Ashley Gorley
Every week, MusicRow Magazine releases its Top Songwriter Chart. Using algorithms based on song activity according to airplay, digital download track sales and streams, the chart ranks the week’s top 60 songwriters.
Using proprietary software, the points earned by each song are evenly split among each song’s co-writers, echoing how the publishing business works in Nashville with respect to revenues and ownership, while reflecting the overall success of active songs for each songwriter.
With this format, at any moment in time, the current MusicRow Songwriter Chart lists the most active and successful songwriters in Music City.
As we settle into 2023 and look back at the past year, Ashley Gorley earned the most points on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart throughout 2022 for a second consecutive year, putting him at the top of our year-end list.
Ernest. Photo: Delaney Royer
Gorley saw 18 songs enter the top country charts throughout the year, including iconic hits such as “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” (Cole Swindell), “Beers On Me” (Dierks Bentley feat. Hardy & Breland), “Slow Down Summer” (Thomas Rhett) and “You Proof” (Morgan Wallen). Other notable tracks that helped propel Gorley to the top spot included “New Truck” (Dylan Scott), “Sand In My Boots” (Morgan Wallen), “Give Heaven Some Hell” (Hardy), “Take My Name” (Parmalee), “You Didn’t” (Brett Young), “What He Didn’t Do” (Carly Pearce) and more.
In an impressive feat, the decorated wordsmith didn’t leave the top five on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart at all throughout 2022. Gorley also had an eventful year fit with a wave of awards and honors, including ASCAP Pop Awards, the 2022 ASCAP Country Music Songwriter of the Year and the NSAI Songwriter of the Decade honor.
At the No. 2 spot is Big Loud singer-songwriter Ernest Keith Smith, who was included every reporting week on the MusicRow Top Songwriter Chart in 2022.
Among Smith’s cuts that found their way onto the chart were “You Proof,” “Wasted On You” and “One Thing At A Time,” recorded by Morgan Wallen; “One Mississippi” (Kane Brown); “Son Of A Sinner” (Jelly Roll); “Fill Them Boots” (Chris Lane) and his own “Flower Shops” featuring Morgan Wallen.
Zach Bryan comes in at No. 3 on MusicRow‘s Top 100 Songwriters of 2022 list.
The Oklahoma native took the country world by storm this year with the release of his 34-track project, American Heartbreak, in May of 2022. Bryan saw an astounding 17 songs enter the chart in 2022, all of which he serves as the sole writer on. Because of that, he receives all of the points earned from airplay, digital download track sales and streams on the Songwriter Chart.
Zach Bryan. Photo: Courtesy of Shore Fire Media
Among the tracks that found their way onto the chart this year were “From Austin,” “Highway Boys,” “Quittin’ Time,” “Summertime Blues,” “Oklahoma Smokeshow,” “Sun To Me,” “The Greatest Day Of My Life” and more. However, the song that undeniably paved the way for his songwriting success this year was the now Platinum-certified “Something In The Orange,” which first showed up on the charts on May 8.
Taking the fourth spot on the year-end list is Morgan Wallen.
The singer-songwriter benefited from seven charting songs this year, including his own “Wasted On You,” “Thought You Should Know,” the multi-week No. 1 “You Proof” and the late additions of “One Thing At A Time” and “Tennessee Fan” on the last chart of the year. He was also a co-writer on Corey Kent’s breakout track “Wild As Her” and Keith Urban’s current single “Brown Eyes Baby.”
Shane McAnally rounds out the top five songwriters of 2022 with eight co-writing credits. Among the songs that propelled the songwriter-producer into the top five were “Half Of My Hometown” (Kelsea Ballerini feat. Kenny Chesney), “23” and “Water Under The Bridge” (Sam Hunt), “No Hard Feelings” (Old Dominion), “Everyone She Knows” (Kenny Chesney), “AA” (Walker Hayes), “Worth A Shot” (Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley) and “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” (Carly Pearce feat. Ashley McBryde).
Miranda Lambert. Photo: Robert Ascroft
As the annual list continues to be male dominated, 15 female songwriters can be found in the top 100 this year—which is made up of 126 songwriters due to tied scores. This marks a decrease from last year’s 20 female songwriters within the top 100 and 2020’s 19.
Miranda Lambert serves as the highest ranking female songwriter on this year’s list at No. 20. She co-wrote her own “If I Was A Cowboy,” “Actin’ Up” and “Strange,” as well as “Thought You Should Know” by Morgan Wallen and her duet with Luke Combs, “Outrunnin’ Your Memory.”
MusicRow‘s Top Songwriters of 2022:
1. Ashley Gorley
2. Ernest Keith Smith
3. Zachary Lane Bryan
4. Morgan Wallen
5. Shane McAnally
6. Ben Johnson
7. Michael Hardy
8. Jesse Frasure
9. Chase McGill
10. Luke Combs
11. Josh Thompson
12. Hunter Phelps
13. Ross Copperman
14. Matt Rogers
15. Luke Dick
16. Ryan Vojtesak
17. Eric Church
18. John Fogerty
19. Rhett Akins
20. Miranda Lambert
21. Ben Stennis
22. Matt McGinn
23. Thomas Rhett
24. Josh Osborne
25. Mitchell Tenpenny
26.Ryan Hurd
27. Jordan Schmidt
28. Trent Tomlinson, Jim Collins
29. Jackson Dean
30. Jon Nite
31. Walker Hayes
32. Cole Swindell
33. Bailey Zimmerman
34. John Morgan, Tully Kennedy, Kurt Allison
35. Jimmy Robbins
36. Jordan Davis
37. Russell Dickerson
38. Austin Shawn, Gavin Lucas
39. Taylor Phillips
40. Kevin Kadish, Tony Ferrari
41. Josh Kear
42. Jason DeFord
43. David Ray Stevens
44. Parker McCollum
45. Gabby Barrett
46. Tyler Hubbard
47. David Fanning
48. Carly Pearce
49. Jessi Alexander
50. Mark Holman
51. Jaren Johnston
52. Nicolle Galyon
53. Kane Brown
54. Luke Laird
55. David Garcia
56. Matt Alderman
57. Jake Scott, Josh Kerr
58. Martin Johnson
59. Joe Fox, Dylan Marlowe, Jimi Bell
60. Josh Jenkins
61. Elle King
62. Thomas Archer
63. Matt Thomas
64. Hillary Lindsey
65. Ben Burgess
66. Nate Smith
67. Russell Sutton, Lindsay Rimes
68. Dan Isbell
69. Jimmie Allen
70. Jordan Minton
71. Drew Parker
72. Reid Isbell, Jamie Davis
73. Nathan Spicer, Jennifer Schott
74. Maren Morris
75. Robert Williford
76. Brad Tursi
77. Monty Criswell
78. Matt Dragstrem
79. Kelsea Ballerini
80. Julia Michaels
81. Will Bundy
82. Brett Beavers
83. Chris Young, Chris DeStefano
84. Sam Hunt, Chris LaCorte
85. Ingrid Andress, JP Saxe, Jonny Price, Lucky Daye, Rykeyz
86. Brett Tyler
87. David Frasier, Mitch Oglesby
88. Ashley McBryde
89. Paul DiGiovanni
90. Geoff Warburton
91. Kelly Archer
92. Tim Nichols, Mark D. Sanders
93. Mark Nesler, Styles Haury
94. Taylor Swift
95. Heath Warren, Jacob Hackworth, Jet Harvey
96. Justin Moore, Jeremy Stover
97. Andy Albert
98. Cameron Bedell, Rian Ball, Tate Howell
99. Jonathan Singleton
100. Zac Brown, Ben Simonetti
