# Who are the oldest acts still performing live music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2019, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569 "2019-04-15T06:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 15, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/21 "2019-04-15T14:29:03Z")
> [@BobBitchin](#): > > I believe Les Paul performed into his 90’s…but he’s gone now. He died at age 94, and, IIRC, he was still playing his weekly gigs at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City until very close to the end. ---
**Author:** ![MDfive21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@MDfive21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MDfive21)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/22 "2019-04-15T16:57:25Z")
and i thought Carlos Santana was pushing the envelope at 71 this year. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/23 "2019-04-15T17:11:05Z")
Willie Nelson hits 86 on April 29, and is still going strong. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/24 "2019-04-15T19:32:35Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Willie Nelson hits 86 on April 29, and is still going strong. That’s why he was mentioned specifically in the OP as a benchmark and one other time already. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/25 "2019-04-15T19:58:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > He died at age 94, and, IIRC, he was still playing his weekly gigs at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City until very close to the end. I saw him at the Iridium in 2002, when he was a mere lad of 87. He played less guitar than in the old days, but it was a great show nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/26 "2019-04-15T20:03:06Z")
Paul Simon is still touring at 77. Yes is still touring and pretty much all in their 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/27 "2019-04-15T20:07:28Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Paul Simon is still touring at 77. [url=]Not any more. > [@](#): > > While no longer touring, Paul Simon has previously stated his commitment to perform the occasional concert in benefit of philanthropic organizations he supports ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/28 "2019-04-15T20:13:06Z")
Loretta Lynn is 87 and released an album last year. I don’t think she’s touring any more - She broke her hip last year. StG ---
**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:** [April 15, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/29 "2019-04-15T20:26:33Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Yes is still touring and pretty much all in their 70’s. Depending on which touring version of Yes one is referring to. 😃 Until a few months ago, there were two separate factions of the band, both of which actively tour / toured: - Under the moniker of Yes, there’s been a band featuring Steve Howe (age 72) and Alan White (a pup at 69), along with Geoffrey Downes (66), Billy Sherwood (54), and Jon Davison (47). - A separate band, calling itself “[Yes Featuring Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, Rick Wakeman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Featuring_Jon_Anderson,_Trevor_Rabin,_Rick_Wakeman#Members)” (also simply known as “Anderson Rabin Wakeman” or “ARW”) was active through the end of 2018, though they recently announced that they have no further plans to tour or record together. It featured Anderson (74), Rabin (64), and Wakeman (69), along with some session musicians. If one is familiar with Yes and its history, the fact that there’s been two separate bands, both with ownership of the name “Yes,” both touring simultaneously, and with at least a bit of bad blood between the two groups, is not surprising in the least. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/30 "2019-04-15T20:27:58Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I was also going to suggest some orchestra might have the record. But maybe this thread is about the oldest individual performer? Leopold Stokowski conducted almost until his death at about age 100, and Billy Graham’s main singer, George Beverly Shea, sang at rallies until Graham could no longer preach himself. > **[George Beverly Shea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Beverly_Shea)** > > George Beverly Shea (February 1, 1909 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records and television. Because of the large attendance at Graham's Crusades, it is estimated that Shea sang live before more people than anyone else i Georg... This is his best-known song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oHg-o2eGzM4/maxresdefault.jpg "George Beverly Shea - I'd Rather Have Jesus") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg-o2eGzM4) My parents saw Engelbert Humperdinck a few years ago. He’s in his 80s. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/31 "2019-04-15T21:30:44Z")
Duke Fakir of the Four Tops is 83 and Otis Williams of the Temptations is 77 and they’re still touring with their groups. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/32 "2019-04-15T23:08:32Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Loretta Lynn is 87 and released an album last year. I don’t think she’s touring any more - She broke her hip last year. > > StG She performed live on stage last week for her birthday, but she was not looking well. However, as everyone on stage sang “Coal Miner’s Daughter” to her, she said, “Let me have that damn mic.” and started to sing lead. StG ---
**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:** [April 16, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/33 "2019-04-16T04:40:01Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Paul Simon is still touring at 77. As Thudlow Boink noted (though his link is broken), Simon had announced that his tour last year would be his last. That said, he appeared on Stephen Colbert’s show tonight, performing “That Was Your Mother” with Colbert’s band. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/34 "2019-04-16T04:56:58Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > The [Vienna Philharmonic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Philharmonic) was founded in 1842, and they’re still gigging. Pretty sure there’s no original members still playing with them, though. Arthur Rubenstein played well into his 90’s. My wife, who knows much more than I about these things, said his technique was better at that advanced age than when he wad a young man. Sent from my VK700 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/35 "2019-04-16T05:44:02Z")
The Blind Boys of Alabama began in 1939 and had at least one founding member, Jimmy Fountain, until last year. Jimmy Carter is called a founding member on their website, but WIKI says otherwise. Still, they have to be contenders. The Oak Ridge Boys are a continuation of a gospel quartet that began in the 40s, and some of the current members have been in it since the 60s (Duane Allen since 1966). ---
**Author:** ![lawf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@lawf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawf)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/36 "2019-04-16T06:09:54Z")
The Rolling Stones are still touring, aren’t they? ---
**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:** [April 16, 2019, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/37 "2019-04-16T06:29:35Z")
> [@lawf](#): > > The Rolling Stones are still touring, aren’t they? Yes, and they’re mentioned in the first line of the original post of this thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2019, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/38 "2019-04-16T11:59:32Z")
It’s interesting to consider _why_ these older artists continue to tour/perform. For many mentioned so far I think it is that they love to do what they’re doing. I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Son Seals when he performed in Pittsburgh at the advanced age of 61 (my current age). He could have passed for 85 and was dead a year later. He was touring because he was broke. He was playing small clubs for however much money he could get. From [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_Seals): > [@](#): > > Seals had a hard life. He survived all but one of his fourteen siblings. In 1997 he was shot in the jaw by his wife, sustaining injuries which required reconstructive surgery. In 1999 part of his left leg was amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. He lost belongings in a fire that destroyed his home while he was away performing, and several of his prized guitars were stolen from his home. “You’ve got to suffer if you want to sing the blues.” –David Bromberg ---
**Author:** ![MsJinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@MsJinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsJinx)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/39 "2019-04-17T21:55:55Z")
John Prine, Leo Kottke and Steve Winwood, in their 70s, still tour. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569/40 "2019-04-18T00:37:19Z")
Cher…72…will be touring Europe this Fall > **[Official Site](https://www.cher.com/#!/)** > > The official website of Cher, featuring tour dates, news, music and more [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-oldest-acts-still-performing-live-music/832569.md?page=3)