THE BEST SONGWRITERS BEHIND THE HITS. DID YOU KNOW THEM?

Otis Redding

He wrote “Respect” by Aretha Franklin

“Respect” was originally an Otis song, but once he gave it to Aretha Franklin, its popularity skyrocketed.

Cindy Walker

Country music’s most famous songwriter. An adherent of Howard’s “three chords and the truth” school of songwriting, Walker was the author of such classics as “Not That I Care”, “In the Misty Moonlight”, “It’s All Your Fault” and the smash hit “You Don’t Know Me”.

The magic dust Cindy sprinkled on the song must have worked, as it has been recorded and immortalized by everyone who has covered it, including Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. By combining complex emotions with conversational lyrics, Walker could tackle any style of song, from torch ballads to westerns and waltzes.

Narada Michael Walden

Behind every great diva is Narada Michael Walden. Aretha, Whitney, Diana, Mariah; he wrote for them and produced some of the biggest hits of the 80s. As one of the most sought-after songwriters of the decade, Walden helped these iconic voices at different stages of their careers.

While producing Aretha Franklin’s 1985 comeback album Who’s Zoomin’ Who? and co-writing “Freeway of Love”, he helped make Whitney Houston a household name, producing her first two multi-platinum recordings, Whitney Houston and Whitney, and writing the reworked version of “How Will I Know” that was originally slated for Janet Jackson. Narada continued to work with Whitney throughout her career, producing the soundtrack for Bodyguard and chronicling his time with the immortal singer in his book.