Who is your favorite American composer of songs?

[christofirst]

I like both of the Bernsteins, Leonard and Elmer (I used to think they were brothers). Leonard Bernstein’s music to West Side Story is fantastic, as is Elmer’s Theme from the Magnificent Seven.

I like Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, too, and the choral version of that set to the Agnus Dei is especially moving.

But the greatest of all has to be Jimmy Webb! Who can forget By the Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, and the incomparable MacArthur Park?

 

[randomuser]

Brian Wilson

Good call. Currently touring with the last live performances ever of “Pet Sounds.”

 

[christofirst]

Oh, and mustn’t forget John Williams! His contributions to the movies are forever etched in our collective minds and culture: Jaws, Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, Superman, and Star Wars!

 

[oliver927]

Frank Zappa

 

[pianistclare]

OK wait…are we talking composers of “songs” as in sung songs?
Or composers.
Because if it’s composers…I’m going with Aaron Copeland instead.
I thought you were talking about pop songs on the radio. But I see people are mentioning folks who have done movie scores…

 

[christofirst]

OK wait…are we talking composers of “songs” as in sung songs?
Or composers.
Because if it’s composers…I’m going with Aaron Copeland instead.
I thought you were talking about pop songs on the radio. But I see people are mentioning folks who have done movie scores…

I figured it could be either…

He’s quirky, but I’m also a fan of hometown hero Danny Elfman, who went from pop music (Oingo Boingo) to TV (The Simpsons!) and film (a lot of Tim Burton collaborations)

 

[pianistclare]

I figured it could be either…

He’s quirky, but I’m also a fan of hometown hero Danny Elfman, who went from pop music (Oingo Boingo) to TV (The Simpsons!) and film (a lot of Tim Burton collaborations)

Yeah, but the OP mentioned “songs” specifically, which to a musician, is a whole category of music, not just general composition. When you write a Symphony, you don’t say " I just wrote a song!" LOL

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

My children are huge Pixar fans.Randy Newman has written some very good songs.

Then Neil Diamond has written a lot, and has been covered by a number of artists.

And I’m not sure if Carole King has been mentioned.

Ray Charles I think wrote most of his songs.

 

[meltzerboy]

are you speaking specifically of those who composed for movies?

probably Irving Berlin.

No, any and all American composers or songwriters. Hard to go wrong with Irving Berlin.

 

[meltzerboy]

OK wait…are we talking composers of “songs” as in sung songs?
Or composers.
Because if it’s composers…I’m going with Aaron Copeland instead.
I thought you were talking about pop songs on the radio. But I see people are mentioning folks who have done movie scores…

Any American composer who wrote songs, for radio, film, whatever, even if they wrote other musical compositions as well. Aaron Copeland is a great choice.

 

[meltzerboy]

I like both of the Bernsteins, Leonard and Elmer (I used to think they were brothers). Leonard Bernstein’s music to West Side Story is fantastic, as is Elmer’s Theme from the Magnificent Seven.

I like Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, too, and the choral version of that set to the Agnus Dei is especially moving.

But the greatest of all has to be Jimmy Webb! Who can forget By the Time I Get To Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, and the incomparable MacArthur Park?

I also love Jimmy Webb’s “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress,” beautifully covered by both Judy Collins and Joan Baez.

 

[meltzerboy]

Yeah, but the OP mentioned “songs” specifically, which to a musician, is a whole category of music, not just general composition. When you write a Symphony, you don’t say " I just wrote a song!" LOL

Correct, SONGS, not general composition for films, darn it! LOL

 

[Della]

I love all the composers Meltzerboy mentioned, as well as the writers/composer’s of Disney songs were/are great, IMHO. And Dolly Parton has written some iconic songs, as well., not to mention many other great country/western composers. And of course, the Broadway composers, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, etc. So many great songs there. :yup:

 

[pianistclare]

Correct, SONGS, not general composition for films, darn it! LOL

Thanks friend! We musicians are so dang ticky!

Great thread!

Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin is one of the quintessential American pieces too!
Don’t forget some classics by Scott Joplin, George Crumb (Voice of the Whale), John Jacob Niles who documented Applachian folk music, and Charles Ives.

 

[Melodeonist]

All old time composers. I love practically all old music, but I highly dislike pretty much all new music.

 

[pianistclare]

All old time composers. I love practically all old music, but I highly dislike pretty much all new music.

You should broaden your horizons.
Not everything on the Top 40 is awful.
And what is considered contemporary covers a very broad range…and MANY genres.
A good musician makes himself or herself familiar with all kinds of music.
As with anything, there are widely varying degrees of excellence. For example, I’m not a huge fan of jazz, but I know and recognize the top people in that area.

 

[MrZoom]

I’d like to nominate Christian contemporary singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman. He’s been writing and recording for almost 30 years. He’s also written some of the great romantic songs in CCM, including this gem: youtube.com/watch?v=oUgbqgXKk2Y

Granted, some of his songs are kinda cheesy (and quickly dated, like “Live Out Loud” with its “phone call from Regis” reference). But he’s also done a number of very insightful songs.

 

[Melodeonist]

You should broaden your horizons.
Not everything on the Top 40 is awful.
And what is considered contemporary covers a very broad range…and MANY genres.
A good musician makes himself or herself familiar with all kinds of music.
As with anything, there are widely varying degrees of excellence. For example, I’m not a huge fan of jazz, but I know and recognize the top people in that area.

Perhaps, but I just don’t like the way new music sounds. “New” meaning 70s and newer.

 

[Exiled_Child]

My favorite American composer is Moondog.

And Sun Ra is a close runner-up who deserves an honorable mention. It depends on my mood, really. Depends too on what we mean by composer, I guess. Anybody who writes a song is a composer, but I’m thinking just of people who write down music for dozens of different instruments and who then act as conductors. Moondog actually did that, somehow getting an orchestra pit crammed full of Juilliard-trained classical musicians to understand his non-visual directions, using some kind of percussive instrument instead of the usual conductor’s wand. Plus, being physically blind, his entire world was made up of sounds and ambient noises, so when he was writing his music down and then getting it transcribed into braille, he added in all kinds of unusual stuff a non-blind person would never think of. And also I’ve got this old photo of him near my desk, showing Manhattan in the nineteen fifties or early sixties. There are all these extremely straight-looking stockbroker-types streaming down the sidewalk, and then there’s Moondog standing off to the side looking like Gandalf’s first cousin. It’s pretty amusing, actually.

 

[Exiled_Child]

Frank Zappa

A hundred years from now he might be remembered more as a composer than as a popular musician.