Singer-songwriter

The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material.

Distinguishing singers from songwriters and vice verse

This distinguishes them from artists who are only singers, such as Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Aretha Franklin, and Frank Sinatra; typically, such performers sing the material of professional songwriters (and of artists who are primarily songwriters), who normally do not perform their own work, such as Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerry Leiber or Mike Stoller. Even in many cases where the performer and writer are one and the same, but the roles of songwriter and singer are essentially discrete (such as a rock musician writing a ballad for his band to play) the results are not considered singer-songwriter material.

Related Topics:
Elvis Presley - Dean Martin - Aretha Franklin - Frank Sinatra - Lorenz Hart - Richard Rodgers - Oscar Hammerstein II - Cole Porter - Irving Berlin - Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller - Rock

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Singers and bands with separate, professional songwriters was the standard in popular music until about the 1960s when the influence of folk music introduced singer-songwriters to a wider audience. Previous to this some artists such as folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie did much of his work in the 1930s, and most blues singers from the 1930s-1950s such as Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters too performed their own work (which, however, was usually heavily influenced by earlier blues songs). Arguably, these performers were not yet mainstream.

Related Topics:
Popular music - 1960s - Folk music - Woody Guthrie - Blues - Robert Johnson - John Lee Hooker - Muddy Waters

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Icons in the francophone world such as Georges Brassens, Léo Ferré and Jacques Brel performed their own songs in the 1940s and 1950s; Brel's work, in particular, was widely translated into English.

Related Topics:
Georges Brassens - Léo Ferré - Jacques Brel

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By the late 1960s, it became more common for artists to perform their own music, and for that music to be highly intertwined with the personality and viewpoint of the artist. In many places around the world, distinct styles evolved in which a single person became known as much for lyrical contest as musical skill. Very often, these movements became part of a major roots revival and sometimes, a political opposition.

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Typically, a singer-songwriters will perform solo or with understated accompaniment, accompanying themselves on an instrument (often guitar or keyboards), and be equally well-known for the songs they write as for the way they are performed.

Related Topics:
Guitar - Keyboards

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