There have always been singers who wrote their own songs, or songwriters who performed. Indeed, it was only after music was written down or recorded that people began to perform songs written by others. In the 20th century, the works of singer-songwriters have usually provided some specific message, social or political, with articulate, poetic lyrics that tend to be at least as, if not more, important than the musical setting.
Variants of the singer-songwriter can be found in all the...