JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Best Singer Songwriter AND best SONG

Post deleted by Bugsey

AND, you got old guys who never got a shot at the big time, but kick most songwriters arses today such as...

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

I wrote and recorded a song called SINGER SONGWRITER....in the video I have Most of the Great Ones....Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB-O234qX3w

Nice Barry, Like the chorus.

Where did they go?

I think what happened, people started missing the rhtym elements that made 50's and 60's music so vibrant, and they wanted to dance again. The singer songwriter delivered a message and created great melodies and mellow vibes, but was missing the beat.

Then Disco came along and tried to resurrect the beat, punk rock came around to try and resurrect the vibrance of the early rock.

The singer songwriter got buried under the pile.

Then the 80's came and the idea of creating a story to watch as a video became as important as the song itself and changed the way music was enjoyed.

Over time, the household music systems got better and better and the emphasis shifted towards the music again, mtv nobody really cared about since 2000's and maybe earlier, it got boring.

Then whats been happening ever since is artists tryin to capture elements of what made music great but falling short of the mark, and mixing and matching the best they could.

Now you had quasi rock n rollers, quasi singer songwriters, quasi dancers, quasi pop artists.

You have producers who write songs while turning the power on to their studio. You have one man bands who want to be everything, songwriter, band, engineer, producer, disc maker, pr guy, and promoters. When at one time, it took an expert to do each part.

Now music is something to do while doing something else, im going to write a song with that title, I have pieces of it.

And it;s not coming back. Not until society goes back to no internet or mass media, because the singer songwriter filled the void back then which doesnt exist today.

It's either all that, or we're just getting old.

Any of you listen to Jason Isbell? He writes lyrics and music and performs as well. Amazing stuff. "Elephant" will break your heart, guaranteed. It has one F-bomb, so NSFW...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVNd3_4ZJ0g

Yeah, another Springsteen take off. But if you dont steal from the Beatles or Dylan, you wouldnt be too bad off stealing from Springsteen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcjJgU3x6J8

HAHA, i heard Bruce in that song before I really knew. Now I know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEv0yjL4Ivo

Or Sturgill Simpson:
"Living the Dream"
Time and time again Lord I keep going through the motions
A means to an end but the ends don't seem to meet
Walking around living the dream anytime I take the notion
Til the truth comes bubbling up so bittersweet

Ain't no point getting outta bed if you ain't living the dream
It's like making a big old pot of coffee when you ain't got no cream
I don't need to change my strings
Cause the dirt don't hurt the way I sing
I don't have to do a Goddamn thing except sit around and wait to die

Been waiting on an angel waitress to come and take my order
Tell me all about the special today
Staring at a puddle of mud in my spoon couldn't be much boreder
Hoping them circles on the paper don't call back telling me to start today

That old man upstairs, he wears a crooked smile
Staring down at the chaos he created
Said son if you ain't having fun just wait a little while
Momma's gonna wash it all away
And she thinks Mercy's overrated


https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=BTnmWu0_W6w

Im really surprised nobody mentioned Townes Van Zandt, he cant cover a Springsteen song, but he sure can write! lol

This might be the worst cover I ever heard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzbWvqdm7tE

Stick with Pancho Lefty Townes...LOLLLL

Loved Townes writing... and usually like it when other people perform his songs even better. LOL

Lyle Lovett; covers Townes well, and wrote some great tunes himself.

Patty Griffin

Top of the World

I wished I was smarter
Wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way the my wife does

I wished it'd been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could've stood
Where you would've been proud
That won't happen now
That won't happen now

There's a whole lot of singing
That's never gonna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow

I think I broke the wings
Off that little songbird
And she's never gonna fly
To the top of the world Now
To the top of the world

I don't have to answer
Any of these questions
Don't have no God to
Teach me no lessons

I come home in the evening
Sit in my chair
One night they called me for supper
But I never got up
I stayed right there
In my chair

There's a whole lot of singing
That's never gonna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow

I think I broke the wings
Off a little songbird
And she's never gonna fly
To the top of the world
Now
To the top of the world

I wished I'd had known you
Wished I had shown you
All of the things I
Was on the inside
But I'd pretend to be sleeping
When you'd come in in the morning
To whisper goodbye
Go work in the rain
I don't know why
Don't know why

Cause everyone's singing
We just wanna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow?

Gonna grab a hold
Of that little songbird
And take her for a ride
To the top of the world
Right now
To the top of the world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0xLkRiKq9U

Now Patty Griffin CAN cover a Springsteen song.

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

"Dress Blues" is the one that kills me. An absolute stunner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJb1_EGnapY

Forgot Dolly Parton who wrote I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU for Porter Wagoner who she was assoiated with early in her Career.

Another great one!

Here's one of the very best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAsXMlkwXgs

Hey Todd,
Thanks for turning me on to him. I think I once heard him on Austin City Limits. HE is just TOO Good and Pensive for the Average NEW Music Buyer. They wouldn't appreciate or GET what he is doing AT ALL. It's shame but that's just the way the world is today. BUT Thanks to the Internet HE Can Find an Audience.
B

Another of my "new writer" favorites: Holly Williams

Here are a couple:

Waitin' on June:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk79WIgb7ng

The Highway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9HY_rYm1ls

This guy won the NY songwriters circle contest a few years back, and he basicly wins every time he is in something. I believe he won the Telluride songwriters showcase as well. And one of his songs actually was in that top 20 when American idol had a songwriting competition.

Great musician and a great voice, great songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeJcKCgTI4c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Jk_8Dwq6Y

I posted a couple. Which one? Jason Isbell?
No matter what, you're welcome! I love introducing folks to new (to them) music.

hell yeah,of course Townes and Joni!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7D3GPKNcSI

Masterful. One less kelly would have been a miss, and one more too many, he can really write a song.

I'm a big fan of Max Bemis, the frontman of Say Anything. He started off doing acoustic stuff by himself in the late 90s/early 2000s, then eventually got a band together and played with them for a few years. Through the years, he's faced drug addiction and dealt with a serious case of bipolar disorder, for which he spent some time in a hospital. His lyrics from the beginning have been brilliant, and through the years he's managed to put his struggles into words beautifully. Since starting Say Anything, he has married Sherri DuPree of Eisley, so today his songs tend to be more about their love, but they're still deeply personal and still tinged with a hint of something uniquely Max. He's writing and recording by himself again now, but he does tour with a band. I don't really know if he counts as a singer-songwriter but he's definitely my favorite lyricist.

Jason Isbell- "Elephant".

IMO it's the best song ever written.