Back in the days when rock and roll as a musical concept was first invented, little consideration was placed on whether an artist could sustain a career out of this cultural phenomenon. Even after the first wave of '50s stars fell victim to accidents (from Carl Perkin's career-stalling car crash to Buddy Holly's death in a plane crash), the draft (Elvis), and bad vibes (Jerry Lee - 'nuff said), the British Invasion flag bearers of the '60s were often quoted as saying they'd be lucky to go a couple of years. Ringo's Plan B, for instance, was to open a hairdressing salon with the few quid he expected to salvage over the short term.
So, it's been more than 50 years since all of this started, and we're encountering the final question that's been avoided so far: what happens when you've spent a lifetime in a rock 'n' roll band? Is it possible to continue participating in what is essentially a young person's race when you've turned your odometer over more than a few times? Take it one step further - how can you find youthful exuberance in a genre that itself is over 50 years old?
Maybe 2008 (and extending a bit back into late 2007) will be remembered as the year when many artists tried to come to terms with this. For instance, The Eagles, AC/DC, Blind Melon, and Axl Rose all released new studio albums after going a long time without having done so. And Metallica, Alice Cooper, Paul McCartney, and Journey, although never having gone away, turned out new albums that many are saying are their best in years, depending of course, on how much of a fan you really are, or ever were. Add in the Zeppelin reunion from late 2007, and the never ending tours of Dylan, Springsteen and the Stones, and that's an awful lot of old people, many of whom could've been pensioned off by now if they had a regular kind of job.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
At least they didn't die before they got old. Well, most of them anyway...
-Glen
2 - JC Mosquito
...and then there's Keef, who shoulda died five or six times over already.