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Stretch 74

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Been saving this one for quite a while, but since we are on a roll with music threads I thought I would throw it into the mix. I love music with a great story, always have. That said, here are the ones that jump to mind for me, and I reserve the right to add to it later as someone else popped into my addled brain....

  • Gordon Lightfoot- So prolific, such a great sound, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald leads the way
  • Mark Knopfler- Also a great sound, and a great ability to tell a great story out of mundane, everyday events. Things besides love, broken hearts, trucks, drugs, and the horrible greed of the music industry.
  • Harry Chapin- WOW! Went to his concert at the Paramount, so riveting that several times after a song there were several seconds of silence by the crowd. Taken away too soon.
  • Willie Nelson- What did he have, like 850 albums?
  • Jim Croce- Operator, Time in a Bottle are classics. Also taken away from us way too soon. (Honorable mention for fitting so much meaning into those old AM radio time limitations)

There's a start......
 
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Great topic. Before I even saw your list the top 3 names that came to mind were Lightfoot, Croce, and Chapin. I'd rate Dan Fogelberg as an equal to those three as well. If jumping to Willie Nelson's genre, I'd add Waylon Jennings and Conway Twitty to the list.
 
chugspig said:
From another genre:
Biggie Smalls
Big L
Nas
Tupac
Click to expand...
I have heard of exactly none of these artists. Except Tupac maybe - wasn't he shot and killed?

And the name(s) I have not seen yet are - duh - the Beatles. And how about the Moody Blues?
 
Stretch 74 said:
Been saving this one for quite a while, but since we are on a roll with music threads I thought I would throw it into the mix. I love music with a great story, always have. That said, here are the ones that jump to mind for me, and I reserve the right to add to it later as someone else popped into my addled brain....

  • Gordon Lightfoot- So prolific, such a great sound, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald leads the way
  • Mark Knopfler- Also a great sound, and a great ability to tell a great story out of mundane, everyday events. Things besides love, broken hearts, trucks, drugs, and the horrible greed of the music industry.
  • Harry Chapin- WOW! Went to his concert at the Paramount, so riveting that several times after a song there were several seconds of silence by the crowd. Taken away too soon.
  • Willie Nelson- What did he have, like 850 albums?
  • Jim Croce- Operator, Time in a Bottle are classics. Also taken away from us way too soon. (Honorable mention for fitting so much meaning into those old AM radio time limitations)

There's a start......
Click to expand...
Add Bob Dylan
 
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Loyal Coug1 said:
I have heard of exactly none of these artists. Except Tupac maybe - wasn't he shot and killed?

And the name(s) I have not seen yet are - duh - the Beatles. And how about the Moody Blues?
Click to expand...
... and Bob Seger ... He may be my favorite artist -- not many songs transport my thoughts to other times/places like his.
 
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Stretch 74 said:
Been saving this one for quite a while, but since we are on a roll with music threads I thought I would throw it into the mix. I love music with a great story, always have. That said, here are the ones that jump to mind for me, and I reserve the right to add to it later as someone else popped into my addled brain....

  • Gordon Lightfoot- So prolific, such a great sound, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald leads the way
  • Mark Knopfler- Also a great sound, and a great ability to tell a great story out of mundane, everyday events. Things besides love, broken hearts, trucks, drugs, and the horrible greed of the music industry.
  • Harry Chapin- WOW! Went to his concert at the Paramount, so riveting that several times after a song there were several seconds of silence by the crowd. Taken away too soon.
  • Willie Nelson- What did he have, like 850 albums?
  • Jim Croce- Operator, Time in a Bottle are classics. Also taken away from us way too soon. (Honorable mention for fitting so much meaning into those old AM radio time limitations)

There's a start......
Click to expand...
You want great storytellers or great lyricists? Because they’re not always the same thing. At the top most serious critics would probably pick people like Dylan and Leonard Cohen. And maybe Joni Mitchell.

Willie Nelson? Excellent songwriter for sure but hell, Townes Van Zandt, the guy who wrote Pancho and Lefty >> then Willie (or Waylon). Townes was a drunk and wasn't much of a singer and not very marketable. Not like Waylon and Willie anyways especially after they rebranded themselves as “outlaws”. Couple of super talented guys who saw dollar signs and became posers by pretending to be Billy Joe Shaver, another far less marketable but far more interesting songwriter.




And speaking of guitar virtuosos Eddy Shaver, Billy Joe’s kid, knocks Keith Urban and his ilks collective dicks in the dirt.

 
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rufffrider said:
... and Bob Seger ... He may be my favorite artist -- not many songs transport my thoughts to other times/places like his.
Click to expand...
Had he come to mind when writing original post, Seger would absolutely be on the list. I would replay "Turn the Page" many multiple times when on a road trip! Also love "Night Moves" and "Main Street" among a lot of others.
 
Stretch 74 said:
Had he come to mind when writing original post, Seger would absolutely be on the list. I would replay "Turn the Page" many multiple times when on a road trip! Also love "Night Moves" and "Main Street" among a lot of others.
Click to expand...
Damn, how did I forget Seger?
“Still the Same”
“Fire Down Below”
Etc.
 
95coug said:
Damn, how did I forget Seger?
“Still the Same”
“Fire Down Below”
Etc.
Click to expand...
... and "Roll Me Away" and "Against The Wind" and ...

That guy has more great songs that suit my taste than any other two artists combined. My only regret is that I've never seen him live on stage.
 
Geez how could we all have forgotten about the great Bernie Taupin! Has been writing for Elton John now for 50 years.
Great tribute to Elvis here, lyrics by Bernie, music by Elton.

 
Lots of good names. I have to second Fogerty; Center Field is my spring anthem. Still literally brings a tear to my eyes.

And I'm a bit surprised that no one has mentioned Hank Williams, Sr yet.

Simon & Garfunkel had a few.

And Don McLean's American Pie was the song for half a generation.

Mellencamp (Little Pink Houses) and Springsteen (Allentown) spoke for chunks of generations, as well.

And there were a series of country artists that vocalized what their tribe was feeling; almost too many to list.

Good thread....
 
You best not leave out Dolly Parton. Woman has supposedly written over 3000 songs.

Jolene is a story unto itself.

And the man in black wasn't so bad a story teller either. Folsom Prison Blues is a movie. Boy Named Sue...c'mon, now.
 
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Observer11 said:
You best not leave out Dolly Parton. Woman has supposedly written over 3000 songs.

Jolene is a story unto itself.

And the man in black wasn't so bad a story teller either. Folsom Prison Blues is a movie. Boy Named Sue...c'mon, now.
Click to expand...
When he had that variety show back in the 70's he used to close every show with Boy Named Sue.
 
Stretch 74 said:
Been saving this one for quite a while, but since we are on a roll with music threads I thought I would throw it into the mix. I love music with a great story, always have. That said, here are the ones that jump to mind for me, and I reserve the right to add to it later as someone else popped into my addled brain....

  • Gordon Lightfoot- So prolific, such a great sound, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald leads the way
  • Mark Knopfler- Also a great sound, and a great ability to tell a great story out of mundane, everyday events. Things besides love, broken hearts, trucks, drugs, and the horrible greed of the music industry.
  • Harry Chapin- WOW! Went to his concert at the Paramount, so riveting that several times after a song there were several seconds of silence by the crowd. Taken away too soon.
  • Willie Nelson- What did he have, like 850 albums?
  • Jim Croce- Operator, Time in a Bottle are classics. Also taken away from us way too soon. (Honorable mention for fitting so much meaning into those old AM radio time limitations)

There's a start......
Click to expand...
I can't believe that I left John Prine off my original list. No excuse for that oversight. Paradise, Sam Stone, Illegal Smile, Hello In There, That's the Way That the World Goes Around, and more.
 
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Stretch 74 said:
I can't believe that I left John Prine off my original list. No excuse for that oversight. Paradise, Sam Stone, Illegal Smile, Hello In There, That's the Way That the World Goes Around, and more.
Click to expand...
Angel from Montgomery. One of the best songs ever written. Loved the Tiny Desk performance. As recommended by YouTube and actually accurate is Chris Stapleton

Performed by Bonnie Raitt





 
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