10 Greatest Classic Rock Songwriters

At the time of the British Invasion, many of the bands were following the lead of their peers from Liverpool and delivering songs that were relationship-based while also borrowing heavy from the blues. When the Rolling Stones arrived on the scene, they brought the darkness that rock and roll had been missing.

The songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards took the rock genre to the seedy corners of society. Now, rock was no longer kids stuff. Things could be dangerous like the creeping darkness on "Paint it Black" or the modern cynicism of "Satisfaction." As the group went on, even more serious topics from politics to religion to wayward travelers made their way through the Stone's songbook. The ballads that the bands would perform like "Wild Horses" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" would even have subtle wisps of unrest and often featured protagonists who seemed weary from their hard lives.

After the Stones, rock and roll grew up a bit more and modern rock songs were brought into reality rather than being a form of musical escapism. In the era of puppy love songs, Jagger and Richards brought the true menace into rock and roll.