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Songwriters

31 people.

Michael Jackson 1958–2009MusicPerformer whose recordings, choreography, and music videos redefined global pop stardom.Bob Dylan b. 1941MusicSongwriter whose poetic lyrics transformed folk, rock, and the role of popular music in public life.Taylor Swift b. 1989MusicSinger-songwriter whose commercial reach, fan culture, and control of her catalog reshaped the modern music business.Prince 1958–2016MusicSinger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose innovation and fight for artistic control influenced generations.Beyoncé b. 1981MusicSinger, songwriter, and performer whose cultural influence extends far beyond music into fashion and activism.Bruce Springsteen b. 1949MusicSongwriter whose music made working-class life, aspiration, and disappointment central themes of American rock.Jimi Hendrix 1942–1970MusicGuitarist whose sound, technique, and performance style revolutionized rock music.Dolly Parton b. 1946MusicCountry music legend whose Imagination Library has donated over 200 million books to children.Ray Charles 1930–2004MusicSinger and pianist who fused gospel, blues, jazz, and country into a foundational sound of soul and modern American popular music.Chuck Berry 1926–2017MusicGuitarist and songwriter whose music established core sounds, themes, and performance styles of rock and roll.Stevie Wonder b. 1950MusicSinger-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose innovative recordings expanded soul and popular music.Eminem b. 1972MusicBest-selling rapper in history, and the one who forced the argument about who hip-hop belongs to.Johnny Cash 1932–2003MusicSinger-songwriter whose work connected country, gospel, folk, prison reform, and American myth.George Gershwin 1898–1937MusicComposer who fused jazz, popular song, Broadway, and concert music into a distinctly American style.James Brown 1933–2006MusicSinger and bandleader whose rhythmic innovations created funk and profoundly shaped hip-hop, dance, and popular performance.Willie Nelson b. 1933MusicSongwriter and performer central to outlaw country and to Farm Aid.TNThe Notorious B.I.G. 1972–1997MusicRapper who remade East Coast hip-hop in two albums before his murder at 24Irving Berlin 1888–1989MusicSongwriter whose vast catalog, from 'God Bless America' to Broadway standards, helped define the American popular songbook.Berry Gordy b. 1929MusicFounder of Motown, who turned an 800-dollar family loan into the Sound of Young AmericaStephen Sondheim 1930–2021MusicComposer and lyricist whose formal and psychological innovations transformed the American musical theater.Brian Wilson 1942–2025MusicBeach Boys songwriter and producer who made Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations" out of the recording studio itselfHank Williams 1923–1953MusicCountry songwriter whose brief career set the template for the genre's later stars.Woody Guthrie 1912–1967MusicDust Bowl balladeer whose songs shaped American folk and protest music for later generations.Loretta Lynn 1932–2022MusicCountry singer and songwriter who wrote Coal Miner's Daughter and The PillCole Porter 1891–1964MusicComposer and lyricist of Broadway standards including Anything Goes and Kiss Me Kate.Richard Rodgers 1902–1979MusicWrote the scores that turned the Broadway musical into a form that could carry a story.Kendrick Lamar b. 1987MusicRapper whose albums won a Pulitzer Prize and multiple Grammy Awards.RJRobert Johnson 1911–1938MusicDelta blues guitarist whose small recorded output influenced generations of blues and rock players.Marvin Gaye 1939–1984MusicSinger-songwriter whose Motown recordings expanded soul music through intimacy, political commentary, and studio experimentation.Sam Cooke 1931–1964MusicSinger-songwriter who helped transform gospel into soul music and used artistic independence to advance Black performers.Jimmie Rodgers 1897–1933MusicThe Singing Brakeman, whose six recorded years made country music a commercial form.