Songwriters Share Their Art ‘In Their Own Words’

As with any complex art form, there is a limitless number of ways to approach writing a song. A song can be tender and confessional, touching and confrontational. It can be deeply personal and cathartic or it can simply be frivolous lines around a good, commercial hook. It’s all up to the writer, and where he or she chooses to take you.

Friday night at the Rhythm Cafe, a group of respected (and divergent) songwriters will hold court on their individual methods of composition. Host Billy Vera will be joined by New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint, roots-rockin’ songster Joe Ely, hip country sage Guy Clark and self-mythologizing neo-folkie Michelle Shocked.

Toussaint, now 55, might be the most intriguing of this lot. Renowned for writing, producing and arranging a virtual library of classic New Orleans R&B;, Toussaint has the stories to tell, the track record and the overall history to make his portion of the seminar worth the price of admission.

Composer of such songs as “Java,” “Mother-in-Law,” “Fortune Teller,” “A Certain Girl,” “Ride Your Pony,” “Working in the Coal Mine” and “Southern Nights,” Toussaint’s work has been covered by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, the Pointer Sisters, Robert Palmer, Aaron Neville, Glen Campbell and Boz Scaggs. As a producer and arranger, he’s worked with Paul McCartney’s Wings, the Band, Paul Simon, Dr. John, Labelle, Joe Cocker and John Mayall, among other notables.

Ely, 46, has become something of a critical darling over the course of his career due to his deeply personal and evocative songs; manic, energized live shows, and some of the company he keeps--such as longtime songwriting partner Butch Hancock. His Lone Star State knack for spinning a good yarn and his lack of inhibition onstage long ago made him one of America’s preeminent writers and performers--even if the public has, for the most part, chosen to remain uninterested.

Clark, 51, is perhaps the least-known name on the program, but that may be changing. His latest album, “Boats to Build,” has been drawing critical raves, and he remains a favorite among such peers as Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell. His quietly dignified music has been favorably compared to that of John Prine.

Clark was also a professed influence on Michelle Shocked, who has an eclectic singing and songwriting style. Shocked’s critics say she also has a reputation for self-promotion and pretentiousness (note the pseudonym); her early output of neo-folk material strove for authenticity to the degree where she felt it necessary to include the sound of chirping crickets on her debut album.

Since her 1988 debut, Shocked has also flirted with hard rock, R&B;, jazz and blues (even turning up as a guest on a Gatemouth Brown album last year).

This “In Their Own Words” bill is roots-steeped but diverse, sure to offer interesting insights into a variety of approaches to songwriting craft.