These Are The Richest Songwriters Of All Time

Published on 12/27/2020
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Tom Waits – $25 million

Greatest Hits: Closing Time, Somewhere

Tom Waits is a California-born singer-songwriter and actor. His distinctive sound and punk lyrics are renowned. He specialized in jazz in the 1970s but also influenced blues and vaudeville. Generation Beat and Dylan inspired him. He began singing in San Diego, moving to LA for an asylum deal. His first albums included Closing Time, Saturday Night’s Heart, and Small Change, which marked his first successful album.

Tom Waits – $25 Million

Tom Waits – $25 Million

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Dan Penn – $1 million

Greatest Hits: Cry Like a Baby, The Dark End of the Street

Dan Penn is a songwriter who composed and released several songs in the 1960s, including “The Dark End of the Street,” “Cry Like a Baby,” and “Do Right Woman.” Bands such as The Box Tops, Chips Moman, Spooner Oldham all performed together. As camera-shy, he preferred songwriting to showmanship. His writing relationship with Chips Moman for Press Publishing Company was successful, although the pair had a collapse that ended the partnership, defined as “short-lived” but “intense.” His collaboration with Aretha Franklin is one of his most successful collaborations to date.

Dan Penn – $1 Million

Dan Penn – $1 Million

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