2020 marks 58 years since the Rolling Stones formed back in 1962, and they're still playing live! On Feb. 6, 2020, guitarist Ronnie Wood, 72, vocalist Mick Jagger, 76, drummer Charlie Watts, 78, and guitarist Keith Richards, 76, announced they're extending their "No Filter" tour with new dates set for the summer. But the Stones — who delayed their concert trek in 2019 a few months so Mick could recover from heart valve surgery — aren't the only senior citizens who are still making music and playing live. Keep reading to see many more stars who are over 65 and still rocking…
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Aerosmith formed nearly 50 years ago in 1970, and they're still rockin' too — guitarist Brad Whitford (born in 1952), bassist Tom Hamilton (born in 1951), drummer Joey Kramer (born in 1950), guitarist Joe Perry (born in 1950) and lead singer Steven Tyler (born in 1948) debuted their "Deuces Are Wild" Las Vegas residency at the Park MGM in 2019 — and the show has continued in 2020. In 2018, Parade asked Steven how he felt about growing older in his profession. "Well, I know I'm going to live forever but…" he said with a laugh. "I had a title for a song once called '20 Summers.' The guys in the band said, 'What does that mean?' I said, 'Well, it's all I've got left.' That's a grim way of looking at it. I fill every day up, so in a sense I don't feel the number. And 70 is the new 50. Everybody knows how to live, and if you go to the doctor and you eat the right food you can live a long time."
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More than 50 years after he joined Black Sabbath and more than 40 since he went solo, Ozzy Osbourne, who was born in 1948, is launching his final concert trek in 2020. He initially postponed it in 2019 after injuring himself, and in early 2020, he revealed that he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease the previous year and had to cancel the American tour kickoff set for the summer because he was seeking treatment in Switzerland. Yet despite his health challenges, the onetime reality TV star isn't retiring from music: His U.K. tour will launch in the fall of 2020. "I ain't done yet," Ozzy said on "Good Morning America" in 2019. "I ain't gonna go anywhere yet."
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In September 2018, Elton John — who was born in 1947 — kicked off his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour. The Rocket Man's final concert trek includes more than 300 shows across five continents and wraps up in 2021. He's explained that now that he's getting older, he wants to spend more time at home with husband David Furnish and their two young sons. "Family is the most important thing," the music legend told The Mirror in 2019. "I just owe it to those children to be there for them."
He might have been born back in 1945, but "Forever Young" rocker Rod Stewart — who released his 30th studio album, "Blood Red Roses," in September 2018 — has hardly slowed down: He spent most of 2019 on stage and plans to tour through most of 2020 as well. In 2018, he told the San Diego Union-Tribune that age hardly matters as long as performers have the energy and the fans. "I think us older chaps now are accepted — me, Elton, the Stones and anybody of our age who's lasted," he said. "I love making music and performing. And, as long as I'm capable, I'll continue."
Blues guitarist and singer Buddy Guy, who was born in 1936, released his 18th studio album, "The Blues is Alive and Well," in 2018 — then hit the road to promote it and has dates booked through the fall of 2020. (In 2019 at 82, Buddy took home a best traditional blues album Grammy for the project — his eighth Grammy Award). "I dedicated my life to this music. I went to sleep and woke up and a lot of the greats who I learned everything from was no longer here. When we were all in good health we sat around having a drink and said that whoever be here when the rest is gone, please try to keep the blues alive and well," he told Guitar World the same year. "I'm 82 and I don't know what's gonna be there when I'm 83, 84, 85… so I'm going strong while I can!"
More than 50 years after Fleetwood Mac formed, (most of) its members are still bona fide working rock stars. John McVie (born in 1945), Christine McVie (born in 1943), Stevie Nicks (born in 1948) and Mick Fleetwood (born in 1947) kicked off their "An Evening with Fleetwood Mac" tour in October 2018. "The 2018 tour is supposed to be a farewell tour but you take farewell tours one at a time," Christine told Uncut magazine. The band, which wrapped that world tour in late 2019, made headlines when members fired guitarist-vocalist Lindsey Buckingham (born in 1949) in 2018 (he sued and they settled out of court). He was replaced by Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame (who was born in 1950, far right) and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn (who was born in 1958, behind Stevie). In February 2019, Lindsey's wife revealed he'd suffered vocal cord damage during a recent emergency open-heart surgery.
Bruce Springsteen, who was born in 1949, performed five shows a week as part of his New York City concert residency, "Springsteen on Broadway," in 2017 and 2018. The sold-out Broadway run was so popular with critics and audiences, The Boss even took home a special Tony Award for it in 2018. In 2019, Bruce released his 19th studio album, "Western Stars."
In September 2018, Paul McCartney released his 17th solo studio album, "Egypt Station." The same month, the famed bassist for The Beatles, who was born in 1942, kicked off his "Freshen Up" tour, and he's still doing live dates on that through the summer of 2020 as well as a headlining set at Britain's famed Glastonbury Festival. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine asked Paul how he manages to still deliver energetic three-hour sets at his age. "Once you get in front of an audience… it's a charge," the longtime vegetarian explained. "It charges your battery. It just turns you up to 11. So it's great."
Paul McCartney isn't the only remaining member of The Beatles who's still rockin'. In 2019, drummer Ringo Starr, who was born in 1940, hit the road for a new concert trek to mark the 30th anniversary of his All Starr Band tours and has dates booked through 2020. "I think staying active keeps you young. I do work out. I have a trainer. I'm lively onstage. I have a vegetarian diet — broccoli with every meal," he told Rolling Stone in 2018. "So I just do what I think is good for me, and I've been blessed that I have the energy to keep it moving."
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" singer Pat Benatar, who was born in 1953, has been rocking for more than 40 years. In 2019, she and musician husband Neil Giraldo hit the road again for their 40th anniversary tour. The Grammy winner has actually toured almost every year since 1979, even when her two kids were young. "It's much more fun [now] than it was then. It's easier," she told Herald Mail Media in 2017. "You don't have all of the angst and everything you carried around, and all the things put on you. It's much more in our control and enjoyable now than it ever was. We still play. We did 160 shows last year. It's nuts. I never worked this much, ever."
The world took a fresh look at rock legends Queen in 2018 with the release of the biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" starring Rami Malek, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of late frontman Freddie Mercury. The band, however, had reinvented itself a decade earlier thanks to a collaboration with then-"American Idol" contestant Adam Lambert (who's more than half their age). These days, guitarist Brian May (born in 1947) and drummer Roger Taylor (born in 1949) are performing as Queen + Adam Lambert. Following a limited-run Las Vegas residency dubbed "The Crown Jewels" in 2018, the men all performed at the 2019 Oscars. They hit the road again in 2019 for their international "The Rhapsody" tour, which runs through the summer of 2020.
In July 2018, Billy Joel delivered his 100th career performance at New York City's Madison Square Garden, where in 2014 he kicked off an indefinite series of monthly sold-out concerts. He's still at it, with tour dates scheduled in the States through 2020! So why does the Piano Man, who was born in 1949, think people still keep coming to see him? "I'm an unlikely candidate for a rock star. I don't look like a rock star. I'm like the eternal underdog," he told Parade in 2018. "In my songs' lyrics, there's a lot of acknowledgment that I'm a screw-up, you know — I'm human. I'm as lost as you are. Like you, I'm just trying to find my way. I guess people like that."
KISS are still going strong but have indicated that all good things must come to an end. The band, which only features two original members, Gene Simmons (born in 1949) and Paul Stanley (born in 1952), kicked off their "End of the Road" world tour in January 2019 and have plans to wrap things up in 2021. "One thing for sure is that this is the last tour. What goes beyond that is really hard to say," Paul told Billboard in 2018. "The tour may go three years, but once we play your city, it is done. That is our big thank you."
Blondie — led by frontwoman Debbie Harry (born in 1945) and guitarist Chris Stein (born in 1950) — released their 11th studio album, "Pollinator," in 2017, the same year they kicked off their "Rage and Rapture" co-headlining tour with Garbage. They also played a few shows in 2018 and 2019 — the year they marked the 40-year anniversary of their hit song "Heart of Glass" — and still more shows are slated in 2020.
In February 2019, Peter Frampton revealed that he suffers from body myositis, an incurable condition that causes muscles to slowly weaken over time. But he's not retiring yet: Days earlier, the "Baby, I Love Your Way" singer, who was born in 1950, announced his farewell tour. "The reason I'm calling it the 'farewell tour,' again, is because I know that I will be at the top of my game for this tour and I will make it through this and people won't be saying, 'Oh, you know, he can't play as good.' I can," he said on "CBS This Morning: Saturday." "But we just don't know for how long." He's still on the road in 2020!
Willie Nelson, who was born in 1933, released his 69th studio album, "Ride Me Back Home," in 2019. He's also still a road dog: The outlaw country music star is scheduled to spend the first half of 2020 on tour. Despite being in his mid-80s, Willie still performs about 100 dates a year, generally on a two weeks on, two weeks off schedule, Rolling Stone reported in 2018. "I just enjoy playing," Willie told the magazine of why he won't retire, "whether it's on the stage, here in the studio or wherever."
Rock and blues singer-guitarist Eric Clapton was born in 1945 but is still performing, though he has slowed down in recent years. The former Cream and Yardbirds member released his 21st studio album (and first Christmas album), "Happy Xmas," in 2018, toured in 2019 and has still more live dates scheduled in 2020. In a 2018 BBC Radio 2 interview, he spoke about aging and performing. "The only thing I'm concerned with now is being in my 70s and being able to be proficient. I mean, I'm going deaf, I've got tinnitus, my hands just about work," he said. "I'm hoping that people will come along and see me just because, or maybe more than because I'm a curiosity. I know that is part of it, because it's amazing to myself I'm still here."
In 2015, filmmakers captured the final 40-year anniversary concert tour show celebrating artist-singer-poet-author Patti Smith's debut album and in 2018 released the project, "Horses: Patti Smith and her Band." But the "Because the Night" singer, who was born in 1946, is still performing today, with concerts scheduled in the States and internationally through the summer of 2020.
Actor-musician Rick Springfield, who was born in 1949, found fame on the concert stage with the release of "Jessie's Girl" in 1981 — the same year he made his debut as Dr. Noah Drake on "General Hospital." Nearly 40 years later, Rick is still touring. He dropped the blues album "The Snake King" in 2018 and his 17th studio album, "Orchestrating My Life," in 2019 and has live dates schedules through 2020.
Bob Dylan, who was born in 1941, might be pushing 80, but he's still traveling the world with his guitar and piano — and fans are showing up in droves. The latest leg of his trek — which has been dubbed the "Never Ending" tour, as it's been going on since 1988 — is set for nearly the whole month of April 2020 in Japan. In 2015, the great-grandfather told AARP The Magazine of aging, "Look, you get older. Passion is a young man's game. Young people can be passionate. Older people gotta be more wise. I mean, you're around awhile, you leave certain things to the young. Don't try to act like you're young. You could really hurt yourself."