Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/9-songwriters-who-wrote-hits-for-other-artists-before-becoming-stars-themselves/
Plenty of pop stars started out in a quieter spot, writing songs in small rooms for someone else to sing. Their names sat in the credits while other voices carried the choruses.
Some spent years on that side of the glass. Others barely had time to settle in before the spotlight swung around. The nine writers below all had songs on the charts, or in the hands of famous singers, before their own names became familiar.
Carole King
King began as a teenage staff writer in New York, working with her then husband Gerry Goffin. Together they wrote Will You Love Me Tomorrow for the Shirelles, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. They also wrote (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, which Aretha Franklin recorded in 1967.
King’s own breakthrough came with the 1971 album Tapestry. It turned her from a behind the scenes craftsperson into one of the defining singer songwriters of the decade. It also won her several Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
Neil Diamond
Diamond worked in the Brill Building era as a young writer before his own records took off. He wrote I’m a Believer, which the Monkees took to No. 1 in 1966. The Monkees also recorded his A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You that year.
His own recording career was gathering pace at the same moment, with Solitary Man and Cherry, Cherry in the mid 1960s. Cracklin’ Rosie then gave him a No. 1 single of his own…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-10-27 12:46:00
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