by Anthony Megna

Created on: February 05, 2009   Last Updated: October 03, 2011

Remember the Beatles song with the lyrics: "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64".....I wonder how many times Sir Paul McCartney thinks about this song he helped to write so many years ago? Did he think he would still be going at it more than forty years later? Deep down, I think he did. What else is he going to do? Become a greeter at the local Walmart? He was born to perform.

Most musicians still going today who made their mark in the flower power decade and even before love what they do. That is what keeps them going. If the marketplace won't pay for their records or to see them in concert, then they might think they lost it. The guitar heroes and crooners might just give it up. But it's hard to do when you love what you do. And when you love what you do, the shine goes on. True talent doesn't die, it keeps on keeping on.

I recently watched Mick Jagger in his latest concert movie directed by Scorsese, and although not as agile as he was in his early days, he still moves around the stage better than most bloated teens can. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to perform a concert and put out for a couple of hours like he does, but he does it. Of course, he has been doing it for over forty years! That is amazing in and of itself. Who would of thought back in the sixties the band would still be performing today. "Hope I die before I get old".....I know, that was written by The Who, who by the way are still performing years later, and loving it.

No, I don't think there is some artificial time limit on performing. The time limit is dictated by the audience. If the people still want to pay to see their favorites perform, who is to say that they shouldn't? As long as the artist has the ability to entertain for a certain period of time, why not? Wrinkles and all. Go to it, I say. Retire just because one has a few wrinkles? Humbug.

Some of the best songs have been written from aging artists. I actually think that the experience of life deepens the quality of the song. When one actually experiences the ups and downs of life and it's myriad paths, only then can a true meaning of living come through. It just has the ambiance of an aged wine. So keep writing I say to all those "aged rock stars". I don't have any problems going to see a favorite artist perform, I don't care how old they are. Elton John, a singer and pianist from the sixties is performing in Vegas and packing them in with his new show entitled "The Million Dollar Piano". It's got a three year run at Ceasar"s Palace. I don't care how old you are, it's tough to perform six nights a week to demanding audiences. Sometimes you just need a rest!

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