Most frequent collaboratorNigel Godrich · 38 tracks
GenresAlternative rockFolk rockExperimental rock
Complete Artist
99%
Authorship
Holds writing credit on 198 of 201 tracks
Does Beck write his own songs?
Yes, almost all of them. He holds a writing credit on 198 of the 201 tracks across his fifteen studio albums. The exceptions are a Jimmie Rodgers cover on Stereopathetic Soulmanure and two traditional pieces. He is also the credited producer on 154 of those tracks.
By the Numbers
15
Studio Albums
201
Tracks Credited
99%
Self-Written
38
Years Active
48
Collaborators
Authorship Breakdown 198 / 201 self-written
Who wrote the songs?
Across all 201 tracks: how many Beck wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.
Beck has a writing credit99%
70%
28%
1%
Sole author141tracks70%
Co-written57tracks28%
Outside writers3tracks1%
Role Fingerprint how they contribute
Beck's roles across the catalogue
Share of all 201 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.
Lyricist (words)99%
Composer (music)99%
Producer77%
Performer100%
Authorship Over Time writing credit per album
Beck's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.
avg 99%
100%
92%
100%
94%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
1993Golden Feelings
1994Stereopathetic Soulmanure
1994Mellow Gold
1994One Foot in the Grave
1996Odelay
1998Mutations
1999Midnite Vultures
2002Sea Change
2005Guero
2006The Information
2008Modern Guilt
2014Morning Phase
2017Colors
2019Hyperspace
2026Ride Lonesome
Early · 96% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 100% written
Authorship by Decade track-weighted
97%
1990s
Golden Feelings, Stereopathetic Soulmanure +5 more
100%
2000s
Sea Change, Guero +2 more
100%
2010s
Morning Phase, Colors +1 more
100%
2020s
Ride Lonesome
Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author
Where Beck sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.
Beck
Other artists on the site
Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.
Covers all fifteen Beck studio albums in their standard editions. The early releases on Sonic Enemy, Flipside and K Records are included alongside the Geffen, Interscope and Capitol records. The EPs, the remix album Guerolito, the Record Club covers projects and the sheet-music release Song Reader are outside this studio-album scope.
Bubble size = tracks worked on together. DB Dust Brothers · EM E.Z. Mike · KG King Gizmo · GH Gus Hudson · TG Tom Grimley
The Authorship Story
Data Insight
Beck holds a writing credit on 198 of the 201 tracks across fifteen albums, which for an artist this associated with sampling and collage is the opposite of what the reputation suggests. The two producers who shaped his most-cited record are also his largest co-writers: the Dust Brothers, credited as E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo, take 23 and 22 tracks between Odelay and Guero. He produces 154 tracks himself, and Nigel Godrich, on 38, is the only outside producer with real weight across the catalogue.
Quick Facts
Breakthrough'Loser', released in 1993
GrammyMorning Phase won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards
GrammyColors won Best Alternative Music Album at the 61st Grammy Awards
Highest chartingGuero reached number 2 on the Billboard 200
AuthorshipWrites 198 of 201 album tracks
FamilySon of artist Bibbe Hansen and arranger David Campbell
Creative Fingerprint
A collagist who writes almost everything he assembles: credited on 198 of 201 album tracks, and self-produced on 154 of them.
The Story
Beck was born Bek David Campbell in Los Angeles in 1970, the son of the artist Bibbe Hansen and the arranger David Campbell. He came up through the city's coffeehouse scene and New York's anti-folk movement, and broke through in 1993 with 'Loser'. Fifteen studio albums have followed, from cassette-label lo-fi to the sample collages of Odelay, the acoustic records Sea Change and Morning Phase, and the pop of Colors. Morning Phase won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards.
Awards & Recognition
Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards for Morning Phase
Best Rock Album at the 57th Grammy Awards for Morning Phase
Best Alternative Music Album at the 61st Grammy Awards for Colors
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Grammy Awards for Colors
Nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022
Frequently Asked Questions Beck
Does Beck write his own songs?
Yes, almost all of them. He holds a writing credit on 198 of the 201 tracks across his fifteen studio albums. The exceptions are a Jimmie Rodgers cover on Stereopathetic Soulmanure and two traditional pieces. He is also the credited producer on 154 of those tracks.
Bek David Campbell. He was born on 8 July 1970 in Los Angeles, the son of the artist Bibbe Hansen and the arranger and composer David Campbell.
Who wrote "Loser"?
Beck with Karl Stephenson, who also produced it. It appears on Mellow Gold and is the single that broke him.
Who are the Dust Brothers and what did they do for Beck?
Michael Simpson and John King, credited as E.Z. Mike and King Gizmo. They produced Odelay and returned for Guero, and they are his largest outside co-writers, on 23 and 22 tracks. The sample-collage sound most associated with Beck comes from that partnership.
Did Beck win Album of the Year?
Yes, for Morning Phase at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015. It also won Best Rock Album that night.
What is Beck’s highest-charting album?
Guero, which reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2005. Morning Phase and Colors both reached number 3.
Why do his albums sound so different from each other?
The production changes almost every record while the writing does not. Sea Change and Morning Phase are acoustic and largely self-produced, Odelay and Guero are Dust Brothers collages, Midnite Vultures is funk pastiche and Colors is pop written with Greg Kurstin. His name is on all of them.
Does Beck produce his own records?
Often. He is credited as producer on 154 of the 201 album tracks. Nigel Godrich, on 38, is the only outside producer with comparable weight, having handled Mutations, Sea Change and parts of The Information and Modern Guilt.
Beck