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) |
17 |
Paul Simon |
11 solo and 5 Simon/Garfunkel plus Aretha's Bridge Over Troubled Water cover |
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 |
John Fogerty | 12 CCR less Susie Q, plus
Proud Mary (Ike & Tina) cover; plus 3 Fogerty solo |
15 |
Elvis Costello |
17 own less Peace-Love-Understanding and I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down) |
15 | Jack White | 9 White Stripes songs, 2 Raconteurs co-written, 1 Dead Weather co-written, 3 solo |
15 |
Kanye West |
15 own songs, some co-written |
14 |
Lucinda Williams |
14 own songs |
14 |
Shawn Carter |
13 Jay-Z songs, some co-written, plus the Danger Mouse mash-up of 99 Problems |
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 |
13 |
Tom Waits |
13 own songs |
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 |
11 |
Radiohead |
11 Radiohead 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 |
10 | Beyonce Knowles |
7 songs by Beyonce and 3 songs by Destiny's Child, mostly co-written |
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 |
9 | Marshall Mathers |
9 Eminem songs, some co-written |
9 |
Jeff Tweedy |
9 Wilco songs, some
co-written |
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 |
Polly Jean Harvey |
8 PJ Harvey songs |
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 |
8 | Arcade Fire |
8 Arcade Fire songs |
Ties in ranking are ordered from earliest to latest Timeline career (except for Eagles and Los Lobos teams). |
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Song totals do not include writer credits for sampled songs. |