The 6 Greatest Living Songwriters in Country Music

Earlier this week, the New York Times released its list of the 30 greatest living American songwriters. For those who are tapped into the worlds of hip-hop and popular music, it’s a rock-solid list. They included legendary songsmiths and those who are still writing their legacies. Unfortunately, the list of the greatest living American songwriters didn’t include many country songwriters.

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Of course, they honored Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, which was expected. The list also included modern Nashville mainstays like Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. So, they didn’t snub country music. There were just a limited number of spaces on a list with a broad focus. So, we compiled a list of a few of the greatest living country songwriters. The individuals below didn’t just write hit songs. They wrote songs that have made a lasting impact on country music.

[RELATED: 4 of the Most Underrated Country Songwriters of All Time]

1. Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton isn’t just a great songwriter and country singer. She’s also one of the genre’s best ambassadors to the rest of the world. Everybody loves Dolly. And she has probably led more people to country music than any other figure in the genre. Moreover, she’s an influential and inspirational figure for countless artists and songwriters.

“Jolene,” “9 to 5,” and “Coat of Many Colors” are country classics. “I Will Always Love You,” though, was a global phenomenon when Whitney Houston recorded it.

2. Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson is another legacy artist who has introduced an untold number of new listeners to country music. He was also one of a handful of songwriters who fueled the outlaw country movement in the 1970s. With a career and catalog that span more than 65 years, Nelson is part of the bedrock of modern country music.

Nelson’s song catalog is nothing short of monumental. Patsy Cline’s signature hit, “Crazy,” came from his pen. “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” “Funny How Time Slips Away,” “Good Hearted Woman,” “On the Road Again,” and “Hello Walls” are just a few of the highlights from the long list of songs he’s given us over the years.

3. Bob McDill

Country music lost one of its greatest living songwriters when Bob McDill retired in 2000. His poetic and thoughtful songwriting produced hits that dominated the country charts and airwaves from the 1970s to the 1990s. Artists like Don Williams, Waylon Jennings, Keith Whitley, Alan Jackson, and Alabama took 30 of his songs to the top of the country chart.

While there’s nothing wrong with working with co-writers, it’s always more impressive when a songwriter comes away from a solo session with a great song. McDill’s dedication to the craft led him to do that several times. “Amanda” (Waylon Jennings), “Don’t Close Your Eyes” (Keith Whitley), “Gone Country” (Alan Jackson), “Song of the South” (Alabama), and “Good Ole Boys Like Me” (George Jones & the Oak Ridge Boys) are among his stellar solo-writes.

4. Bobby Braddock

Bobby Braddock solidified his place as one of country music’s greatest songwriters in 1980. He and Curly Putman co-wrote “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” which has been hailed as one of the best and saddest country songs of all time. That alone put him in the running for this list. The rest of his catalog reads like a list of country classics cut by A-list artists.

McDill also mentored the late, great Don Schlitz, who wrote “The Gambler” and several other classics.

“Time Marches On” (Tracy Lawrence), “Old Flames Have New Names” (Mark Chesnutt), “I Wanna Talk About Me” (Toby Keith), “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” (Tammy Wynette), and “Golden Ring” (George Jones & Tammy Wynette) are among the highlights of McDill’s output as a writer.

5. Dean Dillon

If you like George Strait, you’re also a Dean Dillon fan. That’s the rule. He has written hit songs for other artists over the years. George Jones, Vern Gosdin, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, and Brad Paisley are among the others who have cut his songs and found chart success. However, he is behind some of Strait’s biggest and most memorable hits.

Dillon’s connection to Strait wouldn’t be such a big deal if Strait weren’t the most successful country artist in history. Moreover, he helped spearhead a neotraditional country movement that shaped the genre for more than a decade. That likely wouldn’t be true without No. 1 songs like “The Chair,” “Nobody in His Right Mind Would Have Left Her,” “Ocean Front Property,” and “Famous Last Words of a Fool,” all of which Dillon wrote or co-wrote.

6. Paul Overstreet

If you find yourself enjoying Randy Travis’ early hits, you’re a fan of Paul Overstreet’s work. He has also written enduring hits for the Judds, Tanya Tucker, the Forester Sisters, Ronnie Milsap, and others. However, he had a major impact on Travis’ career.

Much like George Strait, Randy Travis ignored the direction in which Nashville was going in the mid-1980s. Instead of trying to make music with crossover appeal, he chose to record traditional-sounding country music. They were both highly influential on the direction that country music went in the 1990s. Overstreet co-wrote many of the songs that made Travis a driving force in the genre.

Songs like “Diggin’ Up Bones,” “On the Other Hand,” “Forever and Ever, Amen,” and “Deeper Than the Holler” are modern country classics.

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