH-ee), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music industry and is ...more - 13Motown Sound, Psychedelic soul, Pop music
- Albums: Songs in the Key of Life, Innervisions, Talking Book, Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I, Music of My Mind
Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950), better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. A prominent figure in popular music, he is ...more - 14Blues-rock, Rock music, Experimental rock
- Albums: First Rays of the New Rising Sun, Band of Gypsys, Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection, Live at the Fillmore East, Live at Woodstock
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His mainstream career lasted only four years, ...more - 15Blues-rock, Folk rock, Heavy metal
- Albums: Coverdale/Page, Come With Me, Live at the Greek, Don’t Send Me No Flowers, Lucifer Rising and Other Sound Tracks
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page ...more - 16Lubbock sound, Rock music, Rockabilly
- Albums: Buddy, 20 Golden Greats, What You Been A-Missin': What You've Been A-Missin', The Buddy Holly Story, That'll Be The Day
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s ...more - 17Blues-rock, Rock music, Folk rock
- Albums: Raising Sand, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, Walking Into Clarksdale, Mighty Rearranger, Manic Nirvana
Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Plant enjoyed great success with ...more - 18Americana, Blues-rock, Country
- Albums: Born to Run, Born in the U.S.A., The Rising, Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter who is a solo artist and is the leader of the E Street Band. Springsteen received ...more - 19Skiffle, Blue-eyed soul, Pop music
- Albums: Astral Weeks, Moondance, Saint Dominic's Preview, It's Too Late to Stop Now, The Best of Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison OBE (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. His professional career began as a teenager in the late 1950s ...more - 20Blues-rock, Rock music, Experimental rock
- Albums: On an Island, David Gilmour, Remember That Night, About Face, Live in Gdańsk
David Jon Gilmour ( GHIL-mor; born 6 March 1946) is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter who was a member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He joined the group as guitarist ...more - 21Americana, Blues-rock, Swamp pop
- Albums: Deja Vu All Over Again, Hoodoo, Centerfield, The Blue Ridge Rangers, Revival
John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the band Creedence Clearwater ...more - 22Reggae
- Albums: Sun Is Shining, One Love, Rainbow Country, Lively Up Yourself, Forever Gold
Robert Nesta Marley, (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by blending elements of reggae, ...more - 23Blues-rock, Rock music, Acid rock
- Albums: Paris Jim, Dionysus
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter and poet, who served as the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his poetic lyrics, distinctive ...more - 24Pop music, Rock music, Piano rock
- Albums: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Disney's Sing-Along: The Lion King, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Madman Across the Water, Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
Sir Elton Hercules John (born 25 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 ...more - 25Pop music, Rock music, Outsider music
- Albums: SMiLE, What I Really Want for Christmas, Orange Crate Art, That Lucky Old Sun, Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote or ...more
