Singer-songwriter
The term singer-songwriter refers to specific groups of performers who both write and sing their own material. As a musical genre, it usually refers to a series of folk- and country-influenced musicians, popular in the early 1970s. These include Carol King, Carly Simon and James Taylor.
In the late 1980s, the term was re-applied to a group of female singers and songwriters, beginning with Tracy Chapman, k.d. lang and P.J. Harvey. By the mid-1990s, the term's revival had grown to encompass Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osborne and Tori Amos, and other performers associated with the Lilith Fair.
Typically, a singer-songwriter will be a solo performer who accompanies him- or herself on guitar or keyboards, and will be equally well-known for the songs they write and for the way they sing them. The vast majority of singers who write their own songs -- Hank Williams, Muddy Waters, Harry Nilsson -- are not considered singer-songwriters.
Singer/Songwriters:
- Tori Amos
- Joan Baez
- Billy Bragg
- Meredith Brooks
- Jackson Browne
- Tracy Chapman
- Paula Cole
- Sheryl Crow
- John Denver
- Ani Difranco
- Marianne Faithfull
- P.J. Harvey
- Carol King
- k.d. lang
- Gordon Lightfoot
- Adam Leonard
- Lisa Loeb
- Sarah McLachlan
- Joni Mitchell
- Heather Nova
- Joan Osborne
- Michelle Shocked
- Carly Simon
- James Taylor
- Suzanne Vega
- Andy White
- Karl Wallinger
