The New York Times has published an unnumbered list of the 30 greatest living American composers, compiled by “more than 250 music insiders and six critics” of the medium. Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan are some of them. As usually happens in this type of lists, there are quite a few names that are missed. At the same time, there are others that need clarification.
The list maintains a good balance between classical and modern composers. On the one hand, we have the brothers Brian and Eddie Holland, responsible for some of Motown’s biggest hits, such as ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ by The Supremes or ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ by The Four Tops; Valerie Simpson, who together with her husband Nickolas Ashford wrote songs such as ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough; or Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, responsible for 31 hits in the United Kingdom and 41 in the United States. ‘Together Again’ by Janet Jackson, like many others by the same artist, is hers.
On the other hand, there are names as recent as Lana del Rey, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar or Bad Bunny. Indeed, it is clear that the Puerto Rican is the one who will provoke the most criticism. If these are already normal, you just have to imagine what an inclusion in a list like this can do, even if we were all expecting their presence.
Although the word ‘songwriter’ is translated into Spanish as composer, and not ‘song writer’, it must be understood that Bad Bunny, obviously, does not sit at the piano to write his numerous hits. It doesn’t mean his position is any less deserved: 41 songs in the top 40 of the Hot 100, 12 in the top 10 and two number 1s, ‘I Like It’ and ‘DtMF’, back him up.
The mention of Young Thug, known to the general public for ‘Havana’, is surprising. Beyond its undeniable influence on the hip hop sound of the mid-2010s, it was difficult to predict its presence on the list, above artists like Beyoncé, The Weeknd or Frank Ocean, who has been included in a secondary article with 11 extra composers. When looking at the numbers, however, we see that Thug has 6 hits in the top 10 of the Hot 100 and 3 number 1s. Of course, in none of them is he listed as the main artist.
Since we have mentioned Beyoncé and Rihanna, it must be said that The-Dream has indeed achieved a place on the list. Since ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’, he has written and produced on all of Beyoncé’s albums, co-writing hits such as ‘Single Ladies’, ‘Break My Soul’ and ‘Partition’. For RiRi, he wrote ‘Umbrella’, no more, no less. At least, they have had some representation.
The New York Times knew that they were going to leave some names behind, so they have also published an article with 11 composers who have not managed to make the main list: Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Paul Westerberg (The Replacements), Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes), Neko Case, Frank Ocean, Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Bily Joel, Tom Waits, Alynda Segarra (Hurray for the Riff Raff), John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) and Randy Newman.
Even so, here are some names that could also have entered either list: John Fogerty, all REM, Stephen Malkmus (Pavement), Todd Rundgren, Madonna, Neil Diamond, Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Jack White or Al Green.
The 30 Greatest Living American Composers:
Nile Rodgers
Lucinda Williams
Stevie Wonder
Jay-Z
Paul Simon
Taylor Swift
Brian & Eddie Holland
Missy Elliott
Lionel Richie
Dolly Parton
Young Thug
Diane Warren
Josh Osborne, Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally
Fiona Apple
babyface
Stephen Merritt
Romeo Santos
Carole King
Outkast
Mariah Carey
Willie Nelson
Kendrick Lamar
Valerie Simpson
Bob Dylan
Lana Del Rey
The-Dream
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
Bad Bunny
Bruce Springsteen
Smokey Robinson
Charging …