For years, they’ve been saying that 60 is the new 40. To hear many famous musicians tell it, 80 may be the new 20. Many decades ago, the idea of a rock star still moving like Jagger at 40 seemed patently ridiculous – now it’s expected.
While Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick has made good on her promise to steer clear of the concert stage as an older American, many of her contemporaries have shown no inclination to slow down. Here are 10 of them who are old AF and have no intention of going away quietly.
Image Credit: Depositphotos.com.
Paul McCartney (Born 1942)
The former Beatle may not be quite as popular as he was at the height of Beatlemania, but he’s still a highly in-demand draw, and his concert tickets will give you the sticker shock to prove it. Some of his contemporaries have lamented that his concerts are just greatest-hits events trafficking in remunerative nostalgia. Still, we know that if we were getting paid what he is, we would be onstage singing “Silly Love Songs” until the cops threw us out of the stadium.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Bob Dylan (Born 1941)
When your singing voice has always been horrible, you can’t go downhill. We don’t know if this is the exact formulation that Bob Dylan has used to justify his ongoing career as a man over 80, but at this point, if people want to hear him wheeze “Maggie’s Farm” for the billionth time, who are we to stop them?
Image Credit: Depositphotos.com.
Willie Nelson (Born 1933)
Willie Nelson hit 90 years of age earlier this year, and it says a lot about him and the public’s perception of him that no one expects his age to stop him from touring or recording. Our one bit of advice would be for him to refrain from bringing bales of marijuana on tour since we don’t want him to spend his last days serving a mandatory minimum sentence in one of America’s prisons.
Image Credit: Depositphotos.com.
Keith Richards (Born 1943)
Mick Jagger turned 80 this year, and his partner in crime, guitarist Keith Richards, is right behind him, turning 80 at the end of the year. No one knows how he’s even still alive, much less whether he’s going to stop touring, but since the Rolling Stones just released a new album, it’s safe to assume he’ll be hitting the road to promote it.
Image Credit: Raph_PH / Wikimedia Commons.
Dolly Parton (Born 1946)
We don’t want Dolly to retire. Ever. We don’t care if she lives to be 500 years old. As long as there’s breath in her body, we want her to keep going.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Stevie Nicks (Born 1948)
Fleetwood Mac seems unlikely to tour or record ever again in the wake of Christine McVie’s passing, and Lindsay Buckingham is persona non grata within the band, so in all likelihood, the group is done. Having said that, the gold dust woman herself, the white-winged dove, is a mere 75 years old and still serenading her public in her flowing satin frockery, so who knows how long she’ll keep it up?
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Gloria Gaynor (Born 1949)
It would cheapen journalism to say that Gloria Gaynor has survived. Having said that, she’s still out there, she’s alive, and she still rocks the microphone, so she was right when she sang the thing that she sang, whose title we’re not going to repeat.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
Ringo Starr (Born 1940)
Like his former bandmate Paul McCartney, the oldest Beatle is still at it. He recently had a nasty spill onstage while singing “Give Peace a Chance” in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but ever the consummate professional, he got up and continued the show.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Neil Young (Born 1945)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Neil Young famously refused to perform live until it was safe to do so, only picking it up again recently. If anyone thought it was a backdoor way for him to retire, they were proven wrong by his return to live performance and the stream of new albums he puts out seemingly every month.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Dionne Warwick (Born 1940)
Dionne Warwick has always had a world-class singing voice, and she has yet to lose one iota of it even as she moves further into her 80s. Expect her to keep going for a long time. Also, if you’re still on Twitter (sorry, we mean “X”), you may be surprised to find that she is quite a salty presence there who can dole out edgy tongue-lashings like nobody’s business.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
More from MediaFeed
Worried about retirement? Read this now
- Science says this ‘70s rock hit is the catchiest song of our time
- 20 incredible movies so disturbing we never want to see them again
Like MediaFeed’s content? Be sure to follow us.
Image Credit: freemixer.
