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 Timesâs 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 didnât 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.
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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 âPopcast,â a producer of the âSong of the Weekâ video series and the author of âRap Capital: An Atlanta Story.â
Jody Rosen is a contributing writer for the magazine and the author of âTwo Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.â
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Background Reading:
The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters
Cast Your Vote for the Greatest Living American Songwriters
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Photo credit: Stefan Ruiz for The New York Times
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