Singer-Songwriter
Singer-songwriter describes artists who write and perform their own songs, usually with simple backing from an acoustic guitar or piano.
The words matter most. Lyrics are personal and reflective, and arrangements are kept light so the voice and the story stay in front. The style grew out of the folk revival of the 1960s and had its first big wave in the early 1970s. It is a way of working more than a fixed sound, so it shades into folk, pop, rock and country.
Artists it is known for: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King.
- Family
- Folk & Acoustic
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A broad heading
- From
- United States and United Kingdom, 1960s
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 24%
About 20,000 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have singer-songwriter among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Singer-Songwriter artists
ADÉLA
SIENNA SPIRO
Jeff Buckley
Sufjan Stevens
Billy Joel
Elliott Smith
Cameron Winter
George Harrison
Fiona Apple
Bob Dylan
The singer-songwriter artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.