Timeline Top Songwriters

Total songs

Songwriter or team

Details

47

Bob Dylan

43 own plus Hendrix Watchtower and 3 Byrds covers (Tambourine Man, Back Pages, Ain't Goin' Nowhere)

39

John Lennon & Paul McCartney

44 Beatles less Twist & Shout/Money/LTSally and two by George Harrison (While My Guitar, Something)

31

Mick Jagger & Keith Richards

33 Rolling Stones less Not Fade Away/All Over Now/Time is on My Side plus Satisfaction cover (Otis Redding)

31

Bruce Springsteen

30 own less War/Trapped plus Because the Night (P Smith), Fire (Pointers) & Ghost of Tom Joad (Rage) covers

25

Holland-Dozier-Holland

7 Supremes/6 Tops/4 Vandellas/3 M Gaye/2 Jr Walker, Mickey's Monkey, This Old Heart, Give Me Just...Time

22

Smokey Robinson

10 Miracles, 5 Temps, 2 Mary Wells, 2 M Gaye, Don't Mess With Bill, 2 solo

22

Stevie Wonder

19 own less For Once in My Life + It's A Shame, Tears of A Clown, Until You Come Back, Tell Me Something Good

21

Prince

19 own plus Chaka Khan's I Feel for You and Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U

20

Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

7 Coasters/Robins, 4 Elvis, orig Hound Dog, On Broadway, Stand By Me, Kansas City, Love Potion #9, Ruby Baby twice, Spanish Harlem twice (Leiber only)

20

Neil Young

20 own less Four Strong Winds plus Helpless w/CSN&Y

18

U2

18 U2 songs

17

Chuck Berry

15 own plus Surfin' USA (w/Brian Wilson) & Memphis cover (Johnny Rivers)

17

James Brown

22 own less 5 by others: Think, Night Train, Prisoner of Love, Out of Sight, Give It Up or Turnit a Loose

17

Van Morrison

15 own plus two covers of Gloria (Shadows of Knight and Patti Smith)

16

Brian Wilson

16 Beach Boys less Barbara Ann & Sloop John B plus Jan & Dean's Surf City and Brian's solo Surf's Up (SMiLE)

16

Norman Whitfield

11 Tempations, Grapevine twice, War, Too Busy Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby plus Springsteen cover of War

15

Elvis Costello

17 own less Peace-Love-Understanding and I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)

13

Berry Gordy Jr.

4 Jackie Wilson, 4 Jackson Five, plus Money twice, Shop Around, Beechwood 4-5789, Do You Love Me

13

Phil Spector

8 w/Greenwich, 2 w/Mann-Weil, Spanish Harlem twice w/Leiber, To Know Him is To Love Him

13

Pete Townshend

13 songs of The Who

13

Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff

4 O'Jays, 2 J Butler, 2 H Melvin & Blue Notes plus Don't Leave Me This Way, When Will I See You Again, Me And Mrs. Jones, T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia), and I'm Gonna Make You Love Me

12

Sam Cooke

11 own songs plus Otis Redding cover of Shake

12

Barrett Strong

10 with Norman Whitfield (6 Temptations) plus Springsteen cover of War plus Stay in My Corner

12

Bob Marley

11 songs by Bob Marley and The Wailers (incl. No Woman, No Cry, credited to Vincent Ford as gift from Marley) plus Eric Clapton cover of I Shot the Sheriff

11

Al Green

10 own songs plus Talking Heads cover of Take Me to the River

11

R.E.M.

11 R.E.M. songs

10

Fats Domino

12 own less Blueberry Hill and My Blue Heaven

10

Curtis Mayfield

6 Impressions, 3 solo, plus He Will Break Your Heart (but not For Your Precious Love)

10

Marvin Gaye

6 own songs after 1970 plus co-writer of Beechwood, Stubborn Kind, Pride & Joy and Dancing in the Street

10

Ellie Greenwich

9 with Jeff Barry (see below) plus Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry w/Spector and Tony Powers

10

Sylvester Stewart

10 Sly & The Family Stone songs

10

Gordon Sumner

7 Police songs plus 3 of his own (Sting)

10

Don Henley

8 Eagles w/Glenn Frey plus 2 solo

10

Steve Earle

10 own songs

9

Glenn Frey

9 Eagles, 8 w/Don Henley

9

Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil

2 with Phil Spector (You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' and Walking in the Rain) plus Uptown, He's Sure the Boy I Love, On Broadway, We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Soul & Inspiration, Kicks, Hungry

9

Jeff Barry

all w/Ellie Greenwich; Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Leader of the Pack plus 7 w/Spector (incl Da Doo Ron Ron, Be My Baby)

9

John Lennon

9 own songs after Beatles career

9

David Bowie

9 own songs

9

Walter Becker & Donald Fagen

9 Steely Dan songs

9

Tom Petty

9 own songs, most recorded with The Heartbreakers

9

David Byrne

10 Talking Heads songs less their cover of Take Me to the River

9

Joe Strummer & Mick Jones

11 songs of The Clash songs less Guns of Brixton and Police On My Back

9

Louie Perez

9 Los Lobos, 8 w/David Hidalgo

9

Pearl Jam

10 own songs less Last Kiss

8

David Hidalgo

8 Los Lobos w/Louie Perez

8

Dave Bartholomew

7 with Fats Domino plus One Night (of Sin), orig for Smiley Lewis

8

Otis Blackwell

Don't Be Cruel/All Shook Up/Return to Sender/Great Balls of Fire/Breathless/Fever/Handy Man/Hey Little Girl

8

Buddy Holly

8 songs by Buddy Holly or The Crickets

8

Doc Pomus

3 Drifters, Teenager in Love, Hushabye, Little Sister, all w/Shuman, plus Young Blood and Lonely Avenue

8

Carole King

Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Take Good Care of My Baby, Loco-Motion, Up on Roof, One Fine Day, A Natural Woman and Goin' Back, all w/Goffin, plus It's Too Late

8

Otis Redding

6 of own 13 songs plus Sweet Soul Music plus Aretha Franklin's cover of Respect

8

Ray Davies

8 songs by The Kinks

8

Jimmy Page

8 Led Zeppelin songs, often co-written with other band members

8

Jackson Browne

7 of own 8 songs plus The Eagles' version of Take It Easy w/Glenn Frey

8

Paul Westerberg

8 Replacements songs

8

Carlton D. Ridenhour

8 Public Enemy songs (Chuck D.) less 911 Is A Joke plus Tricky cover of Black Steel

8

Green Day

8 own songs; all words by Billie Joe Armstrong

8

Tunde Adebimpe

8 of 9 TV On The Radio songs, 3 co-written with other band members

Ties in ranking are ordered from earliest to latest Timeline career (except for Eagles and Los Lobos teams).

Song totals do not include writer credits for sampled songs.