Little Richard’s recent self-abasement in GEICO commercials at least reminded me that, yes, one of the very earliest rock stars – from the days when it was called “rock ‘n’ roll” – is still alive! Yes, that all-important genre is that young! How many other first-wave rockers are still kickin’ it?
Don’t know how often Chuck Berry plays anymore, but he isn’t dead yet.
Ike Turner, arguably the very first rock and roller, is still alive.
Les Paul still plays every Monday night at 8 and 10 PM. at The Irridium Jazz Club.
He turned 91 this past June.
Bo Diddley
Fats Domino
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Johnny Otis
Marshall Lytle
Jerry Allison
Little Anthony (of the Imperials – still touring)
Clarence Collins (also of the Imperials)
Fabian (retired)
Don and Phil Everly
Norman Wright of the Dell-Vikings
Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis of the Crickets
Elvis Presley’s original guitarist, Scotty Moore, is still around, as is Elvis’ original drummer, D.J. Fontana.
So is one of Elvis’ idols, B.B. King.
It wasn’t until doing some research for this post that I found out Roy Orbison is now dead (heart attack, 1988*). Damn.
*(Yes, I’m pretty out of the loop.)
Dick Dale is still going.
Link Wray appears to have died last November.
There are lady rockers, too: Wanda Jackson is still kicking.
Well, they buried him so they must have pretty sure he was dead.
But among the living are:
Tommy Allsup (the guy that gave up his plane seat to Richie Valens)
Eddie Bond
Donnie Brooks
James Burton
Ray Campi
Al Casey
Jack Clement
Bobby Curtola
Carl Dobkins
Narvel Felts
Tillman Franks
Charlie Gracie
Dale Hawkins and Ronnie Hawkins
Clarence “Frogman” Henry
Etta James
Robin Luke
Lonnie Mack
Bob Moore
Scotty Moore
Tommy Overstreet
Joe Pennington
Johnny Preston
Marvin Rainwater
Jerry Reed
Tommy Roe
Tommy Sands
Jack Scott
Bobby Sowell
Lucille Starr
Billy Strange
Billy Swan
Bobby Vee
Um, aren’t there over a dozen claimants to that distinction, including Waylon Jennings?
Larry and Lorrie, the Collins Kids, are still alive and still up for an occasional Rockabilly festival appearance.
Are you absolutely positive that ELVIS is dead? Seems like IIRC he was seen recently on a cruise ship in Alaska.
Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings were both backing the Crickets that night and missed that fatal plane.
BTW Tommy was a rye drinker and named his bar “The Rye Club”. Waylon has always been referred to as 'ol whiskey and made several records and albums attesting the fact.
Of course Waylon made the Duke of Hazzard song famous. “Just a good ol boy”
Don Mclean used to frequent a bar in NY called “the levy”
Thus the phrase, “drove my chevy to the levy” …
“them good old boys was drinkin whiskey and rye, singing this’ll be the day that I die”.
A testament to Buddy’s recent death.
Sorry bout the hijack BrainGlutton and your right Little Richard’s perfomance was not very flattering IMHO
let’s just call it an interesting bump 
Ronald & Rudolph Isley of the Isley Brothers, known best for touring with the Beatles and writing “Twist & Shout.”
The fact that I know Rudy has nothing to do with this post.
This subject came up over some beers the other day, believe it or not. A friend was saying Little Richard’s lived in Beverly Hills for decades and he had some small appearance in a “reality” show of some sort. He just appeared because he was a neighbor or something. My buddy gets ideas at times, but I brought up this silly commercial as mentioned in the OP, and he says Little Richard just takes it easy and when he needs money he makes a commercial or something. If true, sounds pretty canny to me. Unless he really needs the money and that’s all he can get.
Buddy Holly was playing a concert tour with Ritchie Valens and Jiles Richardson (the Big Bopper). Allsop and Jennings were part of Holly’s band.
The tour was traveling by bus. The heater on the bus broke and the bus was freezing cold. Holly decided to charter a plane and fly ahead. He was planning on taking Allsop and Jennings with him. Richardson and Valens wanted to fly instead.
Richardson was sick with the flu and Jennings volunteered to give him his seat on the plane. Allsop and Valens decided to flip a coin for who would get the other seat and Valens “won”.
All three passengers and the pilot, Roger Peterson, were killed in the crash.