Top ten American composers/songwriters


Foster
Sousa
Joplin
Gershwin 
Copland
Jimmie Rodgers
Ellington
Richard Rodgers
Dylan
Porter

I constantly revisit this topic listening and reading. Thoughts?

jpwarren58
Unfortunately, Difford and Tilbrook are Brits, though I wish the US could claim them.

Warren Zevon
Michael Nesmith
Art Alexakis (Everclear)
Mike Ness (Social Distortion)
1++ Frank Zappa
I can’t believe nobody mentioned Burt Bacharach. His contribution to the Greatest Hits far exceeded most of the names listed by others here! And Paul Williams went well beyond a bunch of the artists listed above and isn’t head of ASCAP for nothing!

Oops, right you are, @vinylandtubes (love the handle!). Squeeze sounds so American (as did The Beatles, imo) I had forgotten. I got to seem them live in London while there in late '82.

@davepratt: Good one, Bacharach definitely deserves inclusion.