In a podcast about their curation of the ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ list, one New York Times critic said he regretted not including more songwriters who primarily wrote for other people. It’s easier to celebrate the artists whose faces and voices we treasure as much as their writing chops.

I have no such regrets, and my own list is comprised only of songwriters who also perform.

The Times, on the other hand, did manage to recognize five individuals or teams whose work happens primarily behind the scenes.

Brian and Eddie Holland are the surviving members of the Holland–Dozier–Holland writing team that penned some of Motown’s great hits (including ‘Baby Love’ and ‘Stop! In the Name of Love’). Lamont Dozier died in 2022 at age 81. This entry does seem to bend the rules a bit. If one member of a songwriting trio has passed away, should the others be eligible? The same question applies to Valerie Simpson, whose husband Nickolas Ashford died in 2011.

Old-school country music has decent representation on the NYT list with Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Lucinda Williams, but rather than recognize any contemporary country artists they opted to include the songwriting team of Josh Osborne, Brandy Clark, and Shane McAnally. Nashville is famous for group writing sessions, and these three are certainly prolific, but their inclusion feels like a bit of a cheat.

For one thing, while the trio has written songs together, they just as often write on their own or paired with others. They aren’t a three-headed team like Holland–Dozier–Holland, so why present them that way? And why write about them as the authors of Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Follow Your Arrow’ when Musgraves herself is a co-writer of that song and all the rest of her material (often with one or more of these three but also without them)?

I understand the desire to capture the Nashville songwriting tradition, but this was a rather messy way to do it.

I have to believe the same PR team that gets Diane Warren a Best Song Oscar nomination year after year is responsible for landing her on this list. Warren is certainly prolific, and has had her share of hits (23 have reached the top five of the Hot 100), but how many of those songs are any good? Was it the Michael Bolton, Milli Vanilli, or Chicago songs that earned her the spot? To be fair, she is responsible for more songs that you can possibly imagine (including today’s SOTD) so maybe volume and ubiquity is its own accomplishment.

The-Dream has released his own albums but is better known for writing iconic hits for artists such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West. He has co-writing credits on ‘Umbrella’ and ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),’ so the man deserves his props.

Finally, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were recognized as the producers and writers behind a slew of R&B hits, primarily for Janet Jackson. The Times lauds them for shifting gears with Jackson and delivering material to suit each of her stylistic swings. Sure, that’s cool, but considering some of the major names left off the list, I think these guys could have been sidelined to open up a slot.