20th-century American songwriters

Archie L. Edwards (September 4, 1918 – June 18, 1998) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning several decades worked with Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and John Jackson. His best-known recordings are "Saturday Night Hop", "The Road Is Rough and Rocky", and "I Called My Baby Long Distance". In the late 1950s he owned a barbershop that attracted blues musicians who helped to start his musical career.Describing his musical style, Edwards said, "I play what they call the old Piedmont style, but I call it East Virginia blues 'cause that's where I learned it".

George William Weidler (January 11, 1926, Los Angeles, California – December 27, 1989, Los Angeles) was an American saxophonist and songwriter. He was the second husband of singer-actress Doris Day (married 1946–1949) and older brother of former child actress Virginia Weidler.

James Nyx Jr. (May 3, 1914 – July 16, 1998), sometimes credited as James Nyx, was an American songwriter for the Motown label. He co-wrote "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", which became a #9 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1971.
Nyx was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but moved to Detroit in the 1930s, where he married twice and raised a family of eight children. He supported them through jobs requiring menial labor. At one time he was a resident of the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, where notable figures such as Diana Ross grew up.His start in the music business was working as a janitor and handyman for Tri-Phi/Harvey Records, which was owned by the husband and wife team of Harvey Fuqua and Gwen Gordy Fuqua, sister of Berry Gordy.He began to bring lyric ideas to Harvey, who collaborated with him on a few songs, including 1961's "Grieving About A Love," recorded by Lorri Rudolph. and 1963's "What Can You Do Now" recorded by Harvey and Ann.When Fuqua sold his labels to Motown Records in 1963, Nyx came along, signing to Jobete Music as a songwriter, but also working as a janitor and an elevator operator. He continued to write with Fuqua, and also Marvin Gaye, but most of his early songwriting work was shelved.In July 1970, Gaye produced a song for The Originals, a Gaye/Nyx composition called "We Can Make It Baby."Nyx's real breakthrough came a year later, when Gaye needed collaborators to help with lyrics for his next project, the sessions that became the landmark album What's Going On. Nyx co-wrote three tracks on the album, "What's Happening Brother," "God Is Love," and most famously, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)."
Motown left Detroit the following year, but Nyx did not go with them. He stayed and continued writing songs for a Detroit company named KellGriff Music. One such effort, 1974's "Outta My Life/I'm One Who Know" by the Brewster Crew on Lifeline records (T. Rodgers/J. Nyx Jr.) was arranged by David Van De Pitte, who famously did the orchestrations for "What's Going On."In the 1990s, samples of "Inner City Blues" were often used on R&B and rap records, providing Nyx with royalty income.

Willy Julius Reske (September 25, 1897 – September 17, 1991) was a noted organist and composer. He wrote the music to several LDS hymns, two of which are in the current edition of the hymn book of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Edward Lamonte Franklin (January 16, 1928 – July 31, 1975), better known as Guitar Pete Franklin, was an American blues singer, musician and songwriter. His best known track was "Guitar Pete's Blues".Franklin variously worked with a number of fellow blues musicians including St. Louis Jimmy Oden, Jazz Gillum, John Brim, Sunnyland Slim, and Tampa Red.

David "Buck" Wheat (March 19, 1922 – June 15, 1985) was an American folk and jazz musician. The Texas-born Wheat was a guitarist and bass player with the dance bands of the era, playing at the Chicago Playboy Jazz Festival 1959 in The Playboy Jazz All Stars and the Chet Baker Trio. In the winter of 1957, he was a jazz guitarist with Baker's Trio. Though most of Baker's material was recorded in Los Angeles, "Embraceable You", "There's a Lull in My Life" and "My Funny Valentine" are rare examples of Baker recording in New York. The format is also unusual for him, just Baker's vocals (no trumpet) accompanied by only Wheat on nylon string acoustic guitar and bassist Russ Savakus.
Wheat wrote music with his partner, lyricist Bill Loughborough. Their composition "Better Than Anything" is part of the live acts of Lena Horne, Phylicia Rashad, Irene Kral, Bob Dorough, Tuck and Patti and Al Jarreau. Their next song, "Coo Coo U", was recorded both by The Kingston Trio and by The Manhattan Transfer. Wheat embraced George Russell's Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization for improvization; he would sing scales while playing a guitar accompaniment based on the theory.

Jessie Mae Robinson (née Booker, October 1, 1918 – October 26, 1966) was an American musician and songwriter, whose compositions included many R&B and pop hits of the 1940s and 1950s, including "Black Night", "I Went To Your Wedding", and "Let's Have a Party".

Robert Daniel Ealey (December 6, 1925 – March 8, 2001) was an American electric blues singer, who performed Texas blues. Among other releases, he recorded a couple of albums for Black Top Records in the 1990s, having earlier formed a duo with U.P. Wilson. Ealey also worked with Tone Sommer, Mike Buck, and Mike Morgan.Ealey's best-known work includes "One Love One Kiss" and "Turn Out the Lights". He variously worked with the Boogie Chillun Boys, the Juke Jumpers and the Five Careless Lovers.

Joe Marion Allison (October 3, 1924 – August 2, 2002) was an American songwriter, radio and television personality, record producer, and country music business executive. Allison won five BMI performance awards for hit singles he wrote and a 2 million performance award for writing "He'll Have to Go". He co-founded the Country Music Association. CMT called him "one of the most influential figures in the rise of modern country music."

Naomi Harriet Ward Randall (October 5, 1908 – May 17, 2001) was a Latter-day Saint songwriter and author and a leader in the Primary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). In 1957, Randall wrote the lyrics to "I Am a Child of God", an LDS Church hymn that was originally written as a song for children.
Randall served as a member of the general board of the Primary Association for 27 years. As a member of the board, she was asked to write a song for children that would teach them the LDS Church beliefs on the nature of a child's relationship with God. The result was "I Am a Child of God", which has been published in over 90 languages. Randall also wrote the lyrics to "When Faith Endures", which is hymn #128 in the LDS Church hymnal.
Randall was a frequent contributor to The Children's Friend and was the chair of the Primary committee that created the CTR ring. From 1970 and 1974, Randall was the first counselor to LaVern W. Parmley in the general presidency of the Primary.
On October 13, 1998, Randall was awarded a Presidential Citation by Brigham Young University president Merrill J. Bateman for her lifelong service to the children of the LDS Church.Naomi Harriet Ward was born in North Ogden, Utah. She was married to Earl A. Randall and was the mother of one child. Naomi Randall died due to advanced age in La Mesa, California.