Never Too Old To Rock and Roll

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson - Then and Now

The classic rock band Jethro Tull released a prophetic song in 1976 called “Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die.” Lead singer Ian Anderson was 27 years old at the time and already foreseeing a time when folks might hang up their rock and roll shoes.

The band’s website shows that the 65 year old Anderson is now in the middle of a 70 city tour around Europe and the United States. He’s obviously not “too old” yet. I was 19 years old when the song was released and if asked, I would have confidently stated that 40 is clearly too old to rock and roll. Jerry Lee Lewis was 41 at the time and “ancient” in my book. He played the Richardson Wildflower Festival last summer at the age of 75.

Sitting up close at the Allen Event Center’s Starship – Survivor – John Parr concert recently, I caught myself doing the math. If Mickey Thomas sang “Fooled Around and Fell In Love” in 1976 then how old is the guy? His voice was strong and he bounced around the stage like a 40 year-old. He’s actually 63 and is certainly not too old to rock and roll. Neither were the gray haired fans nearby who were more likely to know the lyrics to the song White Rabbit than their AARP membership number.

My daughter’s 19th birthday was last week. She may tolerate the music in her dad’s car but you won’t find any oldies in her Jeep. Eight months in Lubbock have turned her tastes to country music and those young cowboy stars who dominate the charts. I don’t have the heart to tell her that Jason Aldean is 35 and Dierks Bentley is 37. When she hits my age, Jason will be 70 and George Strait will be playing Billy Bob’s Saloon at age 94.

I never acknowledged the talent of Frank Sinatra when I was a teenager. My parents would argue that he was one of the greatest ever but I couldn’t see beyond his 60+ age. Kids today dismiss Paul McCartney in the same way. How can we blame them although we might argue he is one of the greatest ever.

Baby boomer rock and roll fans have a lot of practice overlooking the visual signs of age. They do it every morning in the mirror. That’s why they don’t complain if Mick Jagger is looking a little ragged at 69 but they expect him to sound close to the Mick Jagger on their IPODs. Most of the time he does and the Rolling Stones are in their 5th decade of touring.

Rock and roll music is the time machine for baby boomers and that’s why none of us will ever be too old to rock and roll. Songs can immediately transport us back to our younger days and most of us are happy to plunk down some money to see those classic rockers in concert one more time. In the future, noisy grandchildren will no longer be the biggest problem in assisted living communities. Instead, the floors will be thumping to the sounds of Aerosmith as hearing impaired residents turn up their Bose sound systems.