It is interesting to see how some aging musicians sing as well as they did decades earlier while others no longer sing nearly as well as they did during the height of their career.
We go to Branson about once a year or so and always go see The Presleys (no relation to Elvis).
When we first started going the father who founded the group would always sing one song, it was hard to see how downhill he went every year.
I saw Buck Owens in Bakersfield when he was like 71. Definitely a nostalgia act; played maybe 45 minutes. I saw one of BB King’s last concerts, a shell of his old self, hardly played guitar (which is why you go see him). I’ve seen Willie Nelson 3 or 4 times, but the most recent, just a couple of months ago, he played only about an hour. Not bad for an 89YO though.
John Raitt is an example of performer who aged well as a musician as illustrated in these two videos with him. One is from the fifties and the other is from the nineties.
I have heard his is more of a family affair now, is that true?
He sat for the entire show recently. His son Micah played alongside him, and took lead for a song or two. But, his family has always been part of it, so not sure how much of that is new.
Lucas Nelson and Promise of the Real is a good band, though I’ve never seen them live.
Jerry Orbach is another one illustrated by him singing Try to Remember in the original production of the musical the Fantasticks in 1960 and again in 1982
This is Jerry Orbach singing the title song from Promises Promises between the two above dates
We saw BB King not that long before he stopped touring. He could still play, but played his part of the show seated in a chair. We saw saw Buddy Guy perform a year or so before covid, and he had slowed considerably from the time 5-6 years earlier when we saw him.
Frank Sinatra is an example of someone who I thought was very talented in his prime but did not sing well at concerts decades later.
My twitter feed shows old clips of Sinatra, Marting, and Sammy Davis Jr.
I am not sure how the algorithm made that happen, but I am not mad about it.
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Len Cariou circa 1980 and 2000
Richard Kiley in 1953, 1966, and 1986
Pete Seeger 1966 and 2008
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