I do miss them because I loved to wait to see what was on their minds and how they were seeing the world from their eyes and heart. I loved Dan Fogelberg and early Cat Stevens and Harry and many others. I don't see a lot around in any genre but there are some. I actually enjoyed Taylor when she was in Country because she had really catchy melodies but told interesting Stories. I loved I AM I SAID by Neil and A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND by Billy. I'm sure there are a lot out there but for some reason they don't seem to be getting any air time...SO yeah I wish there were more new singer songwriters coming up as I love to listen to them...

Barry, as they say, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a singer/songwriter. Since I don't listen to the radio, I can't say for sure if any get airplay, but my favorite current s/s these days are Jason Isbell, Sarah Jarosz and
Rhiannon Giddens. They are all amazing writers, singers and multi-instrumentalists. I'm sure more would come to mind if I thought harder. They're out there, maybe just not on the radio. You have to look to other places.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAJs3VYQ8rs

https://www.youtube.com/user/sarahjarosz

https://www.youtube.com/user/rhiannongiddens

Dar Williams==absolute gem since 1990==11 DCs plus 3 greatest hits==been called one of America's best
Ed Sheeran==master of current music
James Blunt==best selling, grammy nominated---
Jason Mraz==wonderfully original

just 4 you could listen to. If it is only one, I highly recommend Dar Williams. I have everything she has done and seen her half a dozen or so times. Great lyrics and melodies.

I agree that they many be out there but I watch Country and Pop Video and listen to the radio and there aren't many there.....

My beef is that these amazing guys don't get much air or video play and the younger generation is missing out.

Ah...well then you need to know that the younger generation does not get much of their music from the radio or Youtube...but from streaming services like Spotify. The app delivers music right to their smart phones and they have access to virtually everything in a convenient way. And it is a pretty cheap way to get music as well.Spotify has free plans with limited features and for $15 per month you get access 30 million songs ...plus the app makes things easy to find and will make suggestions==leading you onward into more music

Not saying radio or youtube is irrelevant to them...just that streaming is convenient and cheap and that is where today's youn generation gets their music.

There is also a movement by the young back into vinyl.

I'm old and obsolete I guess......

I had always been under the impression that the singer-songwriter movement really began with Dylan, and that the performers of the big band era and early rock 'n roll seldom wrote their own songs. Then I learned that there were the likes of Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison who did, as did some of the early r&b performers. Names not mentioned so far in this thread include the likes of Lucy Kaplansky and Lucinda Williams. Also Dennis Warner, just to name three. In fact there are, it now seems, so many more performers that do write most of their own material as opposed to those who don't. Most of the mainstream country acts, for example, write most if not all of their own material. And some, like the recently deceased Don Williams, did both.

I don't think they write their own songs mostly. In Country Radio every new singer has their names on the credits for writing the song. Maybe they were sitting in the room but I'm skeptical....It happened many times in music history where if a song was found and a famous artist wanted to sing it they demanded that their names were added as a writer OR they wouldn't do the song......I just think it's more genuine that a singer songwriter writes his own song both words and melody and that's a dying art...It ain't that easy to do either to do all three things and be good...

Barry,

It's natural to hold in highest regard the artists that shaped us at a younger age. Camus had a great quote about that:

"a man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened"

--and I believe this is true. In this regard, my heart holds a special place for Mike Oldfield and Keith Jarrett, and for singer-songwriters? For me it's Joni Mitchell.

The problem with Spotify is that though they will suggest music for you based on what you like, they will usually suggest music that's in the same general time frame. So if you are listening to Yusuf/Cat Stevens and left click "related artists" you will get Spotify's suggestions for things you might like. Unfortunately, they will mostly be artists you already know from the same era, like CSN, Don Mclean, and Jim Croce.

Even artists whose careers are still active tend to not impress Spotify's algorithms enough for them to give a few more modern artists. Clicking Paul SImon's "related artists" gives all over sixty (years of age) artists. But under Cat Stevens, I can click related artists and Lucinda Williams is in that list (more modern) so I click her name, then "related artists" and "Eureka!" now I am seeing a few youngsters towards the bottom of the list, so it is possible to use Spotify to make listening suggestions that jump a few eras, based on what you like, though it's not so intuitive at first.

But in this regard, human communication still reigns. Ask a friend. Ask us. There's so much great stuff out there by younger folks. If you like Cat Stevens, I bet you would LOVE Ben Howard, a Brit with a distinct voice and style that reminds of Stevens, and as an acoustic guitar player, Howard is a virtuoso--he's taken English folk guitar and turned it on its head. Often I find I am listening with tears streaming and mouth agape..

Mike

Michael, I met Keith Jarret at Newark airport about 15 years ago, maybe more. My friend pointed him out I didn't know what he looked like. And really, nobody in the airport knew him or cared.

It made me think about how somebody can be one of the worlds greatest pianists, yet nobody know who they are.

I have met a few jazz legends who were just walking around unnoticed. I met Steve Ture of snl band fame several times, once at a mall, once in supermarket. Introduced myself and he was the most humble person I could have met.

I have met Steve Gadd, Kenny Burrell, Woody Shaw. I mostly knew them from my buddy who is a jazz pianist.

But it does speak to the fact that there's more to music than music... Made that up myself. Gotta be something in it for the listener, I think that's one reason jazz is largely ignored

I don't miss the singer/songwriter because he/she is always there. Always has been. Just look around you Barry.

cheers, niteshift

Barry singer songwriters are still out there, they just don't get heard. They make decent livings underground.

So,embody mentioned Ed Sheehan being a master, I can't go that far, he might be a master of money making music.

I'll take this guy anyway...but he won't be selling out MetLife stadium any time soon
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vAN9dfBKG5s

I'll have to check out Ben Howard...Thanks!!
What I used to do is wait for a next album to see what was going on in their minds and hearts. Some were a real Beacon....

Ed Sheeran is ok but his words don't really take me anyplace. He uses electronic taped music and his songs sound the same to me. Sit on a freaking stool and play me a story like James Taylor but of course there is only one James Taylor. OF course I loved The Beatles....

I Love this guy voice and song. I was the first to post on his song in two years....What a shame..Thanks for turning me on to him.

Part of this is personal opinion, part of it is incorrect. Its fine if you don't like him because you think all his songs sound the same (I happen to disagree). However, saying that he plays to electronic taped music would be a bit of a stretch on reality.

Ed got his start by using looping pedals and he would create the songs live on the spot with rhythms, chords hits, melodic lyrics, etc. Then sing the song over the top of what he created on the spot. There's lots of artists that use looping pedals and of all those that I've seen, few can match how well Ed has done it. He takes it to a whole different level. At this point now, he uses a custom pedal board that control's a laptop running software that allows him to loop at a much higher audio quality than the stomp boxes he started with. [I know all this as I did a lot of research into building a custom midi foot pedal to match that and go a step beyond what he is doing http://jodywhitesides.com/2015/11/01/hive-teaser-trailer/ ].

As for finding other newer singer/songwriters, Spotify has whole playlists and stations geared to this very genre. (last I checked Spotify still has a freemium play ability, and the premium accounts sans commercials are $9.99 for individuals, $15 for family accounts). Lamenting they don't exists only points out a less than adventurous ability to search for the music you long for. Here's a couple of links to singer/songwriter based things on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWVHi578arQLF

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWWzN91i1LVSo

https://open.spotify.com/user/leenchen91/playlist/6VcQN2zRkov2c1Bq4VUBPo

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX6KItbiYYmAv

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWWv6MSZULLBi

You'll find 100's of artists on those links and that's barely scratching the surface of playlists for that genre, there's 1,000's of lists, for 10s of thousands of artists.

Nevermind.

Mistake. :-)

Hi Barry:

Interesting responses to your "Singer/Songwriter" thread. Always remember, everything goes around in circles... and that is true in the music biz, as well.

Happy New Year, ----Dave

Happy New Year to you and yours too Dave.

I challenge you to listen to any of our Male or Female Singer Songwriter Nominees and not find LOTS to like. There's more great Singer Songwriters out there than all other genres put together in the world. You just need to spend a few moments to find them or ask for some suggestions. Our nominees are linked on top of every page here.. most of their work is available free on YouTube or Spotify and I made playlists for all genres in our awards on spotify, just follow me on Spotify (Brian Whitney I think reads now) and you'll not only get our picks from this year but also spotify will suggest hundreds more below the playlist.

Enjoy! Brian

I don't see where they are Brian?

Pm every board it is the second post down... just under the donations post. Click the general board link from the main page and look at the top. Or go to our home page and click the nominees link.

What Brian said!

http://www.jpfolks.com/forum/ubbthr...s-music-awards-nominees.html#Post1124208

Good heaven's o' mercy....Click on the link...Click on the Category that you fancy. Take a day or two...I promise that those won't be wasted days!!!

Midnite

P.S....The list posted is simply the artist's name and nominated songs and CD listed by category. I've found dozens, but this one of my favorites and I have been a fan ever since. Joy WhoDat Clark, from New Orleans, singing "Good Things": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc1uIUlSJsY

Midnite

@ Barry yeah, that guy is one fantastic singer songwriter, he's actually a bit more famous than other guys doing the same thing and not getting fame and fortune...or even recognition.

I like this guys stuff. I'm guessing he will never break mainstream....great singer singwriter

This song/track will hook you all the way through if you give it an honest chance. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aX8i0iRBXak

Barry,

I think what you mean is you miss decent radio stations......there are thousands of good singer/songwriters.

Yes I agree and wish they got on mainstream Radio and Video more...

What is main stream radio anymore at this point? Top 40 style stations where it is all corporate programmed from one location somewhere is the norm and the only alternatives are small local stations, also mostly globally programmed and a few decent college stations which pull towards those models. That is the "business" and a radio station is no different than the local WalMart or Home Depot in that you might have one locally but all real decisions are made at HQ and most of the product comes from the corporate machine as well. In WalMart's case that's china, in music's case that is mega playlist creators piped in via technology and bought and paid for by massive corporate interests. Sure, there's a few exception including format differences (though very few) and some local religious channels. Even the majority format, which is talk radio, is mostly just prepackaged shows from massive providers with some local flavor thrown in here and there.

The only flexibility in music is via places like Spotify where you pick your own songs and then the software will choose random similar songs/artists you can here (and frankly I think Spotify does a surprisingly good job finding lesser known artists and tracks to play for you in that situation, far superior in my view than anything offered by the competition.

You are missing a bygone era. It's a covered wagon in the days of self driving cars.

Brian

I agree with you Brian. I can help it if I'm a dinasaur.......But don't like it. How are you doing? I'm hanging in there one day at a time.

Barry, we may have to wait more time to have the likes of the "free to say anything in THEIR songs, singer/songwriters again. It seems the company heads mainly want predictable, same production as the others, and basic lyrics, to get the full support of the business behind the songs.

Even to the point of what seems like the same drums or programs from artist to artist. Imagine Richie Havens trying to break in today. BUT, I guess that went for any generation before the current ones.

Creativity seems left for all the INDIE singer/songwriters. Brian would know a lot more about all this than I, since he listens to TONS of Indies every year.

JD