Dylan? A number one single??? He barely managed that in the 60's. It's an interesting theory though. Having a great songwriting ability doesn't go hand in hand with being a good interpreter of that song and vice-versa. Elvis never wrote a song in his life but his versions of other peoples songs were often definitive. Leonard Cohen, as well all know, is a songwriter extraordinaire but many times his performance of the song is dreary and tasteless to the point where the value of the song is hidden with cheesy-synths and Doo-Dom-De-Dom backing vocalists. Many of his songs only shine when tackled by somebody else. Sure, we're all human, and when we hear the synth intro to Walk of Life we think of head-bands, mullets and bland 80's stadium rock so we immediately have a bad taste in our mouth that the rest of the song isn't going to cure. Had Johnny Cash played this song in San Quentin (and lets face it, he's done much worse over the years) it would have been with an arse-kicking and sturdy backup band including Carl Perkins on guitar, and sung with all the passion that he puts into any song he sings, whether its about God, the missus or the dog. Its not so cut and dry to say we don't like a song, whether its good or bad, because the songwriter isn't cool. Its what the songwriter does with that song that matters. T'Pau's China In Your Hand was overblown, melodramatic, drenched in reverb with horrible 80's production values. Had Noel Gallagher written the song, and this is a big hypothetical, it would probably have sounded something like Stand By Me. Low-key, acoustic and uneventful. I can't really picture it though.