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Song of the Day #6,534: ‘Imitadora’ – Romeo Santos

A challenge The New York Times faced in compiling their list of the ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ was representing as many genres as possible. Rather than adhere to the traditional white male guitar-and-a-pen concept of songwriting, they wanted to open the conversation to other forms of songcraft.

I think that’s the right approach for a list like this. Popular music in 2026 is different than the folk and rock derivative music of the 20th century. Rap, for example, has been a dominant musical form for three decades. It needs to have a significant presence in this project, and it does.

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Song of the Day #6,533: ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ – Willie Nelson

Three artists on the New York Times ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ list came close to making my own list, but I reconsidered including them.

One is Stevie Wonder, who is without question a musical genius and one of the most iconic and celebrated American songwriters and performers in history. If I were compiling some sort of “objective” list of the greats, he would be on it.

But as much as I recognize Wonder’s talent, and really enjoy some of his albums and songs, he’s never been a favorite. And I decided my list should reflect my specific passions, for better or worse.

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Song of the Day #6,532: ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me’ – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

The New York Times recently published a list of The ‘30 Greatest Living American Songwriters,’ compiled by polling more than 250 artists and experts and filtering the results through a panel of NYT critics.

Like all pop culture lists, this one generated a ton of controversy. Outrage over who was omitted, eye-rolling over who was included. Reminders that absent artists like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Drake are actually Canadian.

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Song of the Day #6,531: ‘On My Own’ – Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald

A pair of divas topped the Billboard Hot 100 the week of May 24, 1986: Whitney Houston with ‘Greatest Love of All‘ and Madonna with ‘Live to Tell.’ Alas, I’ve already written about both.

That brings us to #3, where we find another diva teaming up with one of the great soul singers. Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald’s ‘On My Own’ eventually spent three weeks at #1 and became the biggest hit for either artist.

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Song of the Day #6,530: ‘Love Hangover’ – Diana Ross

Throwing back to the week of May 23, 1976, we find Diana Ross atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Love Hangover,’ the third single from her self-titled soul album released in February of that year.

The first single, which also reached #1, was ‘Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To),’ a Best Song Oscar nominee the previous year.

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