A Music Artist Who Doesn't write His Songs

Some music artists use their talented friends or colleague to write a song for them. I think it isn't normal and less for an artist. A friend of mine keeps on bragging about someone who did that. What's your point of view about it?

Yeah. Elton John and Elvis suck.

Pianists like Lang Lang, Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim have never - as far as I know - publicly performed or recorded a piece they composed themselves, but would you honestly say they are less 'genuine artists' than a fifteen-year-old kid who wrote a derivative two-chord crappy tune just because the latter came up with his own material?

Same with many professional guitarists, violinists, conductors, singers, etc.

Until about 60 years ago, the majority of musicians in the realm of popular/published music did not write their own music. The writer and the performer were different people.

In Hollywood that's still the case. Writers and actors are completely different roles. One is not more important than the other.

And to this day, most professional musicians make a living by playing existing music. There's a massive market for music that is played well - particularly tribute bands who are good at what they do.

In classical music, you have one composer and about 50 people performing it. Are all the musicians who bring the composer's music to life somehow lesser than the composer, or are they all part of the puzzle?

There are crappy musicians who write crappy music, and brilliant performers and interpreters who don't write. There are countless examples of each, and everything in between. The world isn't black and white.

Someone like Elton John isn´t less important artist even if he doesn´t write the lyrics of a song.
He´s much better artist than 80% of the nowadays music...

Elvis didn't write his songs, either, that didn't make him a less genuine artist.

I was joking about Elvis and Elton. They're both good in my opinion.

However, Bono sucks in my humble opinion ...

Freddie did the same thing for many Queen songs.

I think Queen is cool because the lead singer and guitarist didn’t write everything. Most bands aren’t line Queen.