People say that 70 is the new 60 and if you’re still in really good shape and don’t mind touring why not?

Todd Bartholomew

What else are they going to do? Move to Florida and play shuffleboard? People say that 70 is the new 60 and if you’re still in really good shape and don’t mind touring why not? For most of these musicians this is all they’ve done in their lives. They don’t have any other hobbies or interests to pursue. This is their life calling and vocation. Now some don’t necessarily tour all the time but some do. Let’s take Roxy Music (photo below) who just did their big 50th Anniversary Tour this year.

All of the founding members are now WELL into their 70s. But Roxy Music hasn’t reunited or toured since 2011. Fans (including myself) were ecstatic to get to see them one more time. Now, front man Bryan Ferry (age 78) has been touring regularly solo but seeing him with Roxy Music again is a rare treat! Ferry hardly needs the money and for him and Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackey, and Paul Thompson it was a victory lap of sorts and a chance to show they still have the magic. That said, it was almost certainly their last tour together. Speaking of farewell tours, how about our favorite adrenaline junkie, Sir Elton John (shown below).

Elton has many times admitted he loves the rush of taking the stage and hearing the massive audience roar to life as he does that. Can you imagine basking in such adoration? He was the biggest artist of the 1970s and his songs were the soundtrack for my generation. His songs have immense emotional resonance and that audience reaction fuels him. He needs and craves the validation. He was bigger and flashier than anyone in Rock N Rock. Captain Fantastic. I have never seen a show where he wasn’t giving 100%. Hell, in Australia in 1987 he was willing to blow out his voice to deliver. But at 77 he wants to have what time he has left with his young sons and his husband. He has given so much of himself to fans and to charity over the years he deserves a break. My hunch…he’ll probably still do private shows. He’s just a showman in the best sense of the word. But for some the show never ends like Bob Dylan(shown below).

In late 2020 Dylan sold his publishing rights for an estimated $300 Million (USD), so clearly at 82 he does NOT need the money. But Dylan has been touring and performing for 60 plus years now. There probably comes a point where you don’t know what else to do with your time and sitting around the house drives you crazy. Life on the road becomes a way of life. Your kids, if you had them, are grown. Maybe you have grandkids, maybe not. Part of it is struggling so hard to break through and be successful and to maintain that status. Once you attain it you don’t dare let go of it. Probably you’re a Type A personality where kicking back, and relaxing isn’t what you do. The opposite would be someone like Boz Scaggs (age 79), who started a winery and likes to tour and record when he feels like it. Think of a classic Type A overachiever personality and I think of Sir Paul McCartney (shown below).

Sir Paul turned 81 this year and how did he celebrate? A giant tour. That is a Type A personality on display there! He’s a freaking BEATLE! One half of the greatest songwriting partnership in the Rock Era! What more did he have to prove? So, then he did a little band called Wings…one of the biggest acts of the 1970s. He’s done classical music, an oratorio, and so much more. The idea of taking it easy doesn’t seem to be in his wheelhouse. At this point you’re gunning to be remembered as one for the ages. One of the biggest names ever. Rocking it harder than anyone else has like The Rolling Stones (below).

They buried their original drummer this year but barely took a break on their massive tour. Mick is 80 now and Keith turns 80 later this year and there were doubts about their future after Mick’s heart attack a few years back. But this tour left few lingering doubts. I worry about what kind of world we’re going to leave Keith Richards and Willie Nelson at this point. They’re taking longer and longer between tours and I recalled saying in 1981 at the Tattoo You Tour that I better see them as it could be their last. Yeah…Keith will probably bury me at this rate. But they well and truly don’t need the money. This is about bragging rights and legacy at this point. And there’s one last reason I can think of why an 80-something rock legend would tour (Below: Brian Wilson):

And that my friends, is redemption. Brian had been written off as a casualty of Rock N Roll excess. But in the 1980s Brian pulled back from the abyss and got himself together. Since then he’s been recording new material, finally finished The Beach Boys lost masterpiece Smile and has become something of a road warrior, frequently out on tour. I saw him just last summer on tour with Chicago and he and his band put on an amazing performance. Yes, he was frail and left the singing mostly to his bandmates, but when he does take lead vocals the years melt away. The Big Guy still had it!