It's not true that Anthrax is changing their name to Arthritis

In 1969, Pete Townshend wrote the lyric, “I hope I die before I get old.”   Some took the words to heart and died young and left a good looking corpse.  Others are still going strong.

Many of the early rock and rollers are now in their 70s or older.  Chuck Berry is 83 and Little Richard is 76, but this piece is about the gang that came in with the advent of the British Invasion of the ’60s.

Many of these guys survived the suicides and overdoses of their peers only to face the perils of aging.  George Harrison succumbed to cancer, suspected incestuous Papa John Phillips died of heart disease, and Phillips band-mate Denny Doherty died from an abdominal aneurysm.  Yeah, getting older can be a bitch and her name is agony.

As someone who is in his 50s, I know these guys in their 60s have to enduring some major pain just to continue rockin’ out.  We recently learned that Phil Collins, who turns 59 in January, can no longer play drums or the piano because of surgery to repair dislocated vertebrae in his neck.

Eric Clapton dropped out of the 25th anniversary concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of gallstones.  You know that having to admit to that ailment was probably more painful than the actual affliction.  Yet Clapton claims he is still committed to deliver a strong tour in 2010.

Former Beatles Ringo Starr (69) and Paul McCartney (67) still tour regularly and McCartney, already the most prolific hit song writer in history still releases new material.

Some people point to singers like Tony Bennett (83) who still performs regularly, but anyone who has seen McCartney rocking and carting that huge Rickenbacker bass around while he does it, or watched Mick Jagger strut around like a spring chicken, knows that rockers tend to put a lot more energy into a single song than the old crooners did over an entire decade.  I have to think it is a genuine desire to entertain and an unwavering loyalty to Rock and Roll that drives these guys.  Let’s face it, none of them will ever need to make another cent to remain comfortable.

Sure, they might feel it the next day, but the soothing balm of an audience glow eases the pain, and the closer the time comes for them to take the stage, instinct, like that of an old fire horse, takes hold and pushes them through the performance.

Returning to a lyric by Pete Townshend, “Rock is Dead – Long Live Rock!”   And long live the guys who bring it to life.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 7:23 pm and is filed under Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.