Critics at The New York Times are explaining exactly why Beyoncé did not make the publication’s list of “The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.” The viral list first hit the net on April 27.
The New York Times Debuts ‘The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ List
The songwriters — in the order in which names appear in the NY Times article — include: Nile Rodgers; Lucinda Williams; Stevie Wonder; JAY-Z; Paul Simon; Taylor Swift; Brian & Eddie Holland; Missy Elliott; Lionel Richie, Dolly Parton; Young Thug; Diane Warren; Josh Osbourne, Brandy Clark, and Shane McNally; Fiona Apple; Babyface; Stephen Merritt; Romeo Santos; Carole King; Outkast; Mariah Carey; Willie Nelson; Kendrick Lamar; Valerie Simpson; Bob Dylan; Lana Del Rey; The-Dream; Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis; Bad Bunny; Bruce Springsteen; and Smokey Robinson.
Furthermore, the list was curated by The Times’ critics, Jon Caramanica, Joe Coscarelli, Wesley Morris, Jody Rosen, Danyel Smith, and Lindsay Zoladz. Contributors include Joshua Charow,Carina del Valle Schorske, Jenn Pelly, Stefan Ruiz, and Lara Sorokanich.
The New York Times Defends Its ’30 Greatest Living American Songwriters’ List, Critics Explain Why Beyoncé Wasn’t Included
A few of the critics defended The New York Times’ “Greatest Songwriters” list. On the May 7 episode of The Times’ podcast, ‘Cannonball With Wesley Morris, Morris brings together ‘Popcast’ hosts Caramanica and Coscarelli, plus Sasha Weiss, a deputy editor of The Times Magazine, to break things down.
While opening the episode, Morris said the group of critics only had 30 slots to fill. He said they “sent out hundreds of ballots to people in and around the music industry.” According to the NY Times article, “more than 250 music insiders” helped the six NYT critics weigh in on the unranked list. Morris added:
“Their job was to vote for their favorites. And when the ballots came back, it was up to us to figure out what to do with it… For me, it was the greatest thing I’ve ever been asked to do, and the worst thing I’ve ever been asked to do. The assignment was to take all of the ballots and then use our own critical judgement to nail down a list of 30.”
During the episode, the three NYT critics and NYT deputy editor explain how they curated the list, how they picked who made it on, and who they had to leave off and why. One of those people was Beyoncé — whom the NYT critics regard, not as a songwriter, but as a curator, executive producer, and of course, performer.
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