Greatest songwriter of all time? Well, it seems that most are caught-up in their own time. Kinda like weather,..geez "winter's aren't what they use to be"...weather has cycles beyond one's own life-span memory ,..100 year cycles, 1000 year cycles..etc...ice ages..etc.
Perhaps I read the question wrong, but it seems that the
"greatest songwriter of all time", is a different question than "the greatest songwriter of your lifetime".
That said, Dylan, Lennon, Fats Waller, Joplin, Jimmy Rodges, and many others have great merit..but one of the great gifts of music..like poetry, is to reach beyond the narcisism of the narrow perspective of ones own 80(or so)year life span.
But...it's is all good, like is said above..there is only music. And your choices are valid..very valid. But music was not invented....or perfected in the 20th century.
Sorry, this will likely just piss people off.
Perhaps I read the question wrong, but it seems that the
"greatest songwriter of all time", is a different question than "the greatest songwriter of your lifetime".
That said, Dylan, Lennon, Fats Waller, Joplin, Jimmy Rodges, and many others have great merit..but one of the great gifts of music..like poetry, is to reach beyond the narcisism of the narrow perspective of ones own 80(or so)year life span.
But...it's is all good, like is said above..there is only music. And your choices are valid..very valid. But music was not invented....or perfected in the 20th century.
Sorry, this will likely just piss people off.