Who are the greatest living American songwriters?
Recently, the New York Times and its music critics caused a bit of a dustup with its "30 Greatest Living American Songwriters" list. Tough assignment — and no list like that is going to make everyone happy. But the real drama happened in the responses: how the critics responded to criticism, and arguments for who should have been on that list. Musicians and writers — including Rick Beato, Ted Gioa, and Brad Mehldau — jumped into the fray with their thoughts not just on the choices, but on how those choices are made (Did Billy Joel belong on the list? Or at least deserve a little more respect…
The skinny
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