Musicians whose mothers were songwriters

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god I am an idiot, ignore me

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Friday, 12 July 2019 06:43 (four years ago) link

Harry Nilsson's mother, Bette, wrote songs, at least two of which he later covered/adapted.

Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Friday, 12 July 2019 06:48 (four years ago) link

Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips, daughter of Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas (co-writer of California Dreamin', among others).

Zeuhl Idol (Matt #2), Friday, 12 July 2019 10:33 (four years ago) link

Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion ‘s Mother was a rapper

Her mother, Holly Thomas, rapped under the name Holly-Wood and would bring her daughter with her to recording sessions, instead of putting Pete in daycare.
Wikipedia

curmudgeon, Friday, 12 July 2019 12:07 (four years ago) link

peggy seeger/ruth crawford seeger

(her kids knew her as "Dio"!)

Un Poco Loco Moco (rushomancy), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:03 (four years ago) link

It still sounds weird to me when I hear people talk about the rap music that their parents played at home.

change display name (Jordan), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:06 (four years ago) link

Maya Rudolph/Minnie Riperton

Laura Nyro and Aretha Franklin both had sons who rap

Laura - Gil-T
Aretha - Kecalf Cunningham

Josefa, Friday, 12 July 2019 14:48 (four years ago) link

Aretha had another son named Teddy Richards who played guitar in her band

Josefa, Friday, 12 July 2019 14:49 (four years ago) link

Helen Merrill, the jazz singer, has a few composer credits; her son Alan Merrill wrote "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" among other songs

Brad C., Friday, 12 July 2019 17:30 (four years ago) link

Céline Dion's mom wrote her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve".

LeRooLeRoo, Friday, 12 July 2019 17:34 (four years ago) link

“Musicians whose mothers invented Liquid Paper”

Sam Weller, Friday, 12 July 2019 17:49 (four years ago) link

Great work all around, thanks, particularly this last.

Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 12 July 2019 18:08 (four years ago) link

Kinda amazed at that Merrill one!

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 18:13 (four years ago) link

Violeta Parra's two children Isabel and Angel were both folk musicians.

bookmarkflaglink (jim in vancouver), Friday, 12 July 2019 19:42 (four years ago) link

Chynna Phillips of Wilson Phillips, daughter of Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas (co-writer of California Dreamin', among others).

Thought about this right before I fell asleep but wasn’t sure about the songwriting credits and was also afraid I might write Carnie and/or Wendy Wilson by accident.

Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 12 July 2019 19:45 (four years ago) link

Not sure if Norma Waterson ever wrote any songs but Lal Waterson did and her son and daughter are musicians.

Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Friday, 12 July 2019 19:46 (four years ago) link

Linda Thompson. Teddy and Kamila, two of her children with Richard, are both musicians.

by the light of the burning Citroën, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:02 (four years ago) link

Carole King / Louise Goffin

Zeuhl Idol (Matt #2), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:07 (four years ago) link

Sean Lennon

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:08 (four years ago) link

Agnetha Fältskog (who was a songwriter too) / Linda Ulvaeus
Björk / Sindri Eldon

Zeuhl Idol (Matt #2), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:12 (four years ago) link

Thompson and Goffin have been swimming just below the surface of the Solaris ocean of my aging brain. Sean Lennon I deliberately held back for some reason and was waiting to see how long it would take for someone else to post.

Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:12 (four years ago) link

Mention of Teddy Thompson reminds me that his friend Rufus Wainwright should be here with his sister and mother.

Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:15 (four years ago) link

June Carter Cash (but NOT Roseanne Cash, oddly enough)

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:16 (four years ago) link

Rosie Nix Adams

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:17 (four years ago) link

June Carter Cash (but NOT Roseanne Cash, oddly enough)

But Carlene Carter works

Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:19 (four years ago) link

was gonna say Carnie Wilson but I don't think Marilyn Rovell ever actually wrote anything

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:19 (four years ago) link

Peggy and Patsy Lynn

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link

I don't think Roseanne Cash's kids do music either, but iirc one of them manages/handles affairs for father Rodney Crowell.

frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:21 (four years ago) link

took too long for Wainwright to get mentioned! also: Sean Lennon.

Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:27 (four years ago) link

Ravi Coltrane

Οὖτις, Friday, 12 July 2019 20:42 (four years ago) link

*oof*

Vini C. Riley (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 12 July 2019 20:54 (four years ago) link

tim and jeff buckley
eagle eye + neneh and don cherry
hank williams and offspring

doesn’t fit but i was recently surprised to learn that the louvin brothers were the cousins of john d. loudermilk

budo jeru, Saturday, 13 July 2019 00:10 (four years ago) link

also r. stevie moore is the son of bob moore, prolific and revered session bassist who occasionally wrote tunes and is STILL ALIVE at 86

budo jeru, Saturday, 13 July 2019 00:24 (four years ago) link

And their mothers?

Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Saturday, 13 July 2019 00:26 (four years ago) link

Lucy Wainwright Roche / Suzzy Roche

Josefa, Saturday, 13 July 2019 00:30 (four years ago) link

(If we want to open it up to “musicians who had a parent who was a songwriter, but not known as a performer”, and allow dads

^ i read this and just went with it, but if we don’t want to do that we don’t have to and you can disregard my posts

budo jeru, Saturday, 13 July 2019 00:31 (four years ago) link

xp

budo jeru, Saturday, 13 July 2019 00:31 (four years ago) link

Feel like the thread has worked out really well the original constraints so prefer not to expand at this point but thanks for contributing, no harm no foul.

Ask Heavy Manners (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 13 July 2019 01:02 (four years ago) link

The year 1976 marked a turning point for (Samantha Bea) Benjamin. She and Ibrahim returned to South Africa to live; she gave birth to her daughter, Tsidi (now the underground hip-hop artist Jean Grae); and recorded African Songbird, an album of original compositions, for South Africa's Gallo Records. Shortly after Tsidi's birth, the family relocated to New York city in 1977, to the famed Hotel Chelsea. Some originals on other albums too.

Also on Wiki and YouTube:
Molly Drake (born Mary Lloyd, 5 November 1915 – 4 June 1993) was a Welsh poet and musician, best known as the mother of the musician Nick Drake. Molly Drake never released any official publications of her poetry or compositions in her lifetime, but she had a profound impact on the musical style of her son. As Nick Drake's music gained a larger following after his death, Molly Drake's recordings have been released, which uncover the musical similarities between her and her son.

dow, Saturday, 13 July 2019 22:13 (four years ago) link

african songbird is a fantastic fucking album

i should probably get around to listening to jean grae, i'm just old

Un Poco Loco Moco (rushomancy), Saturday, 13 July 2019 23:27 (four years ago) link

oh, also, karen mantler's mom is carla bley

Un Poco Loco Moco (rushomancy), Saturday, 13 July 2019 23:32 (four years ago) link

Now I’m curious. Will listen.

xp

breastcrawl, Sunday, 14 July 2019 00:07 (four years ago) link

durn it, I switched Nick's sister's and mother's names in my mind

an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Sunday, 14 July 2019 00:10 (four years ago) link

Anne Murray's daughter, Canadian singer/songwriter Dawn Langstroth, is the daughter of Canadian singer/songwriter Anne Murray.

del griffith, Sunday, 14 July 2019 00:14 (four years ago) link

Carla Bley/ Karen Mantler, doh!

Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Sunday, 14 July 2019 00:16 (four years ago) link

Ben Taylor, son of Carly Simon.

henry s, Sunday, 14 July 2019 19:19 (four years ago) link

I sort of posited his existence but did not set up my experiment properly to achieve a positive result.

Ask Heavy Manners (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 14 July 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link

From my blog-archived 2013 Nashville Scene ballot & comments:
(brushing by: Avalon, daughter of Annette Peacock, & The Loups (from now- vanished Soundcloud vantage): "A loup is a waterfall which a salmon has to leap on its way upstream." Then there's the spooky loup-garou. Both might apply to "Desert Air," which begins right after the sun finally dissolves, the air begins to cool, Avalon's rich trill multiplies and courses down and up the mountain. "We changed the oil in your mind, left the city far behind." So, country in that sense, her and drummer Joe Love (re maybe Speck Mountain, Nina Nastasia & Jim White? A fast Mazzy Star, if that's even possible? For a remake of Zabriskie Point ? Anyway, I wanna hear more (someday, someway).

dow, Sunday, 14 July 2019 19:47 (four years ago) link

Oops time to tweak those paren marks.

dow, Sunday, 14 July 2019 19:48 (four years ago) link


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