Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
I always like Keith Richards' comment on the matter, that if he was 80 years old and in a wheelchair, if people wanted to see him, he'd go out and play.
But then, Keith impressed me as one of the more thoughtful and mature rockers out there. He lived through superstardom and heroin addiction and came out the other side with his head on reasonably straight.
The problem is perception. Rock is viewed as young people's music. Would folks have an issue with a famous jazz player (or country musician) turning 70 and still recording/touring?
I don't have an issue with Ringo or anyone else still wanting to go out there and do it. The question is whether they've grown up, and their music will reflect their age. Years back, I met the late Buddy Miles. Buddy was a top drummer who had played in the Electric Flag, played with Carlos Santana, and been the drummer for Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies. When I met him, he was on a downturn, caused by cocaine addiction and other issues. But he was leader of a current version of the Band of Gypsies, and stated he was thinking about making some changes in the band. He thought the 60's would come back big.
What I wanted to tell him was "Yeah, you were huge in the 60's, and the music may come back. But it's been 30 years, and you're a different person now. Take the '60s as a base, but build on it using all you've learned and been through since. Otherwise, you'll be like the '50s doo-wop acts, still touring and endlessly repeating the same hits that made them famous back then. Is that what you want to do?"
There are plenty of folks from back then still around and doing great stuff. A while back, Moby Grape, a San Francisco band I hadn't seen the first time around, did some club dates in NYC. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Age isn't the factor. Style and subject is. The rocker who was every girl's masturbatory fantasy back when will only be sad still trying to do that at 70. The rocker that just wanted to make good music and put on a great show might well still have a place.
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Dennis
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I just like to add that traditionally, blues musicians were considered to just be hitting their peaks around 70.....