Songwriters, Volumes 1 and 2: A Biographical Dictionary with Discographies

Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter... This is a comprehensive guide to 1,054 composers and lyricists (in English) from all the popular genres, including Tin Pan Alley, rhythm & blues, country & western, jazz, rap, and film and show tunes. Each artist's entry includes birth name (if different), date and place of birth, principal musical genre, main instruments played (if any), a short biography, a list of compositions, a list of long playing albums or CDs (with year of release, record label and peak chart position) and any noteworthy compilation albums. Artists are cross-referenced with musical group and co-writers, when applicable, and the final section of most entries is an alphabetical list of every known chart version of any song written by that particular artist since 1890 (when Billboard first compiled a pop chart).