Paul McCartney
Memorable melodies, great counterpoint in his bass lines. McCartney always gives a childlike simplicity and fun to the music. I always keep this in mind when writing—music is supposed to be fun!
Beyond the studio · 03
Favorite Songwriters
Writers whose melodies, harmony, lyrics, and point of view continue to shape the way I hear a song.
Burt Bacharach
Beautiful jazz-influenced melodies and harmonies—pop standards. I can’t really put a finger on where Bacharach’s style comes from: Jobim? Milhaud? Either way, you can always tell it’s him. Bacharach once said he always strives to write a melody that people can sing while walking down the street. I like that.
Stevie Wonder
Another jazz-influenced composer whose melodies and harmonic vocabulary are cutting edge but so accessible. That’s what they thought about Bach in the 1600s. Only geniuses can walk that fine line, and Stevie has done it decade after decade. How can one man be so talented? How can one man give so much beauty to the world? Stevie Wonder was blind so that we could see.
Townes Van Zandt
I love Townes Van Zandt because his songs are like dirty lace. His lyrics are the “lace,” finely crafted and filled with detailed imagery. The music is the “dirt”—simple and folky. Hidden sophistication. I once read that Townes could never get his songs on the radio in his early days because people told him his music was too good for radio. I guess that is one type of discrimination.
Jimmy Webb
The highwayman. Once again, a case of hidden sophistication. If you look at Webb’s lyrics alone, they are beautiful. If you analyze his changes, they are complex. Yet his music appeals to the common man. Brilliant.
Tom Waits
Lyrics.