Most of them are still larger than life and can sell out arenas, ya know? Clapton, Page, Plant, Stones, The Who, and heck, even Van Halen has done well with their recent tour in spite of what they have put fans through for the past 10 years.

jamesg1213

Moshkiae

John G got his chops in "Carmen"

You know, I just cannot remember that, no matter how many times you tell me.

 
I hear tell that there are a couple of excellent bootlegs floating around...
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Pedro,


There are no new notes.
There's only one note.
All others are just variations on a theme.

Danny Danzi

yorolpal


I will take the diametrically opposite view and say that most, if not all of them, would be either irrelevant or marginalized.  There would be exceptions, of course, but most would be trapped inside their time windows as "clues to the new direction" and would quickly find themselves superseded by younger artists...who, in like manner, would become footnotes in musical history as time progressed.  Or not.

You know olpal, when I first started reading this thread, my comment was initially the same as yours. Then I got to thinking a bit about the hero's we still have left with us today.
 
Most of them are still larger than life and can sell out arenas, ya know? Clapton, Page, Plant, Stones, The Who, and heck, even Van Halen has done well with their recent tour in spite of what they have put fans through for the past 10 years.
 
So in my opinion, the hero's we all know and love would always have a place at the top of the ladder due to defining something original or even something that was just mind-blowingly great....don't ya think? Sir Paul still does well, you know Ringo still packs them in....even the ones that have had really severe drug or alcohol additictions seem to still be going strong even if their mind and bodies may not be what they used to be. Kiss, Ozzy, Wayne Newton, Pat Boone, Tom Jones...some of these people, others would argue as being worth a mention. I'd agree as well in certain situations...however, they stood the test of time and may not have been innovators...though some clearly were in other aspects.
 
So I definitely think the stars that have left us would still have something going on. The talent that surpasses them will always be in the picture. The key thing in MY mind is...it's easy to take something that someone has created and make it better...but could the person making it better create it? As long as someone is/was an innovator or some sort of dominating force for something, I believe they will always hold a little more clout.
 
Kinda like Eddie Van Halen getting the credit for tapping when each and every one of us can name players that did it before him. I remember Frank Marino doing it long before EVH. But, back in those days, it was a no no. Time passed and Ed put a different spin on it...next thing you know, it was accepted and he's the creator. :)
 
Anyway, I would love to hear where Hendrix, Robert Johnson, SRV, Buddy Holly, Lennon, Segovia, Randy Rhoads, Skynyrd with Ronnie and the others they lost, and Layne Staley who sang with Alice in Chains would be up to today. Especially with the new technology we have today. :)
 
-Danny

+1

It's also the thing particularly with the guys I was mentioning where there is some element of personal loss too, there is the thing that none of these guys would be doing anything else instead.  They were just muso's through and through, none of them got into it in order to build a career they just wanted to play and developed their own thing, which in some cases brought fame and the idea of being at the top of the game as a by-product.

It's part of an old tradition of travelling minstrels that's been going for 100's of years particularly in the UK and those guys were just part of their time segment of that ongoing thing.  I know plenty that were around and 'big names' at one time that are just as happy playing little venues locally and paying their bills just doing what they've always done and still getting better at it.  The fame bit is just part of the passing scenery for those guys.

You can't get sidelined by any business if what you are doing is exactly what you've always loved to do and can continue doing it.

With Jimi due to record with Miles, I always wonder what we missed. With Gil Evan orchestrating Hendix's work, the potentilal for that melting pot was massive. I'm not sure what muscians like Hendrix would be doing now, but I do feel like there was a phase of music we lost due to their untimely departing.

Miles was pretty much all said and done IMO, but he could have gone so much earlier and with about 6 distict waves of music he spearheaded, we could of just had one

jamesg1213

Moshkiae

John G got his chops in "Carmen"

You know, I just cannot remember that, no matter how many times you tell me.

James,


U B Funny.


Bapu.

No question, that due to a host of factors many of the "superstars of the original rock period" are still around and still revered.  And some can still pack stadiums.  But those are the exceptions to the rule.  And those that can have either learned how to continue reinventing themselves (David Bowie comes to mind) or have simply adhered to their original schticks albiet continually becoming more and more "tasteful"  for an ever aging and nostalgic following (Insert Eric Clapton here).  While there are some purists who strive to keep the "original flame" alive like Dave Grohl and keep the names and music of their forbears and mentors alive and well, there are hundreds of others who wouldn't know Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Robin Trower, Todd Rundgren...insert your favorite aging cult artist here...if they tripped over them.  I suspect that most of the truly exceptional players of yore (Jimi, Danny Gatton, Lenny Breau, etc.) would still be doing what they always did...continually pushing the boundaries of the guitar and guitar playing.  Whether or not most folks (i.e. young people) would find it interesting is quite another story.  I also think that most of the names Dani mentioned have long since crossed the rubicon of popular music and become touchstones, legends and icons of popular culture.  I think that much of their popularity today comes less from the music they are making and more from the music they used to make.  Even an exception to this rule such as Robert Plant could only "pack a stadium" if it was with a LZ reunion tour.  His current "Band of Joy" (a marvelous outfit BTW) regularly and mostly plays smaller more intimate venues.  In short, what would most of yesterdays deceased stars be doing if they were alive today?  Trying to make a buck like the rest of us.  And hoping they didn't have to dig a ditch in the process;-)

If Hendrix was still around, he'd be old and selling his music rights off to ad agencies for soundtracks to commercials for baby boomer products.

'Packing a stadium' is one thing, paying the shipping on it is quite another.

SteveStrummerUK

Rain


I remember when Ronnie James Dio, Iommi and the rest of them put out that Heaven and Hell album in 2009. Probably the most interesting and valid heavy metal album I've heard in ages. Leave it to a bunch of dinosaurs to teach the kids a lesson. I'm not too inclined to nostalgia, but I really didn't feel like that album was about nostalgia. They definitely had a good heavy metal album in them.

Amen to that Rain.
 
Have you got the live DVD they released - Heaven & Hell - Live From Radio City Music Hall - absolutely wonderful. Neon Nights is one of my favourite songs of all time, and the version on here is a scorcher!
 
And have you listened to the superb Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes' CD Fused?
 
 
 
 

Hadn't see it yet. I'll check these out! Thanks a bunch, man!

yorolpalNo question, that due to a host of factors many of the "superstars of the original rock period" are still around and still revered. And some can still pack stadiums. But those are the exceptions to the rule

 
More than that ... there are bands that are selling far more today than they did in the 70's, and the whole Krautrock and the rest of the European scene is a perfect example. The London/US factory would not sell more now because they did then, so to speak ... but there are a lot of people that are just getting it on with some of these things, and the lesser known things have more to gain, than the well known ones ...
 
Can, Amon Duul 2, Faust, Popol Vuh, Guru Guru, PFM, Banco, Ange and many other bands ... because the work they did was phenomenal and did not get a wider listen in those days like it can today ... but in the end, the "wider" listen to many of these well known names ... is left to a song showing up in a movie.  Ohhh ... sorry ... one of us here mentioning it!
 
Speaking of what they would be doing now ...
 
Guitarist Michael Karoli, would be writing symphonies for electric guitar ... and I think this would scare the living wits out of the Coffee House, because ... ohh wow ... serious music? And I bet the Red Hot Chili Peppers would do a rendition of "Mother Sky" one more time for him!

jamesg1213


Vivian Stanshall. Got to love a guy who turns up for the first band meeting wearing check trousers, a Victorian frock coat, violet pince-nez glasses, and carrying a euphonium. He also wore large pink rubber ears. 

Yes, but who among us hasn't done this?

If you're buring the candle from both ends, aren't you afraid of getting burnt by holding it in the middle?

Well, we all know what Beethoven's been doing these last many years... Decomposing!

(Can you imagine what he would think of today's synthesizers?  Oh wait, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure already tried that...)

craigb

jamesg1213


Vivian Stanshall. Got to love a guy who turns up for the first band meeting wearing check trousers, a Victorian frock coat, violet pince-nez glasses, and carrying a euphonium. He also wore large pink rubber ears. 

Yes, but who among us hasn't done this?

But none of us carried a sign that asked which one of us was stoned senseless and immaculate!
 
Hehehehe!