Tue, Nov 10 2009
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Published May 14, 2009 08:36 pm - Let’s first acknowledge that we’ve moved well beyond the irony of “I hope I die before I get old” and the fact that the Who’s Pete Townshend, who wrote the lyric, did get old, though his band’s drummer didn’t. A summer dominated by OLD ROCKERS By Mark Caro - Chicago Tribune Let’s first acknowledge that we’ve moved well beyond the irony of “I hope I die before I get old” and the fact that the Who’s Pete Townshend, who wrote the lyric, did get old, though his band’s drummer didn’t.
Let’s also let Mick Jagger off the hook for famously declaring, “I’d rather be dead than singing ’Satisfaction’ when I’m 45.” With the Rolling Stones singer turning 66 in July, he has had more than 20 years and several world tours to eat those words. We will, however, give consideration to Robert Plant’s explanation earlier this year that he shot down a Led Zeppelin reunion in part for fear of fans’ “disappointment” and “the comparisons to something that was basically fired by youth and a different kind of exuberance. ... It’s very hard to go back and meet that head on and do it justice.” Or as he told a reporter backstage at the Grammys: “You try to do ’Communication Breakdown’ in these pants.” So the 60-year-old Plant won’t be screeching “Heeeey, girl!” onstage any time soon. But 68-year-old Mike Love probably will be singing “Be True to Your School” when the Beach Boys perform this summer. Plant is the exception, not the rule in a concert season testing the age limits of rock. Chicago’s most-hyped summer concert is the pairing of Elton John, 62, and Billy Joel, 60, at Wrigley Field. Also hitting town will be Crosby, 67, Stills, 64, and Nash, 67. As for Young (that is, Neil), he’s 63 and just released a jagged rock album. Almost-68-year-old Bob Dylan has last week’s No. 1 album, “Together Through Life,” and will soon tour minor-league baseball stadiums with Willie Nelson, 76, and John Mellencamp, 57. Paul McCartney, who turns 67 in June, recently performed a 2-hour set at the Coachella festival after releasing the trippy, hard-rocking “Electric Arguments” CD as the Fireman. McCartney now is about 15 years older than the man who played his grandfather in “A Hard Day’s Night.” Two other big tours are the Dead (Bob Weir is 62) and Leonard Cohen (74). Bruce Springsteen, who turns 60 in September, is playing sold-out shows throughout the U.S. and Europe. The summer calendar is dominated by 60-something rockers: Joe Cocker (64), Tom Jones (68), Steve Miller (65), Jackson Browne (60), Bonnie Raitt (59), Taj Mahal (67 next Sunday), Blondie (Debbie Harry turns 64 in July), the Doobie Brothers (co-founder Patrick Simmons is 60) and Loggins & Messina (both 61). Who knew Pat Benatar (56) and Elvis Costello (54) would represent rock’s youth movement? This cataloging of rock’s geriatric movement is meant simply to point out what’s both obvious and startling: Rock’s biggest names have gotten old. “I think all of us are pretty amazed at the lengths of the careers of the acts that pretty much defined rock ’n’ roll,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of the concert-industry trade publication Pollstar. “If you look at the ones that demand the highest prices, it’s all acts that date back to the ’60s and ’70s.” He added: “You could’ve had the same conversation five years ago.” Yes, but could you have the same conversation in another five years? Bluesmen such as B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters are typically considered the exemplars of performing into one’s golden years, but for rock music this is uncharted territory. How long can McCartney maintain that clear tenor? How long can 69-year-old Tina Turner keep her voice and legs in shape? Will a near-70 Jagger shake his skinny tush over another Stones tour as cancer survivor Charlie Watts, who turns 68 next month, keeps time? 
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