Singer/Songwriters

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drew
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Singer/Songwriters

Post by drew »

LOTS of singers, are songwritters...but what clasifies someone as a singer songwritter?

Cat Stevens was concidered a Singer/Songwritter, but why not Paul Stanley?

Is Tom Petty concidered a Singer/Songwriter?
What about Marilyn Manson?
Dave Mathews?

Does it matter if the person is in a band or not?
It seems to me that it more has to do with the style of their music.
If its a little folky sounding, with deep, or somewhat deep lyrics, then they are a Singer/Songwriter.

Lucinda William...Yes
Dolly Parton (who's written TONS of country songs)...not really...why not?
Is it because 9 to 5's lyrics aren't as personal as Car wheels on a gravel road?

What are everyone else's oppinions?
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Post by AjK »

Wow, good question. It seems to me that the singer/songwriter title seems to be applied to solo acts (people not in bands) whose style of music was of the more folksy, easy listening genre. Also, I think that "singer/songwriter" is somewhat of a dated term (not in the sense that it isn't applicable or that there aren't any more of them around today but more in the sense that it just doesn't seem to be used in the common lexicon as much these days as it did, say, in the 70's.

But that is all just my perception based off the top of my head. IMO Dolly Parton should be considered a singer/songwriter but may not be due to the fact that many country artists who write songs also record a lot of other people's songs as well.
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Re: Singer/Songwriters

Post by matrixman »

Well said, AjK.
drew wrote: Is Tom Petty concidered a Singer/Songwriter?
What about Marilyn Manson?
Dave Mathews?
Sure, I can see Marilyn Manson as a singer and songwriter, and a very good one at both. His songs certainly hold greater relevance for me than the "folky" singer/songwriter material of the '70s. I can't relate to that kind of low-key music that seems to evoke a post-flower child nostalgia. No offense intended to those who grew up with that music. But it's not my music.

The "singer/songwriters" who mattered to me would be the likes of Manson, Sting, Kate Bush and David Byrne. If you want to include those who stayed in bands, then I'd also name Bono and Stuart Adamson. So yes, my "idea" of a singer/songwriter is more rock-centric.
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Re: Singer/Songwriters

Post by AjK »

matrixman wrote:my "idea" of a singer/songwriter is more rock-centric.
Perfectly valid, IMHO.
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Post by aTOMiC »

As a singer/songwriter my opinion is this...if you sing and write songs you are a singer songwriter.
I know that is kind of blunt but from my perspective it's accurate.

Whenever I write a song (that I intend to sing) which is also to be performed / recorded by me or with the help of other musicians that have no personal stake in the performance, they are dedicated to the singer/songwriter's vision only, then you have an example of a pure singer/songwriter scenario.

However the songs I write that also include my band are influenced by the other members' opinions, tastes and talents which taints the pure singer/songwriter environment.

In other words if a band, not an individual, is truly responsible for the creation and performance of a song then we're not talking singer/songwriter.
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Post by Relayer »

While I agree with these comments, the term "singer/songwriter" is (or was) used to describe a specific *style* of music, the folky-almost-solo-guitar thing, and it's typically a male. So Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Dylan, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel days), Joni Mitchell (one of the few women categorized here), etc are in that category but those that are bands or other styles of music aren't. Even though there's obviously a person who's the singer and songwriter in many of those bands.

There are tons of similar folky-acoustic artists today, but I think the term for them would be "solo indie artist." ;-)
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Post by AjK »

While I understand aTOMiC's POV, my impression was that back in the day it had a more restricted meaning/usage.
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Post by aTOMiC »

AjK wrote:While I understand aTOMiC's POV, my impression was that back in the day it had a more restricted meaning/usage.
I suppose if you were to assign a "genre" to the label I'd tend to agree that we're talking about a "specific perception". For myself I don't use that specific nomenclature. Most of the artists that have been identified in this thread as matching the description in my mind are "folk singers" or "folk/pop singers".

I guess I'm being a bit literal with my opinion but as a musician I tend to view these topics from "the inside". :biggrin:
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Post by drew »

Well, I don't know about elsewhere...but in Canada, the term is still widely used.

Hawksley Workman
Daniel Lanois
Ron Sexsmith
Sarah Mclaughlin
Jill Barber (superhot)
Mathew Barber (her brother)
Leonard Cohen
Adam Cohen (his son)
Molly Johnson
Feist

Anyone who knows who these singers would know they represent a wide range of musical diversity...but NOT included on this list would be someone like Chad Krueger..the guy from Nickelback..while I haven't enjoyed anything he has written since his second album..he IS, technically, a singer/Songwriter. He's written every Nickelback song, plus many songs for other Candian West Coast bands.
But no one would put him in the same Category as someone like Hawksley Workman, who is ALso a pretty hard rocker...but Hawksley's songs sound more real, more from the heart...less like he just wrote some songs to sell an album.

Perhaps that's the deffineing line...WHY you wrote a song.
Now EVERY performing artist writes songs for other people to hear..but I guess a REAL Singer/Songwritter would not write a song, unless he/she felt like it was THEIR song.

Does that sound plausable?
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Post by AjK »

aTOMiC wrote:I guess I'm being a bit literal with my opinion but as a musician I tend to view these topics from "the inside". :biggrin:
Taking the literal meaning is perfectly valid, IMO. Also, I am certainly not a musician, an insider, or an expert of any kind in the field. I was just expressing my take on how the term was typically used in the general population (as it were) as I grew up. Nothing more. :) 8)
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Post by Cagliostro »

Tom Waits is a singer/songwriter. Jethro Tull is not.

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Post by Mr. Broken »

I was always of the opinion that a singer/songwriter was a person who composed a song by first writing lyrics in poetic form, then singing the lyrics to establish a melody, then writing the instrumental parts to support that melody.
The more common practice, is to write, and format the music first, and then compose lyrics to fit the music.
In my band we do both, so I guess sometimes I am , and sometimes Im not.
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Post by Fist and Faith »

The term "singer-songwriter" probably doesn't apply these days. It became a term back when it was a new thing. Time was, folks like Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, and Carole King were songwriters. They wrote songs that the big name singers sang. New York City's Brill Building was the biggest place in the music industry. The songwriters, producers, recording studios, etc, were all there. Motown had folks like the trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, who wrote about a million big hits for groups like the Supremes.

Then, one day, one of these nuts got it into his head that he could sing the songs he was writing! 8O
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Post by lucimay »

Cagliostro wrote:Tom Waits is a singer/songwriter. Jethro Tull is not.

:D
but ian anderson is. :P plus...he looks good in tights.

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Post by Lord Mhoram »

I think the best definition of a singer-songwriter is: I know one when I see one.
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Post by Menolly »

Seriously, everyone.
This.
If you are a fan of singer/songwriters, stop whatever you're doing and give this a listen.
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