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Bassist (etc) as main lyric writer (but not singer/tunesmith)


Nail Soup

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I recently saw  Black Sabbath doc which said (I think it's well known) that whilst Iommi wrote most of the riffs for Sabbath, Geezer Butler wrote the majority of the words.

I think that bassist Bob Daisley wrote the lyrics for the Ozzy albums he was on too.

 

So are there any other notable cases where the bassist (or drummer, guitartist) etc. writes the lyrics for a band, but they are not the singer or the music writer?

( so not Phil Lynott - he was the singer, not Nikki Sixx - he wrote the tumes too)

A couple of non-bassists spring to mind........

 

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2 minutes ago, joeystrange said:

I believe Nicky Wire writes the Manics’ lyrics (that aren’t Richey’s) and JDB writes the music.

Yes, forgot that one! I think Nicky and Ritchie originally wrote the lyrics together, plus the band manifesto(!) etc.

Due to the well known sad circumstances Nicky does it alone now.

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1 hour ago, KevB said:

Some bands have included lyricists who didn't actually perform, eg Procol Harum.

I think some ofStiff Little Fingers early lyrics were written by the manager  - Gordon Ogilvie if I remember correctly.

I think he had a background in journalism.

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13 minutes ago, TheRev said:

Pete Brown wrote a lot of Cream's lyrics, certainly on the later albums.

I think Steve Harris writes a lot of Maiden's lyrics, or have I made that up?

No, I think you’re right about the latter

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1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

Jack Bruce???

He sang almost all Creams songs. I think Willie Dixon wrote a load but didn’t sing, just thwacked the upright! Kyle Eastwood writes tons of tunes but the main instruments playing are his brass players and pianist, but perhaps jazz doesn’t really count as there’s generally no lyrics!

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A classic example is Squeeze. Glen Tilbrook writes the tunes and sings and plays lead guitar. Chris Difford writes the lyrics and plays rhythm guitar (he sang Cool For Cats... I guess that one suited his voice).

I heard an interview with Chis, and he told how the Squeeze (and their songwriting partnership) began. They met through an advert, and each bought a bunch of songs to the meeting. By the end of the session they realised that one guy's songs had great lyrics, and the others had great tunes.

....and the rest is history.

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On 15/07/2020 at 13:04, Nail Soup said:

A couple of non-bassists spring to mind........

Pete Townsend would be a good example.

Roger Daltrey has done a superb job of making Townsend’s lyrics his own.

With regards to Bob Dailey, it’s appalling how he was treated by the Osbournes... 

Edited by Old Man Riva
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1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

Pretty sure Roger Glover contributed to Deep Purple lyrics. Hard to tell what as the band seemed quite democratic in their songwriting credits.

Stretching the memory muscles a bit, but I think he wrote the lyrics for Graham Bonnet-era Rainbow, when he was in the line-up.

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