3 Times the Producer Was the Real Songwriting Genius

Producers often do much more than just basic music production or funding when it comes to creating an album. Many take on quite a few tasks, including songwriting. And many a producer or two (or three) have been the true songwriting genius behind legendary albums. Let’s take a look at just a few producers who lent their songwriting talents to famous pop records!

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‘Come On Over’ by Shania Twain (Mutt Lange)

Come On Over by Shania Twain took the country pop world by storm. In fact, many would say this 1997 record was the one to truly capitalize on the then-growing country pop trend. It’s such a fun album, and hits like “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and “You’re Still The One” are still deeply loved songs today. 

Believe it or not, Shania Twain wasn’t the main songwriter of the album. The whole of Come On Over was a co-written effort between the country pop singer and Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who also produced the album. You might know Lange for his work with AC/DC, Foreigner, Def Leppard, Heart, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, and many more big names in pop and rock music.

‘…Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears (Max Martin)

Speaking of Britney Spears, we couldn’t leave out the turn-of-the-century pop album …Baby One More Time. Britneymania was inescapable after the release of this album in 1999. From the title track to “Sometimes” to “(You Drive Me) Crazy”, so many songs from this album were on radio station rotations across the globe.

While Spears is an incredible performer, she historically hasn’t written much of her own material. The only songwriting credit she has on this particular album is on the South Korean limited edition bonus track “I’m So Curious”. The rest of the album was written by a number of songwriters, including the album’s producer, Max Martin. In fact, he wrote the entirety of the title track that is so deeply loved today. Martin has also worked with The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Celine Dion, among other pop icons.

‘M!ssundaztood’ by Pink (Linda Perry)

Linda Perry is a great example of a musician turned songwriter/producer who enjoyed quite a bit of success through the years. One album that she both produced and lent her songwriting talents to was M!ssundaztood by 2000s pop bad girl Pink. This album really kicked off Pink’s career, and the hits on this album are still bops today.

Linda Perry was both the producer and the songwriting genius behind much of this pop-rock album. She co-wrote “Missundaztood” and “Gone To California” with Pink, among other songs. The hit song “Get The Party Started” was entirely Perry’s songwriting effort. She knew how to produce (and write) really good pop music.

Photo by Paul Morigi/WireImage for The Recording Academy

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