OT Entertainers that Should Just Retire

[Hope]

If, in 1970, someone had offered 10,000 to one odds on Keith Richards being alive in 2015 there would have been no takers.

Keith Richards said, "I never had a problem with drugs; only with policemen."

 

[Kaizen]

I was crazy in love with Linda Ronstadt back in college.
Her songs: Silver Threads and Golden Needles,
You're No Good,
Blue Bayou,
It's So Easy,
Hurt So Bad,
are still my favorite now ................

 

[Hope]

Donald Trump. (oops! did I just make a political statement? Is it allowed? THE DONALD isn't that bad, er in fact he may be good. I don't know. He sure wears colorful ties.)

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I was crazy in love with Linda Ronstadt back in college.
Her songs: Silver Threads and Golden Needles,
You're No Good,
Blue Bayou,
It's So Easy,
Hurt So Bad,
are still my favorite now ......

So sad that she cannot perform anymore due to her Parkinson's. Some of her family have a local band called Ronstadt Generations, which I saw perform and have one of their CD's. I gather they play the bars around Tucson. Quite a good sound.

Arizona Softball games feature 2 Ronstadt songs, played before the top and bottom of the first inning, but I can't name them, as they are in Spanish, not a language I speak. It is a long standing tradition at the games.

Of older female singers, I saw Judy Collins and Pat Benatar in the last year and enjoyed both shows; Collins at 75 doesn't do a long show, but sounds like herself; she admitted that there is much she can no longer play on the guitar, although she strummed and also played the piano for a couple of songs. Benatar is in her early 60's I think, she rocked the house with her husband.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Concerts at induction ceremonies at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are recorded and available on DVD. Time and again, groups (e.g., The Band; Crosby, Stills & Nash) that are inducted no longer have a complete roster of the musicians who got them qualified for this honor. Sad.

I don't know about The Band (that's a blast from my past), but CSN (and Y) are all still alive. In fact, I attended a tribute concert recently where the leader / singer / guitarist mentioned that he had met one of them and given him a CD that included some CSN&Y songs. Whichever it was commented that when the group does reunions, they can't do one song because they can no longer play it well enough, but he thought the tribute band did a nice job on covering it. I think (but am not sure) that the song was "Suite Judy Blue Eyes".

 

[AllAmerRedHeads]

There are some that step aside,although a bit later in life. my friend is married to "The Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis.

He is headed over to England to start his final tour. He just did a concert with Chubby Checker a couple of weeks ago. all I can say is that the people that commented onfacebook still love him.

The older music has become more important to me the last couple of years. I started to noticr how WDRC was playing less and less 50-60s and only certain 70s. Then they sold out last year and became a classic rock station. all crew was let go.

 

[j66kicker]

So sad that she cannot perform anymore due to her Parkinson's. Some of her family have a local band called Ronstadt Generations, which I saw perform and have one of their CD's. I gather they play the bars around Tucson. Quite a good sound.

I saw Linda in concert in LA during her prime. Then last year I saw her at a book signing. She did sort of a pre-arranged interview with a media person - they had announced that she wouldn't take questions from the audience. But she took questions anyway, and stuck around for quite a while. She was pretty funny, didn't exhibit any outward symptoms of her Parkinson's.

 

[cohenzone]

I saw Petet Paul & Mary when I was a UConn Frosh in the mid-1960s and again about 40 years later. They were still great, even looking their age. A lot of "0ld" entertainers still have it and can be lots better than a lot of the trash younger acts that sell out venues.

 

[JimGunther]

PP&M Wow!
We saw them, of course, in the 60s (Who didn't fall in love with Mary's long blond hair?) then again in the 80's at the Boston Pops.
In fact, whenever Public TV runs the concert, we look for my daughter (who was caught cavorting on film (tape).: she's in her mid 40s now.
Probably 10 years since we've seen Judy Collins or Joan Baez live but, the oldsters can put together a good band and still put on an enjoyable show.
Regret that we'll (probably) never see Joni again.

PS: Don't tell anyone over at the Cesspool of my musical tastes<G>.

I saw Petet Paul & Mary when I was a UConn Frosh in the mid-1960s and again about 40 years later. They were still great, even looking their age. A lot of "0ld" entertainers still have it and can be lots better than a lot of the trash younger acts that sell out venues.

 

[cohenzone]

PP&M Wow!
We saw them, of course, in the 60s (Who didn't fall in love with Mary's long blond hair?) then again in the 80's at the Boston Pops.
In fact, whenever Public TV runs the concert, we look for my daughter (who was caught cavorting on film (tape).: she's in her mid 40s now.
Probably 10 years since we've seen Judy Collins or Joan Baez live but, the oldsters can put together a good band and still put on an enjoyable show.
Regret that we'll (probably) never see Joni again.

PS: Don't tell anyone over at the Cesspool of my musical tastes<G>.

What is this Cesspool you speak of.

When I saw PPM those many years later it was at a political fundraiser (won't say for who) and I got to meet Mary and Paul. I get to talk to her for 2 or 3 minutes. Very gracious and if you are aware of the non-political causes she contributed to and actively campaigned for, you know what a really impressive person she was. The show I saw when I was a student was early in their popularity. It was, at the time, the fastest sellout ever of Jorgensen. Started selling at 8. I had arrived before 7 (brutal for a college student) and was about halfway back in the line. The tickets were gone by a little after 9.

Peter got into trouble years ago because of an indecent conduct charge regarding a 14 or 15 year old girl. Recently, he was in the movie While We Were Young which my wife rented. I'm looking at this guy trying to place him when I realized it was Peter Yarrow.

 

[Paul1969]

Still waiting for Cher to make up her cancelled tour dates due to her kidney infection last year. I can't live without her. LOL

 

[FedupFred]

Bill Cosby for sure.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Somehow, seeing Paul McCartney's sagging jowls makes me feel better about
my sagging jowls. So Pop geezers still have some usefulness.

 

[Waquoit]

I don't know about The Band (that's a blast from my past), but CSN (and Y) are all still alive. In fact, I attended a tribute concert recently where the leader / singer / guitarist mentioned that he had met one of them and given him a CD that included some CSN&Y songs. Whichever it was commented that when the group does reunions, they can't do one song because they can no longer play it well enough, but he thought the tribute band did a nice job on covering it. I think (but am not sure) that the song was "Suite Judy Blue Eyes".

CSN are still getting it done. I caught them last year at the Oakdale and they were good. But a few years ago they opened for Tom Petty at the Meadows and they were great. Stills voice may be a bit rough these days, but he was just screaming on guitar. I thought they made Petty really step up. They were much better that night than when I caught them 5 or so years earlier. But as far as Old Guy Rock and Roll live concerts go these days, my favorites are Steely Dan and John Fogerty. Tons of great tunes with crackerjack bands. Next on the list is Joe Walsh. You couldn't get me to an Eagles concert at gunpoint, but I'm looking forward to seeing Joe solo.

 

[Bestiarius]

The king of longevity was Bill Tapia, who was still touring nationally at age 103. At that age, he had been a pro musician for 85 years. Bill lived in California, but I saw him perform in New York City shortly before his death in 2011. As a ukulele player, he waited many years for his time to come, along with the recent increase in ukulele popularity (Iz, Jake Shimaboukuru, ect).

Although not famous except in uke circles, he played for the troops in WW1. He went on to perform with Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Elvis. Bill, when he was about 102, told me he had just bought a house in CA and acquired a 30 year mortgage! He was quite a guy.

 

[Husky25]

Impressive how this thread got turned around on the OP. It went from, "Damn those geezers just want a check (and, what's wrong with that exactly?)," to "Geezer Appreciation Night."

My thought is if you take an entertainer's ability to entertain, they are bound to figuratively (and quite probably literally) die.

I called Van Halen a cover band of their former selves in a different thread, and while I will most likely never see them again in concert, I cannot begrudge them from playing to the people who do.

By the way, if Tom Waits ever makes his way back to the East Coast, I'm there. I just hope he plays some early stuff and not just from Blood Money, Alice, and Mule Variations (Though I love Mule Variations).

 

[j66kicker]

My cousin keeps talking me into going to see fogie bands, even after I swear, "never again." Some have been really good though, particularly Eric Clapton (still the real deal), Beach Boys (enhanced by a hired ~12-man band in the background, but sounded just like their records in the '60s), and McCartney (mostly a Beatles tribute, and enhanced by a large band, but really good).

One I didn't see cuz I had no interest was Glen Campbell. Cousin video'd some of it on his phone. Glen had to read the lyrics off a Teleprompter because he couldn't remember the words to his classic songs due to Alzheimer's - basically doing karaoke on songs he wrote himself. Very sad, almost exploitative maybe.

 

[Kibitzer]

Even as we post our admiration - or, in some cases, disdain - for aging performers, I cannot help but think of the many legendary artists who were taken offstage early, often tragically. To name but a few: Buddy Holly ("The day that music died"), Jimi Hendrix ("Are You Experienced?"), Janis Joplin ("A Piece of My Heart"). . . .

 

[hoopingcrane]

I don't know about The Band (that's a blast from my past), but CSN (and Y) are all still alive. In fact, I attended a tribute concert recently where the leader / singer / guitarist mentioned that he had met one of them and given him a CD that included some CSN&Y songs. Whichever it was commented that when the group does reunions, they can't do one song because they can no longer play it well enough, but he thought the tribute band did a nice job on covering it. I think (but am not sure) that the song was "Suite Judy Blue Eyes".

I saw CSN in concert in CT recently. Nash sings as well as ever, although always too sweet for me, Stills can still play but only has enough voice for parts of what he sang before, but Crosby is still a great vocalist. Maybe the drugs had preservatives in them.

 

[Zorro]

I know of some bands still touring that hire extra musicians who are the ones you actually hear because the mikes on drums/pick-ups on the guitars of the actual band members are turned way down/off. Not all of the old band members are fully functional any more!
With actors and vocalists and classical musicians there can be greater depth added to the performance that only comes with age and experience - not something typically associated with rock and roll, but ...

Perception is reality.

 

[Zorro]

No one at the Cesspool is worried about "tastes". At all. You should know that!

 

[Citrusdog]

if Samuel Jackson retired it wouldn't hurt my feelings. I'm so sick of his disgusting racism.

 

[Atleast5char]

He actually died in 1985.

Keith is still alive.

 

[meyers7]

Keith is still alive.

 

[ctfjr]

My daughter got me Stones tix a few years ago when they were at the Rent - best damn concert I've ever been to and the seats were great!