# Recording artists with staying power: an endangered species?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-artists-with-staying-power-an-endangered-species/291392>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 22, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-artists-with-staying-power-an-endangered-species/291392 "2005-02-22T19:52:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-artists-with-staying-power-an-endangered-species/291392/21 "2005-02-23T04:45:07Z")

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> [@Aesiron](#):
>
> Incidentally, I was born in '82.

Just come over here, let me smack you upside the head and we’ll call it even, K?

Damned whippersnappers.

😉

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**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-artists-with-staying-power-an-endangered-species/291392/22 "2005-02-24T04:32:32Z")

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Country is full of them. Shania Twain, Lucinda Williams, Allison Krause, Lee Ann Rimes, etc.

In rock there are a lot of mid-level bands that have had long careers. Bands like The Jayhawks. Rap has a whole bunch. Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Dr. Dre…

We need to ask this question in 20 years. We may be in the presence of some young long-term superstars, but we just don’t know it yet.

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**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-artists-with-staying-power-an-endangered-species/291392/23 "2005-02-24T04:46:18Z")

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Pretty much every genre except bubblegum pop has plenty of artists with staying power. Those who can maintain superstar status for any length of time are unusual, though.

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**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recording-artists-with-staying-power-an-endangered-species/291392/24 "2005-02-24T10:09:59Z")

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You have to remember, too, that a lot of the 60’s and 70’s acts you remember as having staying power only lasted a relatively short time creatively. The Beatles? What, 8 years? The Stones? About the same {they died in a plane crash in 1972, as far as I’m concerned}. Bowie? About 10 years {although his last two albums have actually been great}. Led Zep? 10 years. Deep Purple? 6, if that {I’m counting the good stuff}. A lot of the acts you remember as having staying power, if they haven’t died or split, only survive on the nostalgia circuit: it may be a pretty _big_ nostalgia circuit, if you’re Mick Jagger or Pete Townsend, but when was the last time they released anything new that you actually wanted to _hear_?

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