Live

Band

Photo: Gitman00 · Public domain
Active 1984-2009, 2012-present
Origin York, Pennsylvania
Albums 9
Tracks 112
Most frequent collaborator Jerry Harrison · 50 tracks
Genres Alternative RockPost-GrungeHard Rock
Complete Artist
100%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 112 of 112 tracks

Who wrote Live's songs?

Ed Kowalczyk wrote the lyrics, on 101 of the 112 tracks across nine studio albums, and the music was credited to the band. That band credit puts Chad Taylor on 101 tracks, Patrick Dahlheimer on 100 and Chad Gracey on 99. The eleven tracks without Kowalczyk are The Turn, written by his replacement Chris Shinn.

By the Numbers

9
Studio Albums
112
Tracks Credited
100%
Self-Written
over twenty million
Records Sold
42
Years Active
10
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 112 / 112 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 112 tracks: how many Live 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.

Live has a writing credit100%
88%
12%
Sole author99tracks88%
Co-written13tracks12%
Outside writers0tracks0%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Live's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 112 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)100%
Composer (music)100%
Producer58%
Performer100%

Member Credit Breakdown share of tracks each member is credited on

Percentage of all 112 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.

MemberPeriodLyricsMusicProductionPerformance
Ed Kowalczyk 1989-2009, 2016-present
90%
90%
48%
90%
Chad Taylor Former 1989-2009, 2012-2022
13%
90%
58%
100%
Patrick Dahlheimer Former 1989-2009, 2012-2022
12%
89%
58%
100%
Chad Gracey Former 1989-2009, 2012-2022
9%
88%
58%
100%
Chris Shinn Former 2012-2016
10%
10%
10%
10%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Live's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
1989The Death of a Dictionary
1991Mental Jewelry
1994Throwing Copper
1997Secret Samadhi
1999The Distance to Here
2001V
2003Birds of Pray
2006Songs from Black Mountain
2014The Turn
Early · 100% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 100% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

100%
1980s
The Death of a Dictionary
100%
1990s
Mental Jewelry, Throwing Copper +2 more
100%
2000s
V, Birds of Pray +1 more
100%
2010s
The Turn

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Live 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.

Live
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Whitney Houston5%
Ricky Martin25%
New Kids on the Block38%
Kylie Minogue46%
Sinéad O'Connor59%
Guns N' Roses78%
Sublime90%
100%Live
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)
Mental Jewelry
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Pain Lies on the Riverside
Mental Jewelry
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Selling the Drama
Throwing Copper
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Lightning Crashes
Throwing Copper
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
I Alone
Throwing Copper
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
All Over You
Throwing Copper
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
White, Discussion
Throwing Copper
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Lakini's Juice
Secret Samadhi
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Turn My Head
Secret Samadhi
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Freaks
Secret Samadhi
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Rattlesnake
Secret Samadhi
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
The Dolphin's Cry
The Distance to Here
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Run to the Water
The Distance to Here
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
They Stood Up for Love
The Distance to Here
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Simple Creed
V
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Tricky, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Co-wrote
Overcome
V
Written by Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Wrote it
Heaven
Birds of Pray
Written by Ed Kowalczyk
Wrote it
The Way Around Is Through
The Turn
Written by Chris Shinn, Jerry Harrison, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey
Co-wrote

Discography 9 albums

All nine studio albums, including the 1989 debut released under the band's earlier name Public Affection. The live albums and compilations sit outside this catalogue.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Photo of LiveLive112 tracks
JH50Jerry Harrison, 50 tracks JW25Jim Wirt, 25 tracks MR14Michael Railo, 14 tracks AJ14Alain Johannes, 14 tracks JH12Jay Healy, 12 tracks BK10Benjy King, 10 tracks BW5Bruce Wallace, 5 tracks AH3Aishlin Harrison, 3 tracks T1Tricky, 1 track on Massive Attack's page GB1Glen Ballard, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. JH Jerry Harrison · JW Jim Wirt · MR Michael Railo · AJ Alain Johannes · JH Jay Healy · BK Benjy King

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

The sleeve line is lyrics Kowalczyk, music Live, and it holds for six albums running. The cracks are small and late. Four tracks on The Distance to Here name Dahlheimer or Taylor as co-writers, and Birds of Pray in 2003 drops the band credit altogether and hands the music to Kowalczyk, with Taylor on two tracks and Dahlheimer on one. Outside help almost never appears: Tricky on "Simple Creed" and Glen Ballard on "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" are the only two in eighteen years. Then Kowalczyk leaves in 2009 and The Turn arrives in 2014 with Chris Shinn writing all eleven lyrics, producer Jerry Harrison on seven, songwriter Bruce Wallace on five and Harrison's daughter Aishlin on three, which is more outside writers on one record than the previous eight put together.

Quick Facts

  • Kowalczyk's share101 of the 112 album tracks
  • The band creditChad Taylor on 101 music credits, Patrick Dahlheimer 100, Chad Gracey 99
  • Studio albumsNine, from 1989 to 2014
  • Biggest albumThrowing Copper, eight million copies in the US
  • Outside writersTwo in eighteen years, then four on one album
  • The exceptionThe Turn, written by Chris Shinn after Kowalczyk left

Creative Fingerprint

One lyricist and an undivided band music credit for six albums, then a different singer and a room full of co-writers.

The Story

Ed Kowalczyk wrote the words on 101 of Live's 112 album tracks. The music went to the band as one name, which is how Chad Taylor ends up on 101 music credits, Patrick Dahlheimer on 100 and Chad Gracey on 99 without any of the three being separable from the others.

Frequently Asked Questions Live

Who wrote Live's songs?
Ed Kowalczyk wrote the lyrics, on 101 of the 112 tracks across nine studio albums, and the music was credited to the band. That band credit puts Chad Taylor on 101 tracks, Patrick Dahlheimer on 100 and Chad Gracey on 99. The eleven tracks without Kowalczyk are The Turn, written by his replacement Chris Shinn.
Why do the sleeves say the music is by Live?
The band credited the music to itself rather than to individual members, so Taylor, Dahlheimer and Gracey each appear on around a hundred tracks without ever being named separately.
Who wrote "Lightning Crashes"?
Ed Kowalczyk wrote the lyrics and the band the music, the same credit as everything else on Throwing Copper.
How many studio albums did Live release?
Nine, from The Death of a Dictionary in 1989 through The Turn in 2014. The debut came out under the band's earlier name, Public Affection.
Who wrote The Turn?
Chris Shinn, who replaced Kowalczyk as singer in 2012, wrote all eleven lyrics. Producer Jerry Harrison shares seven of them, songwriter Bruce Wallace five and Harrison's daughter Aishlin three. It is the only Live album with no Kowalczyk credit on it.
How many records has Live sold?
The band has sold over twenty million albums worldwide. Throwing Copper sold eight million copies in the US alone.
What was Live's biggest album?
Throwing Copper, from 1994, which reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 and has sold over 8 million copies.
Did anyone else in the band write lyrics?
Rarely. Chad Taylor shares five lyric credits after the debut and Patrick Dahlheimer three, spread across The Distance to Here and Birds of Pray. Chad Gracey has none outside the 1989 debut, which was credited to the whole band.
What was Live called before?
Public Affection, from 1987 to 1991. The 1989 debut The Death of a Dictionary came out under that name, credited to the band as a whole.
Did Live use outside songwriters?
Almost never before 2014. Tricky co-wrote "Simple Creed" and Glen Ballard "Forever May Not Be Long Enough", both on V in 2001, and that is the whole list until The Turn brought in three.

Sources

Wikipedia: Live Wikipedia: Live discography Wikipedia: Ed Kowalczyk Wikipedia: Chad Taylor Wikipedia: Patrick Dahlheimer Wikipedia: Chad Gracey Wikipedia: Chris Shinn