It’s a great time to be old in the music industry. No really, it is. The Billboard Top 200 albums (week of 11/3/07) showcases a number of acts who are grandparents, eating early bird dinners, or have to monitor their fiber intakes.
Here’s the list: Bruce Springsteen at #1 (age 58), Santana at #8 (age 60), Eric Clapton at #20 (age 62), John Fogerty at #29 (age 62), Bob Dylan at #65 (age 66), and there are actually quite a few more that break the AARP/RIAA mold.
What does this mean, and why should anyone care? Well, in an industry that’s hard-pressed to find the next big thing and hype it, here’re a bunch of Grandpas showing the kiddies how it’s done.
No one disputes the talents of these guys, and they’ve each been around for at least 40 years. Does the cast of High School Musical 2 (#7) have that same potential? And how’re the tastemakers -or at least the people who claim to tell us what we like- falling short by hyping youth over talent. Or are they?
Maybe Britney and her brethren just need to advertise more to push the songs, because we aren’t listening to the radio anymore. Or perhaps the labels think we’re willing to accept disposable talent. If they were, wouldn’t Bobby Sherman be a musical icon?
Or will Classic Rock stations be playing Taylor Hicks in 10 years?
