Singer-songwriters do more than write just songs and sing
The term singer-songwriter usually conjures up the image of someone like Bob Dylan, the lone singer, who writes his or her own material, and accompanies themselves on guitar or keyboards, but such stars usually do a lot more than this.
Singer-songwriters often become actors or branch out into becoming film-makers. They may become authors and are often poets as well as being song-smiths.
Many a singer-songwriter is the lead singer for a band and they get thought of as rock stars but because they write and compose most of the group's material they are strictly speaking singer-songwriters as well.
A few like Boy George branch out into becoming DJs.
Singer-songwriters often do a lot more than singing and songwriting
by BardofEly
Singer-songwriters are famous for singing and songwriting but they often have many other artistic talents such as acting, writing books or being DJs.
Singer-songwriters also famous for other talents
Dylan, whom I have already mentioned, has starred in several films including Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. David Bowie, who started his career as a singer-songwriter has been in movies too including The Man Who Fell To Earth.
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen was a poet and novelist before he found fame with his songs. Cohen wrote The Favourite Game (1964) and Beautiful Losers (1966) as novels and had his poems published in Let Us Compare Mythologies in 1956 and Flowers For Hitler in 1964.
According to Wikipedia, Cohen had described songwriting in an interview in 1998, as "...like a bear stumbling into a beehive or a honey cache: I'm stumbling right into it and getting stuck, and it's delicious and it's horrible and I'm in it and it's not very graceful and it's very awkward and it's very painful and yet there's something inevitable about it."
Bruce "the Boss" Springsteen is usually thought of as a rock singer and star but although he is usually fronting a rock band he is in essence a singer-songwriter.
Leonard Cohen books on Amazon
 | Book of Longing Ecco |
 | The Flame: Poems Notebooks Lyrics Drawings Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Marc Bolan and T Rex
Marc Bolan
The late Marc Bolan, who became famous for his "glam" image at the height of his fame and pop chart success, was another singer-songwriter. Marc had first found success with the duo with Steve Peregrine Took known as Tyrannosaurus Rex in which they performed all of Bolan's songs, and he continued singing and playing his own material fronting the band T.Rex.
Madonna, is another big star who found fame as a singer-songwriter with hits like Like A Virgin beforeshe showed she could act many years later in Desperately Seeking Susan.
The late great Bob Marley is thought of as a reggae singer and he was backed by The Wailers but again, in essence, Marley was a singer-songwriter who wrote and sang his own songs.
Marc Bolan on Amazon
 | Cosmic Dancer - The Life and Music of Marc Bolan "Roland knows more about Bolan than any other living being," (Tom Hibbert, New Music News)Marc Bolan was the biggest pop star in post-Beatles Britain and in 1972 the Beatles ack... Tomahawk Press |
 | Bolan: The Rise And Fall of a 20th Century Superstar Marc Bolan was the very first superstar of the Seventies. As the seductive focus of "T Rex", he revelled in fame and fortune, released a string of classic records, but then lost... Music Sales Corp |
Neil Young books on Amazon
 | Waging Heavy Peace For the first time, legendary singer, songwriter, and guitarist Neil Young offers a kaleidoscopic view of his personal life and musical creativity. He tells of his childhood in ... |
 | Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History (Book) Neil Young has been described as brilliant, cantankerous, enigmatic, and vexing. Regardless, his generation-spanning fan base and his profound musical influence cannot be denied... |
Neil Young
Neil Young began his successful career as a solo artist as a singer-songwriter who backed his songs with guitar but he swiftly transformed into a rock guitarist too and became subsequently dubbed the "Godfather of Grunge" for his distorted and loud style. Young has shown throughout his career that he can readily switch from traditional singer-songwriter with acoustic guitar to full-on rocker when fronting Crazy Horse or any of the other bands he has worked with.
Neil Young has also branched out into making films like Human Highway as well as writing the instrumental soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man.
Boy George
Boy George, who found international fame as the gender-bender singer for Culture Club, later went into a solo career, and in later years re-launched himself as a DJ. Boy George has always sung songs he himself had written so again is an example of a singer-songwriter.
Copyright © 2012 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.
Boy George on Amazon
 | Take It Like a Man: The Autobiography of Boy George The androgynous leader of the eighties' pop band, Culture Club, offers a candid look at his life, including his relationship with his drummer, his heroin addiction, his famous c... Perennial / |
Updated: 10/14/2012, BardofEly
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