Elvis Presley has been deceased for longer than he was alive. The same is true of John Lennon.
Half of the Beatles are dead. So are half of The Who, half of the Doors, half of Jefferson Airplane, half of Sam and Dave, half of Steely Dan, half of the Allman Brothers Band, half of Gerry and the Pacemakers, 2 of the E Street Band, 2/5 of Pink Floyd, 2/5 of Boston, 2/5 of the Cars, 2/5 of the Moody Blues, 3/5 of The Band, 1/3 of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 3 of the Four Tops, 3/4 of the Mamas and the Papas, 2 of the 3 Bee Gees (and their younger brother), 2/3 of Cream, 2/3 of the Supremes, 2/3 of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, 4/5 of the Temptations, all 4 of the original Ramones, both of the Everly Brothers, Bill Haley and all of his Comets, Bob Marley and all of the Wailers,
David Bowie, Tom Petty, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, Robert Palmer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Laura Nyro, Dr. John, Lou Reed, Johnny Winter, Frank Zappa, Warren Zevon, Jerry Garcia, Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, Neal Peart of Rush, Jon Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Glen Frey of the Eagles, Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac, Chris Squire of Yes, Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Ronnie James Dio of Black Sabbath, Joe Strummer of the Clash, Jim Capaldi of Traffic, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Maurice White of Earth Wind & Fire, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Roy Orbison, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, James Brown, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, and Prince.
All of the following are past age 80: Jerry Lee Lewis, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, David Crosby, Grace Slick, Joan Baez, Smokey Robinson, Eric Burdon, Aaron Neville, Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, Mike Love of The Beach Boys, and both Simon and Garfunkel.
The following will turn 80 in 2022: Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Carole King, Graham Nash, Roger McQuinn, and Andy Summers of the Police.
The average person lives to 77. All of the following have surpassed that age: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ray Davies, Joni Mitchell, Diana Ross, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Roger Daltrey, Dave Edmunds, Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs, Jon Anderson of Yes, Rick Davies of Supertramp, and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac.
The following will reach age 77 in 2022: Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Debbie Harry, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Van Morrison, John Fogerty, Pete Townsend, Bob Seger, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, and Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music.
All of the following are past age 70: Ron Wood, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Elton John, Jeff Lynne, Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, Robert Plant, Ozzy Osborne, Sammy Hagar, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, Carlos Santana, Steve Perry, Cat Stevens, Peter Frampton, Todd Rundgren, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer, Meat Loaf, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Hall and Oates, Brian May of Queen, Ann Wilson of Heart, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, Peter Criss of Kiss, Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band, John McVie of Fleetwood Mac, the 2 surviving members of ZZ Top, all of the Eagles, all of Talking Heads except David Byrne, all of the Doobie Brothers except Michael McDonald, all of Genesis including Peter Gabriel, and every still living performer at Woodstock.
Most rockers from the 1980s - U2, REM, Bon Jovi, the Cure, Motley Crue, Duran Duran, etc. - will qualify as senior citizens within the next few years.
Name a rock and roller from the 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s - the heyday of rock - and they’re either deceased or old.
Rock and roll will never die. But all of it’s creators inevitably will.
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