Is Stevie responsible for the greatest songs by a female artist of all time?

[Jondalar]

Originally Posted by Travis

Despite the fact that Mariah Carey has been a major success, she doesn’t get enough credit. Aside from writing the more commercial hit songs, some of her best work are the non-singles. One in particular is “Fly Like A Bird” where Mariah soars. I saw her live and when she sings it, it is definitely a shower stopper. I can’t get enough of the song.

I think her Christmas song will stand the test of time... that song is already a classic to me. She always seemed to me to be a very hard worker. She put out album after album and wrote most of her stuff. I think if she would have had the same success without her husband being the head of the record company, she would be given more credit. Whitney and Celine did not write there own stuff. At least she did. Plus, she didn't have the stability they had growning up. I think she had a lot of family turmoil.

[TrueFaith77]

Before MJ died, I would have called him the greatest living singer. And I would have been referring to his singing. Now, I'd say Smokey or Ron.

[Fleetwoodmark]

I would certainly say Stevie is.

Madonna, hmm if you want to whore yourself to mainstream in order to sell a lot of material then you can put her on the list, but if not I think it's a ridiculous suggestion.

[FM77]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath

As far as contribution as a writer goes, my winner is Carole King.

Agree! Although some will say most of her classic hits were co-written with husband Jerry Goffen,,,but still...the list is staggering...

Natural Woman
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Locomotion
Pleasant Valley Sunday
Hey Girl
One Fine Day
I'm into Something Good
You've got A Friend
I Feel the Earth Move
So Far Away
Jazzman
and on and on.....

[David]

Originally Posted by michelej1

How soon they forget. And for me I think that one fills the bill, if we are going with the "hit" requirement. I'm not into YMLF.

Michele

Something is wrong there. I don't understand how you can miss -- or at best overlook -- the structural quality of YMLF. Consider the way the dominant 7th enters in the chorus, & how it spans -- like a suspension bridge -- the major tonic with the minor chord on either side of it. An uninventive songwriter would have stopped right there, but Christine was inspired enough to continue walking downward from the minor -- to a 6th & finally a subdominant, both of which create that wondrous descent in the chorus that nonetheless builds suspense & energy & finally explodes in a sea of stars, perfectly completed by the arrangement of vocal harmonies, swirling among the interstellar faerie dust, like a galaxy of orbiting planets, comets, meteorites, & diamond snakes in a black sky.

YMLF is nothing less than the expanding universe.

[TrueFaith77]

Originally Posted by David

Something is wrong there. I don't understand how you can miss -- or at best overlook -- the structural quality of YMLF. Consider the way the dominant 7th enters in the chorus, & how it spans -- like a suspension bridge -- the major tonic with the minor chord on either side of it. An uninventive songwriter would have stopped right there, but Christine was inspired enough to continue walking downward from the minor -- to a 6th & finally a subdominant, both of which create that wondrous descent in the chorus that nonetheless builds suspense & energy & finally explodes in a sea of stars, perfectly completed by the arrangement of vocal harmonies, swirling among the interstellar faerie dust, like a galaxy of orbiting planets, comets, meteorites, & diamond snakes in a black sky.

YMLF is nothing less than the expanding universe.

Perfect description. Yet (comparing roughly similar songs), I would rank them thus: Think About Me > Say You Love Me > You Make Loving Fun ... though I recognize/FEEL the structural superiority of YMLF.

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by Fleetwoodmark

I would certainly say Stevie is.

Madonna, hmm if you want to whore yourself to mainstream in order to sell a lot of material then you can put her on the list, but if not I think it's a ridiculous suggestion.

Could not have said it better myself!

[Angel69]

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

Seriously. Who, other than Aretha, compares?

Rhiannon http://bit.ly/oEFgs
Landslide http://bit.ly/bOwEgd
Silver Springs http://bit.ly/dgpUiC
Sisters of the Moon http://bit.ly/fsCUV
Beautiful Child http://bit.ly/Ctu2J
Edge of Seventeen http://bit.ly/16IYnl
Gypsy http://bit.ly/dP5eDR

You forgot

Dreams
Edge Of Seventeen
Rooms On Fire
Trouble In Shangra La
The Wild Heart
Sara

We could be here forever!

[michelej1]

Originally Posted by David

YMLF is nothing less than the expanding universe.

And yet it didn't make your list of classic songs written by women!

I liked the discussion about it on the DVD. Christine said she put in the clavinet because she wanted something darker underneath. Lindsey said it turned ethereal and sweet, a complete departure from what you expected at the beginning. He wanted the "never did believe" part to go up into the clouds and then descend back to mortal levels or, as he said, "snap back into place."

And Christine was proud of doing the rhythm all by herself. Her "rocking riff."

Yeah, even when I've seen Lindsey on stage getting into the ending, I never was a fan of that song. Now, I would agree with True Faith about putting Think About Me ahead of the others, but I didn't mention that because I think we were talking about commercial hits and Think About Me doesn't qualify. On my own personal list, however, it ranks high.

As for Hold Me, that's like a Top 5 FM song for me, but I'm not sure if the song is as good as the production.

Michele

[BombaySapphire3]

Originally Posted by Angel69

You forgot

Dreams
Edge Of Seventeen
Rooms On Fire
Trouble In Shangra La
The Wild Heart
Sara

We could be here forever!

Edge is on there ..but to not include Dreams in particular is kind of preposterous.To most people outside of the hardcore fan base that is surely one of the songs that she is most remembered for.Even people who may not even recognize her name will recognize Dreams.

[TerraRhiannon]

You guys have it all wrong, Rebecca Black's song "Friday" is definitely one of the best female songs, just listen to the touching lyrics:

"Yesterday was Thursday,
Today it is Friday,
Tomorrow is Saturday,
& Sunday comes afterwards..."

But seriously, I definitely think Stevie's responsible for the greatest songs by a female artist of all time. Think about it, what other songs have stood the test of time like "Landslide," "Rhiannon," and "Edge of Seventeen?" I'm sure there are lots but these songs definitely qualify as the best Maybe I'm just biased, but I'm sure I would think this even if I didn't really love her as much as I do.

[GoldDustOrphan]

If were talking about a collection of songs from the Rock era solely written and performed and made popular by the same artist, Stevie has it over Aretha Franklin, who did not write the vast majority of her biggest hits, including Chain of Fools, Respect, Natural Woman, etc. Of all her iconic songs, she co-wrote Think.

Dolly Parton is up there.
Loretta Lynn for sure.
Carole King is up there.

Mariah co-writes almost every thing she sings, and at the beginning of her career, she even co-wrote song with Carol King. But she's more influential for her singing than her songwriting.

[aprilsrain]

Except for "Oops, I did it again."

[bethelblues]

I want to bump this. I think Stevie is up there, especially now of all times. I feel that while Dolly Parton and Joni Mitchell and Carole King have been celebrated, Kennedy Center honors, industry acclaim, legend Grammy awards, Broadway productions, Stevie largely has not. Yes, she got the BMI honor, but there are so many great songs. She may be the greatest female "frontman" of a band, ever. And while people like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and other big names fade away, Stevie's still packing arenas with Fleetwood Mac and her voice (though not what it once was) is still very much in tact. Where's Aretha? Civic centers? Tina Turner's retired...she's the only other one I can think of older than Stevie who could still pack arenas, but she was never a songwriter. I wish Stevie's Tusk songs were more recognized. My family introduced me to Fleetwood Mac and my Dad did not know Storms or Beautiful Child or Sisters of the Moon, only Sara. I think a great film could seal the deal and really put Fleetwood Mac/Stevie in the pantheon.

[He's So Unusual]

Originally Posted by bethelblues

I want to bump this. I think Stevie is up there, especially now of all times. I feel that while Dolly Parton and Joni Mitchell and Carole King have been celebrated, Kennedy Center honors, industry acclaim, legend Grammy awards, Broadway productions, Stevie largely has not. Yes, she got the BMI honor, but there are so many great songs. She may be the greatest female "frontman" of a band, ever. And while people like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and other big names fade away, Stevie's still packing arenas with Fleetwood Mac and her voice (though not what it once was) is still very much in tact. Where's Aretha? Civic centers? Tina Turner's retired...she's the only other one I can think of older than Stevie who could still pack arenas, but she was never a songwriter. I wish Stevie's Tusk songs were more recognized. My family introduced me to Fleetwood Mac and my Dad did not know Storms or Beautiful Child or Sisters of the Moon, only Sara. I think a great film could seal the deal and really put Fleetwood Mac/Stevie in the pantheon.

Whitney Houston died a few years ago, so of course she's going to fade away somewhat. I wouldn't really say Celine Dion is fading away. Yes, her last album didn't sell in huge quantities, but it reached the top 10 in most countries around the world. Her two Las Vegas residencies have been huge draws and her world tour in 2008/2009 was a major success grossing over $280m worldwide.

Stevie can still pack out big arenas as part of Fleetwood Mac, but her solo arena tours have been patchy ever since The Wild Heart. I once read through the attendance numbers for all of her concert tours since 1983, and none of them were complete sellouts. In fact, each tour had quite a few arena shows that were less than half full. Her attendance numbers don't come anywhere near those of Tina Turner, an artist who can still sell out major stadiums around the world. Stevie does far better in smaller venues as proven by the fact her shows in venues that fit between 5,000 and 8,000 people usually sell out. She's lucky to have had Fleetwood Mac to fall back on whenever her solo career has been in a slump because if she hadn't she'd probably be performing in theatres.

As for Stevie's songwriting talents, she's written some of the most enduring and popular rock songs of the last 40 years, certainly more than other female rock singers like Pat Benatar, Grace Slick, Carly Simon and Patti Smith.