Everyone knows the melody to “Moon River;” not everyone knows it was written by Henry Mancini. That measure applies in the case of several songwriters below. None are household names, but all have had a profound impact on their fellow songwriters and on the culture at large.
Harry Nilsson
It’s not hard to understand why the Beatles were such ardent fans of Harry Nilsson. The L.A.-based singer-songwriter combined Paul McCartney’s melodic charm with John Lennon’s lyrical wit, without succumbing to the former’s syrupy sentimentality or the latter’s sometimes caustic sarcasm. Had it not been for his lifelong fear of performing on-stage, Nilsson might well have become a superstar.
Vic Chesnutt
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe rightly saw something special in Vic Chesnutt when, in 1988, he coaxed the recalcitrant singer-songwriter into a studio for the first time. Since then, the Athens, Georgia-based Chesnutt has earned high praise for his quirky character sketches and Southern gothic tales. In 1996, for the album Sweet Relief II, such high-profile admirers as Garbage and Madonna paid tribute with interpretations of Chesnutt’s brilliantly offbeat fare.
Syd Barrett
Despite his vast influence, Syd Barrett’s gift for merging childlike whimsy with compositional substance has never been matched. Both as original leader of Pink Floyd and as a solo artist, the troubled singer-songwriter unveiled a strikingly original, sometimes stream-of-consciousness style that deeply impacted the likes of David Bowie and Robyn Hitchcock. The themes of alienation and dysfunction that course through Floyd’s post-Barrett work have their origins in Barrett’s fractured sensibilities.
Mary Margaret O’Hara
Famously reclusive, Canadian singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O’Hara has garnered a near-divine reputation on the basis of her sole full-length album—1988’s Miss America. Blessed with a dazzling voice, O’Hara, as a writer, jumps nimbly between avant jazz, spine-tingling torch balladry, and abstract compositions that sound like they were conceived in another galaxy. At times O’Hara dispenses with words altogether, and instead breathes, sighs, scats, and otherwise lets fly with a hypnotic vocal dance that’s suffused with emotion. In the hands of a lesser artist such controlled chaos would come off as eccentric, but as presented by O’Hara, it’s pure magic.
Joe South
The array of hits written by Joe South during his late ’60s heyday is staggering. “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” “Hush,” “Down in the Boondocks,” and “Rose Garden” merely skim the surface of South songs that have since become pop standards. A gifted session guitarist, South also lent his six-string skills to such artists as Aretha Franklin and Bob Dylan. Advised by Dylan to write with a “higher purpose,” South promptly came up with “Games People Play,” one of the most insightful and brilliant pop songs of the ’60s.
Hoyt Axton
It’s a rare songwriter who can claim authorship of such wildly disparate tracks as “Joy to the World” and “The Pusher,” but such contradictions are part and parcel of Hoyt Axton’s work. Artists as diverse as Steppenwolf, Ringo Starr, and Three Dog Night all saw fit to cover Axton’s material. A little-known fact: Axton’s mother, Mae Boren Axton, co-wrote “Heartbreak Hotel,” which of course became Elvis Presley’s first big hit. Presley went on to record several Hoyt Axton songs as well.
Tobin Sprout
Robert Pollard gets all the attention, but Guided By Voices fans know that, in Tobin Sprout, the acclaimed indie band boasted a second superb songwriter. Sprout’s solo albums—especially 1997’s Moonflower Plastic—are suffused with sturdy, vintage McCartney-like pop songs. Richly melodic without resorting to cleverness, Sprout’s homemade gems exude a transcendent charm that grows more poignant with each listen.
Paul Williams
Laugh if you wish, but no less admirers than R.E.M. gave Williams renewed credibility when they recorded his early environmentally-aware pop song, “Out in the Country,” as a B-side. The diminutive songwriter also worked recently with Scissor Sisters on their second album, Ta-Dah. Williams’s catalog is rife with ballads—“Rainy Days and Mondays” and “(Just An) Old Fashioned Love Song,” to name but two—but hits such as “The Family of Man” proved he could crank it when the urge struck.
Daniel Johnston
Despite suffering severe psychological problems throughout adulthood, Texas-based songwriter Daniel Johnston remains one of modern music’s great pop savants. More than 150 artists have covered Johnston’s songs, including Wilco, Tom Waits, Bright Eyes, and Pearl Jam. Strangely eloquent, melodic, and sad in their romantic yearning, Johnston’s songs teeter at the cusp between art and madness.
Lee Hazlewood
The originator of “Cowboy Psychedelia,” Lee Hazlewood got his start working with Duane Eddy in the late ’50s, co-inventing the echo-y guitar twang used on hits like “Peter Gunn” and “Rebel Rouser.” Hazlewood’s most fertile period was the ’60s, when he wrote the smash hit “These Boots are Made for Walkin’” for Nancy Sinatra. Revered by the alternative crowd, his work was later covered by the likes of Nick Cave, Beck, and Slowdive. In 1999 he even recorded an album for Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley’s label, Smells Like Records.