After Their Prime

Rock stars are dying. This is going to be a lousy decade. This week we lost Dick Clark and Levon Helm (drummer with The Band) Robin Gibb is in bad health. Hmmm. A piece of me always gets rattled when that happens. I remember where I was when Elvis died but it wasn't until John Lennon died (I was on the air at the time) that I really felt a sense of loss. A friend of mine who plays guitar wanted me to take a road trip with him to see Les Paul who performed once in a while in New York City. Me, I wanted to see Chuck Berry because of his grandfatherly impact on rock music. We talked about taking a road trip to see these legends while there was still time - "we should go". Then, Les Paul died. My friend missed the opportunity. With little notice I flew to St. Louis to see Chuck Berry, where he performed a 50 minute set, once a month in the basement of a restaurant in his hometown. He was sloppy, he forgot the words and he only signed about 10 autographs before he left for home. Sloppy didn't matter - I saw Chuck Berry. He was 83 when I saw him. The originals - Chuck, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis are all in the winter years of their lives. After that, there's the 60's rock stars - McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Clapton, Townshend. I remember critics poking fun at rock stars using their own songs against them - "hope I did before I get old", "Time is on my side", "when I'm Sixty-four". Se

When I see older rock stars today, after their prime, it's still an honour. They may move slower and the show may have less "spirit", but they are still doing what they love. Now in my 50's "time" becomes more significant. The term "killing time" seems like such a selfish thing to do since I have a limited amount. What do I do with each day? Did today count? And, more importanty, am I still doing what we love? Yes, I am!