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Originally Posted by AliP
Does anyone ever wonder why there weren't more songs that were credited to either "Stevie & Lindsey" or "Lindsey & Christine" etc. For instance, a song like Gypsy. We all know that Lindsey did alot with that song. I know that Stevie wrote it, and as she says, she brings in a "skeleton" of a song and then Lindsey will put his magic in and mold it into its final version. Shouldn't Gypsy be credited to "Lindsey & Stevie" then?
Admittedly, I know nothing about how these things work. Is it because Stevie wrote the lyrics and the simple melody so she is credited with all the songwriting credits? Then I don't understand how a song like "The Chain" is credited to all five members?? I mean, really, doesn't John come up with a bass part for every song, like he did with The Chain?? So shouldn't he be credited on every song? It just seems strange to me. But, then I don't really understand how it works, so hopefully someone can help me out.
Also, compare The Beatles. Why are Lennon & McCartney credited for every song that either one of them did (for the most part anyway, I'm not 100% sure on this.) From what I've read on The Beatles, Paul or John would write a song etc (and I'm assuming came up with the melody etc) so shouldn't only one of them be credited?
Or is it just a matter of personal choice?  |
Well, if you've got a good contract, it's always a matter of personal choice. You can credit a song to whomever you want to. But as far as something like "Gypsy," STevie wrote the lyrics, the melody, the chord progression. She wrote the song; she gets the songwriting credit. As far as I know, everything that Lindsey did with the song was on the production end. He arranged the song, made it sound a certain way. And he does have the production credit, along with Dashut and Caillat (and, nominally, the band as a whole; again, a personal choice).
If you think about in terms of somethign like standards, it might make the distinction a little clearer. Even keeping it in the realm of Stevie, take a song like "At Last." Stevie performed/recorded it one way; Etta James recorded it very differently. But the differences are all in the arrangement and production. The song - the lyrics, the melody, the chords - were all written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren. Now I don't think those two ever recorded a version of the song in their lives; they weren't performers, to my knowledge. So no violin or horn arrangements were ever their doing. But they wrote the song; they get the songwriting credit.
Or think of covers. Kind of the same thing as standards, really. And again keeping it in the realm of Stevie: "I Still Miss Someone." Who came up with that absolutely wretched arrangement? I don't know. I don't want to know. I don't ever want to listen to that recording again. It's completely reworked and horribly butchered. But the songwriting credit still goes to Johnny Cash, because he wrote the song, even if Stevie or Rupert Hine destroyed it.
"The Chain": Yes, John probably comes up with his own bass line for almost every FM song, but the specific bass line he comes up with is always a reflection of the chord progression and melody written by the songwriter. Except in the case of "The Chain," where he came up with the bass line on his own, and it was later worked into the song. As far as
everyone being credited for songwriting on that track, it was probably just a PR decision. Stevie wrote some lyrics, John wrote bass line, Lindsey wrote a melody... hell, at this point we might as well credit Mick and Chris for their part in the jam session, right?
The Beatles: In the beginning, John and Paul did write a lot of their songs together. And when they signed their record contract, they agreed always to credit their songs "Lennon/McCartney," no matter who did most or all of the writing. So they were stuck with that legally, and they had to do it even later on, when they were clearly no longer writing songs with each other.
Does that make the whole imbroglio any more lucid, I hope?