List of songwriters

This list of songwriters includes names of those who have written the lyrics or music, or both, for successful songs. It is not limited to popular music.

Songwriters who perform their own work -- a relatively recent phenomenon -- are usually called singer-songwriters. (See List of singer-songwriters.) This list only includes those who remain in the background and rarely, if ever, perform(ed) their own songs in public.

Table of contents

1 Austria 2 Brazil 3 Canada 4 France 5 Germany 6 Hungary 7 Ireland 8 Jamaica 9 Mexico 10 Netherlands 11 Sweden 12 United Kingdom 13 United States 14 Songwriting teams

Austria

• Wolfgang Ambros
• Ralph Benatzky
• Franz Schubert
• Robert Stolz [1]
• Hugo Wolf

• Astrud Gilberto
• Ernesto Nazareth

• Shelton Brooks
• Leonard Cohen
• Geoffrey O'Hara
• Robbie Robertson of The Band
• Stan Rogers
• Neil Young with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and later, Crazy Horse
• Rufus Wainwright

• Serge Gainsbourg

• Bertolt Brecht
• Hans Eisler
• Paul Lincke
• Carl Loewe
• Johann Christoph Pepusch
• Robert Schumann
• Konstantin Wecker
• Kurt Weill

• Rudolf Friml
• Sigmund Romberg
• Jean Schwartz

• Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy
• Thomas Moore

• Beenie Man
• Buju Banton
• John Holt
• Bob Marley
• Peter Tosh of Bob Marley & the Wailers and a solo career
• King Tubby
• Bunny Wailer of Bob Marley & the Wailers and a solo career
• Yellowman

• Antonio Aguilar
• Juan Gabriel
• Agustín Lara
• Jubertino Rosas
• Carlos Santana of the band Santana

• Benny Andersson
• Alexander Bard
• Bjorn Ulvaeus

• Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
• Adam Ant of Adam & the Ants
• Michael Arne
• Thomas Arne
• Sabine Baring-Gould
• Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd
• Lionel Bart
• Leslie Bricusse
• Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac
• Roger Cook
• Phil Coulter
• Noel Coward
• John Gay
• Roger Greenaway
• Rob Halford of Judas Priest
• George Harrison of The Beatles and a solo career
• Tony Hatch
• Robert Hawker
• Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones
• John Kay of Jamiroquai
• John Lennon of The Beatles and a solo career
• Adam Leonard
• Paul McCartney of The Beatles and Wings, and a solo career
• Bill Martin
• Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath and a solo career
• Bill Owen
• Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
• Joseph Parry
• Joseph Tabrar
• Graham Revell
• Tim Rice
• Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners
• Bernie Taupin, songwriting partner with Elton John
• Pete Waterman
• Roger Waters of Pink Floyd
• Andrew Lloyd Webber
• John Wesley
• Sandy Wilson
• P. G. Wodehouse
• Thom Yorke of Radiohead

• Tori Amos
• Trey Anastasio of Phish
• Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day
• Afrika Bambaataa
• Burt Bacharach, songwriter for Dionne Warwick among others
• Bert Berns
• Irving Berlin
• Leonard Bernstein
• Clint Black
• Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow
• Shelton Brooks
• Hoagy Carmichael
• Johnny Cash
• Tracy Chapman
• Bootsy Collins of Parliament, Funkadelic and Bootsy's Rubber Band
• Dick Dale
• Glenn Danzig of Samhain, Danzig and The Misfits
• Hal David
• Kim Deal of the Pixies and The Breeders
• John Denver
• Bob Dylan
• Steve Earle
• George Gershwin
• Ira Gershwin
• Dave Grohl of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters
• Merle Haggard
• Oscar Hammerstein II
• Ben Harper
• Lorenz Hart
• Eddie Hazel of Parliament and Funkadelic
• Richard Hell
• Gil-Scott Heron
• Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon
• Waylon Jennings
• William Jerome
• Tim Jones
• Gordon Kennedy, writer for Eric Clapton, others
• Jerome Kern
• Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Wayne Kirkpatrick, writer for Eric Clapton, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, others
• Tom Lehrer
• Alan Jay Lerner
• Frank Loesser
• Frederick Loewe
• Courtney Love of Hole
• Phil Madeira, writer for Julie Miller, Ashley Cleveland, Wynonna Judd and others
• Dave Matthews
• Rod McKuen
• Henry Mancini
• Johnny Mercer
• Jim Morrison of The Doors
• Mos Def
• Nas
• Willie Nelson
• Bradley Nowell of Sublime
• Cole Porter
• Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails
• Richard Rodgers
• Jean Schwartz
• John Sebastien
• Neil Sedaka
• Tupac Shakur
• Mort Shuman
• Tommy Simms, writer for Eric Clapton, others
• Carly Simon
• Stephen Sondheim
• James Taylor
• Terry Scott Taylor, writer for Daniel Amos, The Lost Dogs and The Swirling Eddies
• Albert Von Tilzer
• Harry Von Tilzer
• Diane Warren

• Burt Bacharach and Hal David
• John Perry Barlow (of EFF fame) and Bob Weir
• Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich
• Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
• Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
• Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway
• George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
• Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland (Holland-Dozier-Holland)
• Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia
• Elton John and Bernie Taupin
• Carol King and Gerry Goffin
• Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
• John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill
• Bill Martin and Phil Coulter
• Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse
• Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
• Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II