by 1.
The Hanson brothers – Isaac, Taylor and Zac – invented the infectious chorus to their worldwide #1 hit “MMMBop” when they were just 13, 11 and 9 years old respectively.
2.
Taylor Swift was just 14 and in her freshman year of high school when she wrote the song “Tim McGraw,” which appeared on her self-titled debut album, peaked at #6 on the country chart and her first top 40 hit was on the Billboard Hot 100 (she’s had a few more since).
3.
Paul McCartney wrote the music for When I’m Sixty-Four – from the Beatles’ seminal album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band — when he was just 16 years old.
4.
Fiona Apple was 15 when she wrote Never Is a Promise, an emotional standout track on her debut album. tide.
5.
Silverchair’s Daniel Johns and Ben Gillies were just 14 years old when they wrote ‘Tomorrow’ in 1994, which they then entered in a national band competition in their native Australia – beating over 800 other acts! The song became a phenomenon, peaking at number one in Australia and becoming the most played song on modern rock radio in the United States the following year.
6.
Lorde was only 15 when she wrote the lyrics to her number one hit “Royals” in just half an hour. Shortly thereafter, she composed the music with musician Joel Little.
7.
In 1953, a 15-year-old Maurice Williams tried unsuccessfully to get his date to stay with him past her parents’ 10pm curfew. The next day, he was inspired to write the all-time number one hit “Stay.”
8th.
Adele wrote her very first song when she was 16 after her mother wanted her to leave London for university in Liverpool. The song – her future debut single “Hometown Glory” – was a protest song of sorts, explaining why she wanted to stay in London, her hometown.
9.
Eddie Vedder was in his mid-20s when he joined Pearl Jam, but long before that, a teenage Vedder wrote one of their most famous songs, “Better Man,” while sitting on his bed after a day of high school.
10
Olivia Rodrigo was just 16 and starring on Disney+ High School Musical: The Musical: The Series when she wrote “All I Want” for the series from the point of view of her character Nini.
11.
Stevie Wonder was only 15 when he wrote Uptight (Everything’s Alright). Coming in for a writing session with songwriters Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby, he had already come up with the “Everything is alright, uptight” hook and an uptempo riff inspired by his time on tour with the Rolling Stones. Together, the three completed the rest of the Grammy-nominated classic.
12.
Long before she wrote Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), a 13-year-old Kate Bush composed The Man With the Child in His Eyes, which reached the ears of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, who helped with the landing her a record deal. The song became a top 10 hit in the UK when their debut album was released three years later in 1978.
13.
Black Francis (born Charles Thompson) wrote “Here Comes Your Man” – the biggest hit of the Pixies’ career – when he was just 14 or 15 years old. However, the band were initially reluctant to record the pop-sounding song as their style was alternative/punk and Black Francis had not discovered punk music when he wrote it seven years earlier.
14
1980s icon Debbie Gibson released her triple-platinum debut album. Out of the blue, when she was 16, and shortly thereafter became the youngest artist to ever write, perform and produce a number one hit (“Foolish Beat”). But what’s even more impressive is that Gibson wrote another big hit off the album – “Only in My Dreams” – when she was just 14 years old.
fifteen.
Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the MG’s Corote “Green Onions” – arguably the most famous instrumental song of the 20th century – when he was 17.
