Famous Songwriters and Composers a to z

Singer Gladys Knight has given voice to multiple R&B hits (with and without her Pips), including "Midnight Train to Georgia."

Musician and activist Fela Kuti pioneered Afrobeat music and was repeatedly arrested and beaten for writing lyrics that questioned the Nigerian government.

Pop icon Lady Gaga's debut album The Fame included hits "Just Dance" and "Poker Face." Her follow-up, The Fame Monster, was nominated for six Grammys.

Miranda Lambert is a Grammy Award-winning country music star and singer-songwriter. Her 2005 major label debut album, Kerosene, went platinum.

Versatile singer and songwriter k.d. Lang is known for such country hits as "Crying" and "I'm Down to My Last Cigarette," and for the successful pop single "Constant Craving."

Cyndi Lauper is a singer who rose to fame in the 1980s with a string of pop hits such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

Mixing rock, punk and a rebellious style, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne's first album sold 15 million copies, thanks to hit singles "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi."

Tommy Lee is the drummer and co-founder of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He has two children with actress Pamela Anderson.

Singer-songwriter John Legend won his first Grammy Award with 2004's Get Lifted. The album went platinum, thanks in part to the hit single "Ordinary People."

John Lennon, pop star, composer, songwriter and recording artist, founded the Beatles, a band that impacted the music scene like no other before or since.

Musician Julian Lennon is the child of John Lennon, a founding member of The Beatles, and his first wife. One of his better know songs is Too Late For Goodbyes.

Annie Lennox is a singer/songwriter known for her work with the Eurythmics and as a solo act. Her hits include “Sweet Dreams,” “Who’s That Girl?” and “Why.”

Phil Lesh is best known as being a founding member and bass player for the 1960s rock group Grateful Dead.

Adam Levine is the Grammy Award-winning frontman of Maroon 5, known for such pop hits as "This Love" and "Moves Like Jagger." He has also appeared as a judge/coach on The Voice.

American jazz pianist and composer John Lewis was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, one of the longest-lived and best-received groups in jazz history.

Franz Liszt was a Hungarian pianist and composer of enormous influence and originality. He was renowned in Europe during the Romantic movement.

Before she became the poster child for drugs and plastic surgery, Courtney Love was an alternative rock star married to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

Lyle Lovett is an eclectic country music singer/songwriter who has also been known to dabble in acting.

Loretta Lynn is a singer-songwriter known for "Coal Miner's Daughter," among many other country songs. A film about her by the same name was a critical hit.

Taj Mahal is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music blends various folk traditions and was influential in the creation of the world music genre.

Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler became popular in the late 19th century for his emotionally charged and subtly orchestrated symphonies.

Barry Manilow made the whole world sing with his 1970s hits "I Write the Songs," "Mandy" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."

Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter Bob Marley served as a world ambassador for reggae music and sold more than 20 million records throughout his career—making him the first international superstar to emerge from the so-called Third World.

Damian Marley is a Grammy Award-winning reggae musician and the son of Bob Marley. His biggest hit is the song "Welcome to Jamrock."

Singer and songwriter Ziggy Marley is the oldest son of the reggae giant Bob Marley, and is best known as a talented reggae musician in his own right.

After several years as one of pop music's premier songwriters, Bruno Mars broke out as a singer in his own right with the 2010 hit "Nothin' on You."

A giant in the music world, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is a multi-Grammy Award winner who has been lauded for his work both in jazz and classical music.

British vocalist, songwriter, musician, and composer, Paul McCartney was a member of the Beatles as well as one of the most popular solo performers of all time.

Michael McDonald is an American singer and songwriter best known as a former member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.

A pop sensation in the 1980s, singer-songwriter John Mellencamp has evolved into one of rock’s most enduring acts, and given voice to the small-town experience.

Bandleader Glenn Miller inspired the World War II generation and boosted morale with many popular songs.

Ronnie Milsap is a multiple Grammy Award-winning country music singer and pianist. A blind performer, Milsap's songs were frequent cross-over hits during the 1970s and 1980s.

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, responsible for hits such as "Both Sides Now" and "Big Yellow Taxi," is widely considered 1960s and '70s folk royalty.

A legendary tough guy on and off-screen, Robert Mitchum was one of the most memorable leading men of the twentieth century.

Thelonious Monk is one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and one of first creators of modern jazz.

Singer Janelle Monáe became an R&B sensation in 2010 with the release of her critically acclaimed debut album, The ArchAndroid.

Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, satirist, composer, singer and close friend of Lord Byron.

Canadian musician Alanis Morissette’s 1995 album Jagged Little Pill established her as one of alternative rock's foremost female vocalists of the 1990s.

Jim Morrison was the charismatic singer and songwriter for the 1960 rock group the Doors until his death in a Paris bathtub at age 27.

Jelly Roll Morton was an American pianist and songwriter best known for influencing the formation of modern day jazz during the 1920s.

A prolific artist, Austrian composer Wolfgang Mozart created a string of operas, concertos, symphonies and sonatas that profoundly shaped classical music.

Modest Mussorgsky was a 19th century Russian composer. His most famous works include "Night on Bald Mountain," "Boris Godunov" and "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Graham Nash's vocals and songwriting talents helped make Crosby, Stills and Nash one of the most popular folk-rock bands of all time.

American singer and songwriter Ricky Nelson was an early teen idol who acted out his real-life childhood on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

R&B talent Marc Nelson co-founded Boyz II Men but quit before they hit it big. He continued on as a solo artist and songwriter for well-known performers.

Willie Nelson is a country singer and songwriter best known for hit songs including “Crazy” and “On the Road Again.”

Michael Nesmith rose to fame as a member of the Monkees, a made-for-television group that turned into a real rock success story.

Jennifer Nettles is an American country music vocalist, best known as the lead singer of the popular group Sugarland.

As the bassist of the grunge band Nirvana, Krist Novoselic was a part of the music revolution that brought alternative rock to the mainstream.

Ted Nugent fronted the band Amboy Dukes in the 1970s. He has produced solo work since 1977, including the successful album Cat Scratch Fever.

With her signature shaved head, Sinead O'Connor emerged with a powerful and expressive voice, complex songs, and a fair share of controversy.

Frank Ocean is a singer-songwriter and member of the hip-hop collective Odd Future. He's best known for the albums nostalgia, ULTRA and channel ORANGE.

German composer Johann Pachelbel was known for his works for organ, and was considered one of the great organ masters of the generation before J.S. Bach.

Ignacy Paderewski was a world famous concert pianist who also became Poland’s first prime minister in 1919.

Sometimes called "the Devil's Violinist," Niccolò Paganini's virtuoso talent, accompanied by his extraordinary dexterity and flexibility, gave him an almost mythic reputation—he is considered by many to be the greatest violinist of all time.

Famed pianist and composer Eddie Palmieri won nine Grammy Awards throughout his career, for albums like The Sun of Latin Music, Solito and Masterpiece.

Charlie Parker was a legendary Grammy Award–winning jazz saxophonist who with Dizzy Gillespie invented the musical style called bop or bebop.

Gordon Parks was an African-American photographer, filmmaker and author, best known for his work published in LIFE magazine and for directing the hit movie Shaft.

Country music queen Dolly Parton is a cultural icon whose voluptuous figure and powerful voice made her popular on both stage and screen.

Actress, musician and activist Pauley Perette is best known as the lab technician on the crime drama NCIS.

Pop music singing sensation Katy Perry has become known for her over-the-top fashions, quirky stage props and catchy songs like "I Kissed a Girl".

Tom Petty is best known as the front man for the well-known band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He pursued a solo career in 1989, recording hit songs like "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down a Dream."

Robert Plant is a British rock singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

Grace Potter is a singer and musician who fronts the band the Nocturnals. She also sang on the hit duet "You and Tequila" with country singer Kenny Chesney.

Lisa Marie Presley is a singer and actress who is familiar to most as the only daughter of Elvis Presley and the ex-wife of Michael Jackson.

Florence Beatrice Price was an award-winning pianist and composer who became the first African-American woman to have her work performed by a major symphony.

Louis Prima was an influential jazz trumpeter, singer and composer known for songs like "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Angelina," "Buona Sera" and "Jump, Jive an' Wail."

American musician Prince achieved wide fame in the 1980s with 1999 and Purple Rain, the latter album sharing a title with a film starring the musician.

Italian composer Giacomo Puccini started the operatic trend toward realism with his popular works La Boheme and Madame Butterfly.

Tito Puente was a musical pioneer, mixing musical styles with Latin sounds and experimenting in fusing Latin music with jazz.

Experimental jazz pianist, songwriter, composer and bandleader Sun Ra formed the band Arkestra in the 1950s and played in it until his death in 1993.