callings of the archive
Songwriter Biographies
Every archived life recorded as songwriter, ordered by their place in the ledger.
Early Modern era
John Donne
1572 – March 31, 1631
English poet and cleric (1572–1631)
Early Modern era
Robert Burns
January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796
Scottish poet and lyricist (1759–1796)
Modern era
George Gershwin
September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937
American composer and pianist (1898–1937)
Contemporary era
Andrew Lloyd Webber
b. March 22, 1948
British theatre composer (born 1948)
Modern era
Billie Holiday
April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959
American jazz singer (1915–1959)
Modern era
Sam Cooke
January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964
American singer and songwriter (1931–1964)
Modern era
Aretha Franklin
March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018
American singer, songwriter, and pianist (1942–2018)
Modern era
Little Richard
December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020
American musician (1932–2020)
Modern era
Buddy Holly
September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959
American rock and roll singer (1936–1959)
Modern era
Bob Dylan
b. May 24, 1941
American singer-songwriter (born 1941)
Modern era
George Harrison
February 25, 1943 – November 29, 2001
English musician and member of the Beatles (1943–2001)
Contemporary era
David Gilmour
b. March 6, 1946
English musician, member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)
Modern era
Nick Mason
b. January 27, 1944
English drummer
Contemporary era
Bruce Springsteen
b. September 23, 1949
American rock singer (born 1949)
Modern era
Marvin Gaye
April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984
American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984)
Modern era
Tina Turner
November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023
American-born Swiss singer and songwriter (1939–2023)
Contemporary era
Madonna
b. August 16, 1958
American singer (born 1958)
Contemporary era
Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
The King of Pop, best-selling entertainer in history
Contemporary era
Mariah Carey
b. March 27, 1969
American singer (born 1969)
Contemporary era
Kurt Cobain
February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994
American rock musician (1967–1994)
Contemporary era
Tupac Shakur
June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996
American rapper and actor (1971–1996)
Contemporary era
The Notorious B.I.G.
May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997
American rapper (1972–1997)
Contemporary era
Dr. Dre
b. February 18, 1965
American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor
Contemporary era
Snoop Dogg
b. October 20, 1971
American rapper (born 1971)
Contemporary era
Jay-Z
b. December 4, 1969
American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur
Contemporary era
Eminem
b. October 17, 1972
American rapper, record producer and actor
Contemporary era
Kanye West
b. June 8, 1977
American rapper and record producer
Contemporary era
Beyonce
b. September 4, 1981
American singer-songwriter (born 1981)
Contemporary era
Lady Gaga
b. March 20, 1986
American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1986)
Contemporary era
Hayley Williams
b. December 27, 1988
American singer
Contemporary era
Shawn Mendes
b. August 8, 1998
Canadian singer
Contemporary era
Tate McRae
b. July 1, 2003
Canadian singer, songwriter, and dancer
Contemporary era
Gracie Abrams
b. September 7, 1999
American singer-songwriter (born 1999)
Modern era
Anwar Maqsood
b. 1935
Pakistani writer
Modern era
Habib Jalib
March 24, 1928 – March 13, 1993
Pakistani poet (1928–1993)
Modern era
Josh Malihabadi
December 5, 1898 – February 22, 1982
Shayar-e-Inqalab (1894-1982)
Modern era
Munir Niazi
April 9, 1923 – December 26, 2006
Punjabi poet (1923–2006)
Modern era
Ustad Daman
January 1, 1910 – December 3, 1984
Punjabi poet
Modern era
Shiv Kumar Batalvi
July 23, 1936 – May 6, 1973
Punjabi poet (1936–1973)
Modern era
Majrooh Sultanpuri
October 1, 1919 – May 24, 2000
Indian Urdu poet and Hindi language lyricist (1919-2000)
Modern era
Sahir Ludhianvi
March 8, 1921 – October 25, 1980
Indian Urdu and Hindi poet (1921–1980)
Modern era
Kaifi Azmi
January 14, 1919 – May 10, 2002
Indian poet and songwriter (1919–2002)
Contemporary era
Rahat Indori
January 1, 1950 – August 11, 2020
Indian Bollywood lyricist and Urdu poet (1950–2020)
Contemporary era
Sudirman
May 25, 1954 – February 22, 1992
Malaysian singer and songwriter (1954-1992)
Modern era
P. Ramlee
March 22, 1929 – May 29, 1973
Malaysian singer, actor and film director (1929–1973)
Medieval era
Guillaume de Machaut
1300 – 1377
Medieval French composer and poet (c. 1300–1377)
Modern era
Nanak Singh
July 4, 1897 – December 28, 1971
Indian writer (1897–1971)
Modern era
Surinder Kaur
November 25, 1929 – June 14, 2006
Indian singer (1929-2006)
Modern era
Shah Abdul Karim
February 15, 1916 – September 12, 2009
Bangladeshi musician
Modern era
Mahmoud Darwish
March 13, 1941 – August 9, 2008
The national Palestinian poet, and author (1941–2008)
Contemporary era
Andrea Bocelli
b. September 22, 1958
Italian tenor and singer-songwriter (born 1958)
Contemporary era
Chris Hadfield
b. August 29, 1959
Canadian astronaut
Contemporary era
Ariana Grande
b. June 26, 1993
American singer, songwriter, and actress (born 1993)
Modern era
Fats Domino
February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017
American pianist and singer (1928-2017)
Modern era
Roy Orbison
April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988
American musician (1936 –1988)
Modern era
Smokey Robinson
b. February 19, 1940
American R&B singer, songwriter and producer (born 1940)
Contemporary era
Donna Summer
December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012
American singer (1948–2012)
Contemporary era
Justin Bieber
b. March 1, 1994
Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1994)
Modern era
Patsy Cline
September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963
American country singer (1932–1963)