# 1960s era bands that are still active **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957 "2012-12-13T20:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/1 "2012-12-13T20:50:15Z")
I’ve been surprised about how many musical acts from the 60s have been active and performing the past couple years. I wondered how many more groups that SDMBers could identify in this vein. Here are some currently active musical groups that I can recall with at least two members from the original lineup or at least a 60s era lineup: The Rolling Stones The Who The Association Jethro Tull The Turtles ? & The Mysterians Fleetwood Mac The Hollies The Beach Boys The Zombies Pentangle The Stooges Deep Purple The O’Jays (formed in the '50s actually) maybe Black Sabbath although their first album wasn’t released until early 1970 maybe Crosby Stills Nash & Young maybe Moby Grape Bob Weir and Phil Lesh (of The Grateful Dead) still perform together as ‘Further’ performing some Dead songs, so perhaps that sort of counts. I’ve heard rumors that Led Zeppelin might tour again with a different singer and John Bonham’s son on drums. They did perform that one off show a couple years ago. How many others are there? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/2 "2012-12-13T21:02:24Z")
Bob Dylan’s endless tour is still rolling. Jack and Jorma from the Airplane are still playing as Hot Tuna. Buddy Guy still buddying. Let me think of some more… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/3 "2012-12-13T21:07:17Z")
Only one original member of the Moody Blues remains- drummer Graeme Edge. But vocalists Justin Hayward and John Lodge have been with the Moodies since 1967. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/4 "2012-12-13T21:11:51Z")
While they went through a little personnel shuffling in their first few months, the current three member line-up for ZZ Top has been the same since February 1970. I’d call that close enough to the sixties to count. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/5 "2012-12-13T21:14:21Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > The Rolling Stones > The Who > The Association > Jethro Tull > The Turtles > ? & The Mysterians > Fleetwood Mac > The Hollies > The Beach Boys > The Zombies > Pentangle > The Stooges > Deep Purple > The O’Jays (formed in the '50s actually) > maybe Black Sabbath although their first album wasn’t released until early 1970 > maybe Crosby Stills Nash & Young > maybe Moby Grape Only 1 original member of Deep Purple remains: drummer Ian Paice. Vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover joined in 1970.. though both left for long periods in the mid-Seventies. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/6 "2012-12-13T21:16:27Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > Bob Weir and Phil Lesh (of The Grateful Dead) still perform together as ‘Further’ performing some Dead songs, so perhaps that sort of counts. Furth **u** r. They play almost entirely Dead songs and covers that the Dead also covered. They also do some new (to them) covers and a couple of new songs. I’ve seen Furthur a few dozen times and they still can jam like the old days. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/7 "2012-12-13T21:17:41Z")
Original members Danny Hutton and Cory Wells are still in 3 Dog Night… but their best known vocalist, Chuck Negron, is not. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/8 "2012-12-13T21:19:01Z")
I should have thought of The Moody Blues. Good catch. Hot Tuna counts in the same way that Further does. I didn’t mention Buddy Guy and Bob Dylan because they’re solo artists with backing bands. There are plenty more if you consider solo artists and bands with only one member dating back to the 60s: Paul McCartney and Roger Waters performed last night, Os Mutantes, Steppenwolf, Roger McGuinn (formerly of the Byrds), Van Morrison, Diana Ross, Al Green, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/9 "2012-12-13T22:17:10Z")
Hawkwind formed in 1969, and they’ve been releasing albums and touring consistently since. No major break-ups or periods of inactivity, they’ve been playing and recording the whole time. Tonnes of member changes though. The line-up has always been really fluid. People come, and go, and come back, and leave again. The only original member is the guitarist, Dave Brock. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/10 "2012-12-13T22:17:26Z")
Dude, you forgot the Monkees! (I saw them last month!) Here are a few other bands from that era with two or more members from the early days: The Pretty Things – still active, with Phil May and Dick Taylor. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (formed 1966) – still active, with Jimmie Fadden, Jeff Hanna, and John McEuen. Blues Project – did a reunion tour this fall, with Steve Katz, Danny Kalb, and Roy Blumenfeld. New Riders of the Purple Sage – still active, with founding member David Nelson plus Buddy Cage who joined in 1971. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/11 "2012-12-13T22:28:48Z")
[Golden Earring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_earring), a Dutch band which has had two hits in the U.S. (“[Radar Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwqMKf7r7Xg)” and “[Twilight Zone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1sf2CzEq0w)”), has been, AFAICT, continually active since 1961. They still have two of their original members, and the other two current members of the band have been with them since 1968 and 1970. [Yes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_band) formed in 1968; bassist Chris Squire has been in the band for its entire history, and singer Jon Anderson was a founding member, and has been on all but two of their albums (though he and the rest of the band had a falling-out in 2008, when they wanted to tour while he was recovering from an illness, and they have since toured with two other singers, and released an album without him). Guitarist Steve Howe joined in 1970, and has been with the band for most of their albums and tours since. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/12 "2012-12-13T22:47:04Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Hawkwind formed in 1969, and they’ve been releasing albums and touring consistently since. No major break-ups or periods of inactivity, they’ve been playing and recording the whole time. > > Tonnes of member changes though. The line-up has always been really fluid. People come, and go, and come back, and leave again. The only original member is the guitarist, Dave Brock. DAVE BROCK!!! How could I forget! :smack: And I mentioned Hot Tuna because they were playing then, and they are playing now. Tuna used to open Airplane shows. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/13 "2012-12-13T22:53:41Z")
The Seekers – **with the full original membership** , did their 50th Anniversary Tour this year. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/14 "2012-12-13T22:55:23Z")
[Fleetwood Mac](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleetwood_Mac)was formed in 1967, but Mick Fleetwood is the only original member still with the group, and only he and John McVie were in any of the 60’s lineups. I guess I’m a purist, but I wouldn’t call that a “60’s era band that’s still active” any more than I’d call Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr a Beatles reunion. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/15 "2012-12-13T23:09:29Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Dude, you forgot the Monkees! (I saw them last month!) Missing one original member. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/16 "2012-12-13T23:20:28Z")
Alice Cooper springs to mind, although it’s / he’s an odd example. Originally Alice Cooper was a _band_ - it’s first album came out in 1969 - but they split in 1975 and Alice Cooper the man continued solo. And he’s still going. Obviously there are, as previously mentioned, lots of 60s solo acts. Elton John and David Bowie can still fill large arenas, although Bowie seems to have retired; I hope he’s alright. Technically Kraftwerk is a 60s band - first album recorded in mid-1970, but the band had been around before then - and they can still crash the Tate’s booking system. Only one original member. Odd to think of them as a _60s_ band, though. They owe more to the pre-war years. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/17 "2012-12-13T23:24:08Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > Jethro Tull > Pentangle Jethro Tull is currently inactive, possibly defunct. Ian Anderson has spent most of 2012 touring _Thick as a Brick 2_ as a solo artist. Technically, Anderson has been the only original Tull member remaining since Clive Bunker left in 1971, anyway. Last I heard, Jacqui McShee was the only member of the '60s Pentangle lineup left. Has someone else rejoined? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/18 "2012-12-13T23:28:06Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Missing one original member. Sadly, yes, although I presume the absence of Davy Jones is one main reason why the current lineup includes Mike Nesmith, who had previously essentially refused to tour with the others since the breakup. (He did, I believe, one US show and a few shows in the UK after the reunion album in the late 90s.) Seeing him on stage with Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz doing the old tunes was … how shall I put it … _groovy._ I presume Nesmith’s decision to do the tour this time was due to either a sense of impending mortality, a desire to honor Jones, or the fact that Jones was reputedly a huge prima donna on tour. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/19 "2012-12-14T02:51:33Z")
The Ventures still seem to be touring; they just finished a tour of Japan. The Village Stompers, who had a major hit in 1963 with “Washington Square” are available for gigs. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957/20 "2012-12-14T03:12:13Z")
Believe it or not Rush first began playing together in 1968. Geddy an Alex were 15 when it began. Their first real album didn’t ht until 1974, though. Still, after John Rutsey left in 1974 the line ups been stable. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-era-bands-that-are-still-active/643957.md?page=2)