4 Singer-Songwriters From the 70s Who Could Wail as Well as They Could Write

The singer-songwriter movement peaked in the 70s. That’s when tunesmiths from all corners hit the scene and proved that only an acoustic guitar (or piano) and voice were necessary to make a sweeping musical statement.

It didn’t hurt when the songwriter in question could pack a serious wallop with their vocals. Here are four 70s singer-songwriters who could wow you with their voice while wooing you with their words and melodies.

Harry Nilsson

In the 60s, Harry Nilsson earned a hit or two on his own and wrote a few for others. He put it all together on the 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson, which displayed to the world the scope of his talents. He could break your heart with a ballad like “Without You”, but he could also deliver wild rock and roll yelps on songs like “Jump Into The Fire”. Nilsson showed off his vocal ability a few years later with an album of American Songbook standards. Sadly, he lost much of his range due to oversinging on the Pussy Cats album. (Excessive alcohol and smoking didn’t help either.) But while in his vocal prime, there was no one who could caress a melody, especially the ones he wrote, with more tenderness.

Joni Mitchell

Because she was such a gifted writer, one who revolutionized the concept of confessional songwriting, we tend to overlook how Joni Mitchell’s vocals could absolutely mesmerize. She’d often write melodies that were a bit unusual for the pop music idiom, in part because her guitar style was so idiosyncratic. Those unusual chords magnified her singing ability. Have you ever noticed that you rarely hear a cover of a Mitchell song that approaches the original? Nobody else could quite get to where they needed to be because they lacked her range and phrasing. She was also ingenious on the mic with her ad-libs. When it all came together, the effect was overwhelming.

Van Morrison

In the case of Van Morrison, we experience the opposite effect of what we just described with Joni Mitchell. Anyone who knows Morrison’s work will likely sing the praises of his powerful vocals. Where he tends to be underestimated is in the songwriting department. Maybe it’s because he generally used fuller instrumentation than the average singer-songwriter that we tend to underestimate him as a writer. Or perhaps it was his willingness to take his melodies to unexpected places, often on the fly in the studio, that we don’t realize the brilliant structure of his compositions. Like the others on this list, Morrison had the ability to weave all those skills together and leave listeners breathless.

JD Souther

This is the artist on the list that might surprise some people. Obviously, Souther didn’t enjoy the same level of chart success as the others. Who knows how that might have changed if he’d released more than three albums in the decade? He was often busy utilizing his skills with his famous friends. Souther’s writing shows up in many of the finest hits by Eagles. And his writing, playing, and vocal support all come to the fore in the massive albums Linda Ronstadt released in the decade. If you check out those solo albums of his, you’ll immediately hear the smooth, gliding quality of Souther’s vocals. Or just listen to his breakthrough hit “You’re Only Lonely” for a master class in soulful belting.

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