What Are Singer-Songs?

Singer-songwriters are songwriters who write, compose, and sing their original musical work, which includes both melodies and lyrics. In the United States, this genre is largely established upon the folk-folk tradition, although this tradition has transmuted through time. Early singer-songwriters in this country included such notable artists as Henry Mancini and instrumentalist Yo-Yo Ma. More recently, however, a number of singer-songwriters have emerged who focus more on recording their work and selling it commercially. Today's performers generally have at least one song that they are primarily responsible for writing and performing.

As previously mentioned, singer-songwriters traditionally focused their creativity on creating music for themselves, rather than performing it. In addition, many of these songs were written and recorded using traditional folk or bluegrass forms of music, which tended to be highly repetitive, featuring common structures and instruments. Examples of these types of music include Celtic, traditional choral music, Middle English folk music, and the Appalachian ballad tradition. Today, most performers focus more on writing original songs for their performances. Some, however, also continue to perform classic songs that have been popular for generations.

An early characteristic of singer-songwriters was the creation of "folk songs" or songs that reflected aspects of the singer's life that the audience could relate to. Some of the more popular examples of this include singer-songwriters like Henry Mancini, whose famous "The Rainbow" routine was originally recorded for German radio in 1960. Other examples include songs by traditionalists like Robert Johnson, who often wrote about his life and his experiences instead of the usual topic of love and relationships in his day.

Throughout the 1960s, folk music became increasingly popular as a way for many artists to express their unique creative abilities. One such artist is Berry Clark, who has created a large number of hit songs over the years including hits which included such diverse songs as "My Old School", "Hail to the Rescue", and "Don't Take Me Home". Berry Clark's lyrics often spoke about his home in north America, as he was born in south eastern Ohio. He was also a heavy fan of folk and blues music, which is evident in his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt". Other singer-songwriters that can be considered part of the folk genre of music include Appalachian string bands such asazes and Blind Willie McTell, and the country music singer Melinda Ford.

The term "singer-songwriter" is now commonly used to describe any singer-songwriter who writes and performs their own original songs. There are several schools of thought about what makes a good singer-songwriter. Many traditionalists believe that it is important that a singer-songwriter write his or her own original songs. Traditionalists believe that if a singer-songwriter only sings other people's songs then this is not truly an original creation. Others believe that traditionalists are the only group of people who understand the importance of a singer-songwriter's craft and value.

The traditional schools of thought about singer-songwriters have declined in popularity since the 1960s. However, in recent years there has been a resurgence of folk revivalism. The traditionalists are generally from younger generations of singer-songwriters who are making music that is more honest with their origins and lyrics. These singers may be more influenced by their families and their communities. There are even some singer-songwriters who have learned how to play an instrument so that they can perform alongside their families.