Classic songwriters

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Lennon/McCartney with Townshend/Daltry extremely close behind.

Lennon/McCartney - easily takes this one.

Wow. Really, S.D.? The Stones songwriting comes in 3rd?

And, Thelemech? Acton/Whitehead rule over any of these, imo.

Just personal preference. All 3 sets of songwriters are as timeless as you can possibly get. I admire them all.

S.D. wrote:

Just personal preference.  All 3 sets of songwriters are as timeless as you can possibly get.  I admire them all.

This

Lennon/McCartney with Jagger/Richards behind by a bit, and Daltry/Townshend behind by a considerable amount.

That was easy for me.

I've always said that the Jagger/Richards combo is my favorite songwriting team of all-time.

Those combos are all really good though.

I voted Townsend/Daltrey with Jagger/Richards for a close 2nd.......I can only think of 2 songs that ever caught my attention from the Beatles.

bgsully wrote:

I voted Townsend/Daltrey with Jagger/Richards for a close 2nd.......I can only think of 2 songs that ever caught my attention from the Beatles.

I agree.  I think the Beatles are overrated.  I much prefer McCartney's solo and Wings material.

Lennon/McCartney >>> Jagger/Richards>Townsend/Daltrey

Jagger/Richards for me

Lennon / McCartney set the bar for songwriting teams as far as I'm concerned. Everyone else was just playing catch-up.

Jagger / Richards was a formidable team as well. And I'd substitute Tyler/Perry over Daltry/Townsend, but that's just me.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

And I'd substitute Tyler/Perry over Daltry/Townsend, but that's just me.

Yeah, I'd put Tyler/Perry well ahead of Daltry/Townshend.

The Who have some of the best rock songs ever written. As good as Aerosmith was, they don't come within a country mile of Pete Townsend and The Who.

S.D. wrote:

The Who have some of the best rock songs ever written.  As good as Aerosmith was, they don't come within a country mile of Pete Townsend and The Who.  

Certainly in your opinion. Me, I was never much of a fan. I've tried, but I just can't get interested in The Who aside from a few songs. If I could de-rail this thread for a moment...

I don't know their songwriting credits, but I've always thought of The Who as Pete Townsend's baby. Meaning he's the mastermind behind most everything. If you're discussing musical geniuses, I'd put Pete right at the top. He's got a vision for sure.

So as not to dismiss Roger Daltry's contributions, but when songwriting teams are mentioned, those 2 together seemed to be overlooked. Did Roger write allot of the lyrics?

Of course it was my opinion, there are no "facts" when comparing songwriters, it's wholly subjective.

There really isn't a "team" when you're talking about The Who, it's primarily Pete Townsend and an occasional song by John Entwhistle.  Daltry was "the singer".  

On most of their albums the songwriting credit reads:  "All songs written by Pete Townsend except where indicated".  

Townsend isn't just a great songwriter, he's also incredibly innovative as a musician, producer and technician.  He was building and programming his own synthesizers before anybody else was really using them.  He's a genius.

I have the utmost respect for Townshend as a songwriter and musician, but outside of some of Who's Next, i don't find the Who all that compelling.

I thought that Desmond Child wrote Aerosmith's songs for them?

S.D. wrote:

Of course it was my opinion, there are no "facts" when comparing songwriters, it's wholly subjective.

There really isn't a "team" when you're talking about The Who, it's primarily Pete Townsend and an occasional song by John Entwhistle.  Daltry was "the singer".  

On most of their albums the songwriting credit reads:  "All songs written by Pete Townsend except where indicated".  

Townsend isn't just a great songwriter, he's also incredibly innovative as a musician, producer and technician.  He was building and programming his own synthesizers before anybody else was really using them.  He's a genius.

I agree with this and if I were to have voted on influence and biggest impact then I would have voted Lennon/McCartney but to me The Stones spoke to me more, they had blues tinge, they seem not to give a rat's ass about anything, and overall I am a major fanboy and their songs spoke to me more.

I love the Who, and Townshend, lyrically touches a lot of emotional chords to me personally, but the Stones is what I listened to the most as a kid and teenager.

S.D. wrote:

Townsend isn't just a great songwriter, he's also incredibly innovative as a musician, producer and technician.  He was building and programming his own synthesizers before anybody else was really using them.  He's a genius.

Oh yea, I've watched enough 'Classic Albums' and 'Behind the Music' stuff to know that Pete's a mad genius, tinkering with stuff and doing things in the studio that noone could attempt. And writing "rock operas" before such a thing existed, well that just seals it.

But you've also pointed out the basic flaw in the original post of Classic Songwriting TEAMS. So let's blame Uncle Sax on this one. BURN HIM!! BURN THE WITCH!!!

Boris2008 wrote:

I thought that Desmond Child wrote Aerosmith's songs for them?  

Eh, only since about the time of Permanent Vacation on. The Tyler/Perry collaborations dropped off sharply after that. these days, they're lucky if they can get a song or 2 on any album. I just finished Joe Perry's book and he's well aware of that and doesn't like it one bit. But that's business.

I prefer The Stones to The Beatles because I prefer the style of music that The Stones play. But the songs? Lennon McCartney all the way. The Who have amazing songs too.

The Beatles were the direct inspiration for many of my all-time favorite bands...and entire musical genres for that matter. Their influence is broader than just about any other artist I can think of. One of the few cases in music history where the most popular songwriters...also happened to be the best songwriters. That's a rarity.

The Stones are great, I have a few of their albums and a compilation, but they've never been one of my favorites, probably wouldn't crack the Top 30 if I made a list of favorite bands. Again, that's just a stylistic preference on my part. I also own very few albums by bands directly influenced by them. But when the mood strikes I love jamming their stuff. Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet and Sticky Fingers are my favorite albums.

The Who and The Beatles I've been listening to since I was a very small child, my Mother had albums by both bands and they are some of my earliest musical memories.