This is a huge topic, open for much debate, discussion, opinion, speculation, innuendo...ok not much innuendo...but anyway...
The concept of what is considered "songwriting" is much too vague and far to convoluted compared to what it used to be.
In the old days of the 20th century, it was Gershwin, Rogers & Hammerstein or Hart, Cole Porter etc....
then came R & B (true R & B)... Elvis, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, the Beatles etc.
But the question remains...what is a great song?
Is it a 4 chord I-IV-V-I Rocker with a catchy melody thrown on top... is it a complex composition from Progressive rockers like Yes or ELP... is it making the asssess move like James Brown did... wowing the crowd with musicianship such as Rush or Yngwie.... rocking out with defiance like old Van Halen... dirty grooves of ACDC... uptempo Pop like Billy Joel, Elton John or 80s pop such as Hall and Oats... Roots of Heavy Mettle with Zepplin, Deep Purple... later Metal crush from Metallica etc. Critically acclaimed rockers such as Elvis Costello, new wavers like the Police...punkers the Sex Pistols or Ramones, etc. etc. the list goes on and on.
So with "whats a good song" being so debatable, and "whats a good songwriter" being equally debatable... there can be no clear cut winner to the question.
Certainly though, one would have to say that the Beatles were the most consistant in their quality, innovation (both songwriting and sonically in the studio) as well as consistant hit making, unstoppable influence on future generations of songwriters.... as well as influence and impact on the world as a whole... so yeah, if you had to pick one Lennon and McCartney would probably be as good of choice as any...
But some people think that Jeff Buckley was a genius and wrote the 2nd best LP of all time. I dont happen to be one of these...but it shows that opinions vary and are impossible to rate....
and Music was never intended to be a competition...unless one is competing for a scholarship or battle of the band...which in that case School of Rock got screwed and should have won.
