The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters
5/3/202643 min
Roughly a year ago, a team at The New York Times Magazine set about tackling a nearly impossible task: creating a list of the greatest living American songwriters. But how to take the tens of thousands of songwriters working in this country and narrow them down to a digestible list? The answer involved thousands of voting ballots, hundreds of music industry insiders and a series of closed-door meetings among a small group of music experts. The result, The Times’s list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters, was published this week.
Today, Michael Barbaro talks with Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor of The Times Magazine, who oversaw the project, as well as Joe Coscarelli and Jody Rosen, two members of the cadre of critics assigned with compiling the final list. They discuss the list-making process, what defines a great songwriter and why Billy Joel didn’t make the final cut.
We also hear from some of the songwriters featured on the list, including Taylor Swift, Nile Rodgers and the songwriting team of Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne.
On Today's Episode:
Sasha Weiss is a deputy editor of The New York Times Magazine.
Joe Coscarelli is a culture reporter for The Times. He is a co-host of “Popcast,” a producer of the “Song of the Week” video series and the author of “Rap Capital: An Atlanta Story.”
Jody Rosen is a contributing writer for the magazine and the author of “Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.”
Background Reading:
The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters
Cast Your Vote for the Greatest Living American Songwriters
Photo credit: Stefan Ruiz for The New York Times
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Michael Barbaro· Host0:29
[music] From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily on Sunday. Over the past year, under a veil of secrecy, my colleagues at The New York Times Magazine have been arguing over a list [static] of the best living songwriters in America.
Speaker 3· Soundbite0:54
[rap music] But stupid with type of facts. [R&B music] It's a love story got sunshine.
Michael Barbaro· Host1:00
Across all genres of music. [reggaeton music] Famous lyricists.
Speaker 3· Soundbite1:07
[pop music] You make me sing.
Michael Barbaro· Host1:10
Sonic pioneers.
Speaker 3· Soundbite1:12
[rock music] Strange powers. Your- Hit machines. [R&B music] You will always be a part of me. I am part of you.
Michael Barbaro· Host1:20
And beloved storytellers.
Speaker 5· Soundbite1:22
[rock music] Oh, someday girl, I don't know when. We're gonna get that place.
Unknown speaker1:28
[static]