Is Another Wave of Legendary Musician Deaths on the Horizon?
A few years ago, everyone freaked out when famous musicians started dropping like flies. And not to be overly morbid, but there's a chance that we're in for another wave.
ThisWeek.com points out that a lot of legendary musicians are 70 and older, so they might not be with us much longer. They include:
- Bob Dylan, 78
- Paul McCartney, 77
- Paul Simon, 77
- Art Garfunkel, 77
- Carole King, 77
- Brian Wilson, 77
- Mick Jagger, 76, and Keith Richards, 75, of the Rolling Stones
- Joni Mitchell, 75
- Jimmy Page, 75, and Robert Plant, 71, of Led Zeppelin
- Ray Davies, 75
- Roger Daltrey, 75, and Pete Townshend, 74, of The Who
- Roger Waters, 75, and David Gilmour, 73, of Pink Floyd
- Rod Stewart, 74
- Eric Clapton, 74
- Debbie Harry, 74
- Neil Young, 73
- Van Morrison, 74.
- Bryan Ferry, 73. He'll be 74 later this month.
- Elton John, 72
- Don Henley, 72
- James Taylor, 71
- Jackson Browne, 70
- Billy Joel, 70
- Bruce Springsteen, 69, but he's turning 70 this month.
The site notes: "A few of these legends might manage to live into their 90s, despite all the wear and tear [they've] subjected their bodies to over the decades. But most of them will not."
And the loss of these rock legends is even more impactful than other aging celebrities, because a lot of them are still active right now, and are still carrying the torch for rock 'n' roll.
Regardless of what you think about contemporary rock music, it's obvious that it doesn't have the mainstream, cultural impact that it did when these artists were in their prime 30, 40, and 50 years ago.
Some other old musicians that you could put on this list include:
- Tony Bennett, 93
- Loretta Lynn, 87
- Little Richard, 86
- Willie Nelson, 86
- Frankie Valli, 85
- Kris Kristofferson, 83
- Jerry Lee Lewis, 83
- Classic Stones bassist Bill Wyman, 82