Thirty years is really nothing for a stellar musician. That’s just got most of them into their fifties, still physically, vocally, and mentally able.
Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Dwight Yoakum.
Al Stewart is still touring and composing, and when he’s teamed up with Dave Nachmanoff as his lead guitarist, the show is friggin’ awesome! Al tells stories that are hilarious about things that happened during his career, and the music is just beautiful.
Rush. Lee, Lifeson and Peart first got together in 1974. That’s 40 years and 20 studio albums worth of material. Still filling stadiums and playing a majority of stuff from whatever their latest album is.
Those 20 albums don’t include the live and compilations. That’s just new stuff from them.
A nod to some from the C&W side; Willie Nelson of course, but these days he’s mostly doing collaborations. Emmylou Harris, who just seems to keep getting better. Little Jimmy Dickens is now a record-holder, still a regular at the Grand Old Opry at 93… he’s been performing there since 1948. And in Canada, Ian Tyson is still going strong with a 50+ year career, both writing and recording. His performances suffered for a time after his voice failed, but after surgery even that fine Welsh baritone is coming back.
Elton John has a five-decade career in which he has sold more than 300 million records. For 31 consecutive years (1970–2000) he had at least one song in the Billboard Hot 100.
Mark Knopfler and Dwight Yoakam were the two I was going to mention, but I was beat to it. Not sure that Yoakam has quit hit the 30-year mark, but he has to be close. Both of those guys are still writing and performing very well.
But how much does he remember? 
That’s who I came in to mention. I don’t like their current sound as much as previous ones but they still make good music.
Todd Rundgren. Here is someone who first released a record in 1968, and has never settled for doing the same thing over and over again. If he had been able to do so, he could easily have had Elton John’s career and mansion, churning out “radio friendly unit shifters” and plagiarizing his own work. Even his biggest fans rarely like everything he’s done. I wasn’t particularly fond of his album and tour of Robert Johnson covers, and the arena rock album and tour left me cold. But his experiments in rap and hip-hop were fascinating, and his 2004 album Liars was astonishing. He’s been acknowledged as a pioneer in electronic music, and returned that interest withhis EDM album and tour State.
Todd has laurels he could rest on, but he’s never been content to do so.
Salif Keita, who most (if not all) of you have never heard of. Keita is a singer from Mali, in west Africa, who overcame long odds to become the “Golden Voice of Africa”. He’s albino; most Africans who have that affliction don’t live much past age 30 because of skin cancer problems, and suffer discrimination and isolation. He’s descended from ancient Malian royalty, which means a career in music was most unlikely; people from his caste are destined to be griots.
Anyway, the man is now 65, and we saw him in concert two nights ago. His voice is as piercing and penetrating as always and his musicians are outstanding. He’s kept up with the times, embracing African pop and utilizing technical advances to enhance his studio sound. His present US tour is limited, but if he comes to your area, be sure to see him. Proceeds go to supporting albinos in his home country.
Yes has been making great music, and occasional slop, for more than 40 years.
They started playing live in 1968, and played down the road from me a couple of weeks ago.
No love for Jimmy Buffett?
He released is first album in 1970, and he’s still putting butts in the seats.
Butts in seats does not equal “amazing”. And the people attached to those butts are not there to hear anything he’s written in 20 years.
Robyn Hitchcock’s recent albums have been some of the best he he has ever made. There is a reason that every time I see him he is backed by some amazing musicians who just want the opportunity to play with him.
That, and his reputation for being unfailingly un-pretentitious funny and easy to work with.
Benny Golson is still touring and playing well.
Taj Mahal, the great bluesman, is also still touring at age 72.
Lani Hall (of Sergio Mendez and company) and Herb Alpert (of the TJB) are in their 70s and still touring. In fact they’re coming back to Portland soon.
I saw Meat Loaf a couple years ago in the Hell in a Handbasket Tour, and I saw him back when I was in college in the early 80’s. I enjoyed the show both times.
Oh man, Meat Loaf. Let’s think of a minute about what he and Jim Steinman accomplished. Bat Out of Hell was a huge deal, but then in 1993, they come out with the sequel album and it’s like NOTHING being played on the radio. We were assured by MTV and rock radio that alternative was in, that melodic rock was dead, and along comes Meat Loaf with the biggest rock album of that year, and it just spit in the eye of the shoegazer bands and the industry.
Def Leppard is my choice though. Euphoria from 1999 is their 3rd best album behind Hysteria and Pyromania and what they’ve done since is almost as good.
Pat Metheny just turned 60, has been releasing albums since 1975 at the rate of at least 1/year counting collaborations, and on his current tour is doing about 60% new stuff.
BB King, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo.
If they hadn’t recently died, they had over thirty years: Les Paul, Etta James, John Lee Hooker.
Giuseppe Verdi composed his final opera “Falstaff” when he was 80.