O jornal New York Times publicou uma lista com os 30 maiores compositores americanos vivos, reunindo nomes de diferentes gerações e estilos musicais. A seleção foi feita por dezenas de críticos e especialistas em música, que indicaram cinco canções essenciais de cada artista, interpretadas por eles ou por outros cantores.
Artistas de destaque
Entre os nomes estão Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Bad Bunny e Mariah Carey. Alguns dos citados são compositores que escreveram grandes sucessos para outros artistas, como Stephin Merritt, autor de "The Book of Love", regravada por Olivia Rodrigo, e The-Dream, que compôs hits como "Single Ladies" (Beyoncé) e "Umbrella" (Rihanna).
Lista completa com cinco músicas essenciais
- Nile Rodgers: "Good Times" (Chic), "Le Freak" (Chic), "I Want Your Love" (Chic), "He’s the Greatest Dancer" (Sister Sledge), "I’m Coming Out" (Diana Ross).
- Lucinda Williams: "I Just Wanted to See You So Bad", "Hot Blood", "Metal Firecracker", "Fruits of My Labor", "Where Is My Love?"
- Stevie Wonder: "Girl Blue", "Jesus Children of America", "Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away", "They Won’t Go When I Go", "That Girl".
- Jay-Z: "Dead Presidents II", "Where I’m From", "U Don’t Know", "99 Problems", "Public Service Announcement (Interlude)".
- Paul Simon: "American Tune", "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War", "Graceland", "Bernadette", "The Sacred Harp".
- Taylor Swift: "Our Song", "Fifteen", "Love Story", "Dear John", "Mirrorball".
- Brian e Eddie Holland: "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" (Martha and the Vandellas), "Baby I Need Your Loving" (The Four Tops), "You’re a Wonderful One" (Marvin Gaye), "My World Is Empty Without You" (The Supremes), "7 Rooms of Gloom" (The Four Tops).
- Missy Elliott: "Get Ur Freak On", "Work It", "Gossip Folks", "Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch", "On & On".
- Lionel Richie: "Easy" (Commodores), "Three Times a Lady" (Commodores), "Endless Love" (com Diana Ross), "Lady" (Kenny Rogers), "Hello".
- Dolly Parton: "Jolene", "I Will Always Love You", "Coat of Many Colors", "9 to 5", "My Tennessee Mountain Home".
- Young Thug: "Stoner", "Best Friend", "Picacho" (com Maceo), "Danny Glover", "Wyclef Jean".
- Diane Warren: "I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love" (Chicago), "When I See You Smile" (Bad English), "Just Like Jesse James" (Cher), "Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now" (Starship), "If You Asked Me To" (Patti LaBelle).
- Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally e Josh Osborne: "Merry Go ’Round" (Kacey Musgraves), "Follow Your Arrow" (Kacey Musgraves), "Liberty" (Sam Hunt), "Maybe Love" (Brandy Clark & Shane McAnally), "Drinkin’ Problem" (Midland).
- Fiona Apple: "Sleep to Dream", "The Way Things Are", "Every Single Night", "Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)", "Heavy Balloon".
- Babyface: "Whip Appeal", "Superwoman" (Karyn White), "I’m Your Baby Tonight" (Whitney Houston), "My, My, My" (Johnny Gill), "Not Gon’ Cry" (Mary J. Blige).
- Stephin Merritt: "Strange Powers" (The Magnetic Fields), "It’s Only Time" (The Magnetic Fields), "Have You Seen It in the Snow?" (The Magnetic Fields), "You You You You You" (The 6ths), "The Book of Love" (Olivia Rodrigo).
- Romeo Santos: "Obsesión" (Aventura com Judy Santos), "Un Beso" (Aventura), "Ella y Yo" (Aventura com Don Omar), "Propuesta Indecente", "Odio" (com Drake).
- Carole King: "One Fine Day", "Up on the Roof", "Way Over Yonder", "So Far Away", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin).
- Outkast: "Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1)", "Rosa Parks", "SpottieOttieDopaliscious", "B.O.B.", "Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (UGK com Outkast).
- Mariah Carey: "We Belong Together", "#Beautiful" (com Miguel), "Fantasy (Remix com O.D.B.)", "Touch My Body", "Whenever You Call".
- Willie Nelson: "Medley: Funny How Time Slips Away/Crazy/Night Life", "Me and Paul", "On the Road Again", "Who’ll Buy My Memories", "We Don’t Run".
- Kendrick Lamar: "Rigamortus", "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Hood Politics", "Count Me Out", "Euphoria".
- Valerie Simpson: "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye e Tammi Terrell), "Solid" (Ashford & Simpson), "I’m Every Woman" (Chaka Khan), "Is It Still Good to Ya" (Ashford & Simpson), "California Soul" (Marlena Shaw).
- Bob Dylan: "Like a Rolling Stone", "Tangled Up in Blue", "Isis", "Every Grain of Sand", "Nettie Moore".
- Lana Del Rey: "Video Games", "Cruel World", "The Greatest", "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have — but I Have It", "A&W".
- The-Dream: "1+1" (Beyoncé), "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (Beyoncé), "Umbrella" (Rihanna com Jay-Z), "Ride" (Ciara com Ludacris), "My Love" (com Mariah Carey).
- Jimmy Jam e Terry Lewis: "Nasty" (Janet Jackson), "All for You" (Janet Jackson), "Saturday Love" (Cherrelle e Alexander O’Neal), "Can You Stand the Rain" (New Edition), "On Bended Knee" (Boyz II Men).
- Bad Bunny: "Soy Peor", "MIA" (com Drake), "Yo Perreo Sola", "Callaita" (com Tainy), "Nuevayol".
- Bruce Springsteen: "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Born to Run", "Nebraska", "Born in the U.S.A.", "American Skin (41 Shots)".
- Smokey Robinson: "My Girl" (The Temptations), "The Tracks of My Tears" (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles), "The Tears of a Clown" (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles), "Happy (Love Theme From ‘Lady Sings the Blues’)", "Being With You".
