Top 10 Very Good Musicians Who Aren't Good Composers
Musicians who can play and sing amazingly but most often fail at writing a really good song.Note that this list is about writing music and not lyrics.
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more. I think his voice is amazing but he basically didn't write his songs
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" was an English rock guitarist. He was one of the three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds (the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. A virtuoso guitar player but in general, he isn't good at writing songs
Jørn Lande is a Norwegian metal and hard rock singer known for his solo career as Jorn, and providing vocals for Avantasia, Masterplan, Ark, Beyond Twilight, Millenium, Allen/Lande, Mundanus Imperium, Vagabond, The Snakes, Ayreon. Great singer but somebody else has to write the songs for him - for example, somebody like Tobias Sammet from Avantasia /Edguy. Lande's collaboration with Sammet worked great for him/them.
Jorn Lande wrote some song but they are pretty mediocre.
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he joined in 1982. He's got only one songwriting credit in the entire Iron Maiden discography - for co-wroting the song New Frontier (2003).
The weirdest part: he wrote a bassline (! ) that Steve Harris played.
Truth is, drummers usually don't contribute to songwriting so Nicko McBrain isn't an exception. But Lars of Metallica contributes regularly.
Michael Kiske is a singer best known as the former lead vocalist for the German power metal band Helloween. Incredible singer but somebody has to write the songs for him. And many people actually did.
For example, the songs for his recent album with Amanda Somerville were written by Primal Fear members (Primal Fear is a German metal band that is lesser known than Helloween).
Riley B. "B.B." King was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Very influential guitar player but he didn't really write most of his material.
Oh man, listen to his amazing guitar playing on the cover of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, by At Vance. Or Vivaldi / Summer by At Vance.
But the songs he wrote were kinda boring and generic.
Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and musician. He fronted and/or founded numerous groups including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell. He is credited with popularizing the "metal horns" hand gesture in metal culture and is known for his medieval themed lyrics. Dio possessed a powerful versatile vocal range capable of singing both hard rock and lighter ballads; according to Rainbow/Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore upon hearing him sing, "I felt shivers down my spine." Dio sold over 47 million albums throughout his career.
He died from stomach cancer in 2010 at the age of 67. He wrote mostly lyrics and not music. I think his best collaboration was with Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow because Mr Blackmore certainly knows how to write memorable music.
Timothy S. "Ripper" Owens is an American heavy metal singer who first gained attention as the lead singer of Judas Priest, and then Iced Earth. He took the nickname "Ripper" from the Judas Priest song "The Ripper" during his time in the tribute band "British Steel". He currently performs with Beyond Fear, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and Charred Walls of the Damned. Great voice. He writes lyrics from time to time but that's all
Paul Bruce Dickinson, known professionally as Bruce Dickinson, (born 7 August 1958) is an English musician, airline pilot, and broadcaster. He is most well known for being the lead singer in heavy metal band Iron Maiden and his solo career.Outside his career in music, Dickinson has pursued a number of other activities. He undertook a career as a commercial pilot for Astraeus Airlines, which led to a number of media-reported ventures such as captaining Iron Maiden's converted charter aeroplane, Ed Force One, during their world tours. Following Astraeus' closure, he created his own aircraft maintenance and pilot training company, Cardiff Aviation, in 2012. Dickinson presented his own radio show ...read more. He wrote the music to some songs but composing music isn't his strength
Steve Harris wrote the most.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 ...read more.
Matthew 'Matt' Barlow is an American heavy metal singer and police officer. He was the lead singer for Iced Earth in the 1990s and 2000s. He is currently the lead singer for Ashes of Ares. After the September 11 terrorist attacks Matt Barlow decided to become a police officer and contribute to the "real world" instead of living the illusion of a "rock star." In 2007 he returned to music. Not very high on this list because he wrote a song or two (decent songs) but composing isn't his thing for sure.
Ralf Scheepers is the vocalist for German heavy metal band Primal Fear. He has a relatively high-pitched tenor-esque singing voice and sometimes uses a shriek reminiscent of Judas Priest's Rob Halford, although it is his baritone lows which give him a near four-octave range in the modal register.
Brian Hugh Warner, better known by his stage name Marilyn Manson, is an American musician, songwriter, actor, painter, multimedia artist, author, and former music journalist.
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter and stage actor. Since 2009, he has sold over 2.5 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide.
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains, which he founded with guitarist Jerry Cantrell in Seattle, Washington in 1987. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s. In 2002, Staley was found dead in his home of a drug overdose. He had a amazing voice, but usually Jerry Cantrell wrote most of the lyrics in Alice in Chains.