Singers Who've Kept Their Voice

i'd almost prefer a thread of the opposite idea, singers who've preserved their instrument beautifully over the years (two examples off the top of my head: philip bailey and chaka khan)

well alright then. so we don't pogo back & forth on the other thread

anyway, I'd start with Todd Rundgren, who is 70 years old now and really doesn't sound much different than he did 40 years ago. when he speaks his voice is notably a lot lower than it used to be but he can still sing really well

Peter Hammill, which is kind of a surprise given his powerful style of singing, you'd think he'd wear it out by now

Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues...dunno what he sounds like nowadays but when I saw the Moodies a decade ago he sounded great. like he hadn't aged a bit

David Byrne?

Judging from their Glastonbury performance, Robert Smith of The Cure

Bill Callahan comes to mind, not just in having 'kept' his voice, but after (Smog) especially hearing it become clearer and clearer with the years.

I cited Ralph Stanley on the other thread, I'd throw in Mavis Staples too. She always had a husky contralto so that's part of it.

There's been some question of how much sweetener Dolly Parton enlists, but she can clearly still sing pretty well.

oof yeah I should've thought of her

Tony Bennett, mostly

(haven't heard him much the last 5 years tho)

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau fits snugly in neither thread, but perhaps this one suits him a wee bit better.

Emmylou's voice has changed, but she still sounds pretty good.

some indie-ish singers have gotten better with age simply because they learned how to sing. thinking david gedge, mac mccaughan, perhaps elvis costello and peej

I saw OMD last spring and Andy McCluskey sounded legitimately just as good as he did during their peak era, it was astonishing.

I thought about Dolly Parton too but then checked a recent recording and... nah I don't think so !

Judging from their Glastonbury performance, Robert Smith of The Cure

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 17:44 

I felt the opposite. He's forced to do the usual tricks to keep up: speak singing here and there, changing melody or octave. His voice is fine, but definitely showing its age.

Bowie p much

I think Brett Anderson still sounds roughly the same, doesn't he ?
At 50+ and with the life of excesses he's had, it's quite impressive !

I can never tell if older singers are struggling or if they're just bored with their songs.

Surprisingly, I also think Liam Gallagher roughly still sounds the same. That's a miracle for him !

ahah

I just saw some of those Stones clips, and Mick sounds ... okay. But then I saw a clip of them doing Monkey Man, and no way did he even go for that mid-song scream.

(checking the latest Gallagher song - for scientific purpose ! - and yup, he still sounds the same)

Robert Smith definitely was "struggling" here and there. Avoiding high notes, for example. Not a big deal. But his voice hasn't been perfectly preserved, if that is the idea of this thread

Xxpost

I saw OMD last spring and Andy McCluskey sounded legitimately just as good as he did during their peak era, it was astonishing.

yeah this is a good call, it's not a case of "still sounds good in old age" as much as it is "somehow sounds exactly the same", it's almost a little creepy

Neil Tennant kinda in that boat too

Staying out of the debate over whether she sings flat or not, Chrissie Hynde sounds exactly the same as in 1980 (I caught her opening for Stevie Nicks not long ago)

I was listening to some live Rundgren recordings a few months ago and thinking that he has lost a lot of plosives and fricatives and does a lot of moaning-the-melody.

Russell Mael

Tony Bennett, mostly

Ian Hunter's 80 and still sounds more or less the same. Not saying he was ever really known for his vocal prowess, but what he had he's still got.

Stevie Wonder

McCartney has kind of kept it together, especially for someone who can do a 3-hour show with no rest. Only in very recent years has the natural decline seemed more apparent.

Al Green
Toots Hibbert (and can still perform at age 76. after being bludgeoned with a liquor bottle while onstage)

Rundgren is an interesting case. I think he has kept a lot of his vocal chops, but can't just blare them out at any time anymore (which is totally understandable). But when I saw him at a fundraiser for his charity two years ago, he was in pretty good form most of the night but def. had to pick his spots to really let it fly (ie, "Love Is the Answer").

Ian Hunter's 80 and still sounds more or less the same. Not saying he was ever really known for his vocal prowess, but what he had he's still got.

Roger Daltrey can’t do the CSI scream anymore but he still sings with a full-bodied voice in the same range as back in the day. The version I saw of Love Reign O’er Me in May would’ve been impressive for a singer of any age.

Stella Vander of Magma, 68 and doesn't seem to have lost anything of her range. Although I haven't seen them for a few years so maybe things have changed, I'll find out in October when they play London.

kind of surprising but Van Morrison still sounds in good voice on his recent albums

Buck Dharma from Blue Oyster Cult sounds exactly the same (Eric Bloom on the other hand...)

wonder if she can still sing her yé-yé stuff (xpost)

I 100% agree with Robert Smith. I was really struck by the RRHOF set by how he literally sounded like he fell directly out of the 80s. (Also, he changes melodic lines and speak-sings some things in almost all of his live performances going back at least to 1992, when I first saw them live.)

Also I haven't heard Dennis DeYoung this year but I know within this decade he was still incredible

Rundgren is an interesting case. I think he has kept a lot of his vocal chops, but can't just blare them out at any time anymore (which is totally understandable). But when I saw him at a fundraiser for his charity two years ago, he was in pretty good form most of the night but def. had to pick his spots to really let it fly (ie, "Love Is the Answer").

he sounded really good when I saw him about a year and a half ago though he did lean pretty heavily on his newer material which doesn't have as many crazy notes

to chime in I saw the Cure over a year ago and was reaaaalllly surprised by how well Smith still sings

Xpost, Van Morrison sounds surprisingly good live as well. He’s lost the higher notes he could hit in the early 70s but that’s about it.

I forgot a pretty obvious one, Gary Numan

having an odd, inimitable voice seems to help...see Peter Hammill or Mark E Smith

or Elvis Costello

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden actually sounded better when I saw him - five times between 2003-2008 - than he did on Live After Death, recorded in 1985.

Diamanda Galás still has all her range and power, and may have actually gotten stronger in the last decade or so, too.

colin blunstone

The problem with Van is when he lost his tenor range, he lost what was so great about that voice. Now he rumbles in the low ranges like an old blues guy, and it's fine, but it no longer astonishes. Listen to You Don't Pull No Punches or anything pre-75.

saw the Zombies give an interview and a stripped down Blunstone/Argent performance of their hits in a tiny theater a couple years ago and Blunstone's voice wasn't what it was, but considering he was 72 or 73 at the time he really worked some magic with the classics.

Roger Daltrey can’t do the CSI scream anymore but he still sings with a full-bodied voice in the same range as back in the day. The version I saw of Love Reign O’er Me in May would’ve been impressive for a singer of any age.

― mott the hoopleheads (voodoo chili), Wednesday, July 3, 2019 12:17 PM (forty-nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

On the 2015-16 Who tour, the screams on "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Love, Reign O'er Me" were pre-recorded -- likely the original screams from the records triggered by a sampler. Which on one hand is disappointing, but on the other hand, jeez, the guy's in his 70s, and he can't reasonably be expected to do those screams on every show and still have a voice. I thought he sounded great the last two times I saw them ('15 and '16). More surprisingly/impressive, I heard him hit notes in 2000 that he seemed unable to hit in 1989.

Wisely, "Love, Reign O'er Me" isn't in their current setlist, and when they do "Won't Get Fooled Again," it's just Pete and Roger playing acoustic, and no scream.

i actually think Kylie has improved over the years.
someone could suggest studio based tweaks, however, Sundays performance (and last years Hyde Park show) would definitely contest that idea.
she has learnt how to use her range really well.
― mark e, Wednesday, 3 July 2019 17:14

as per ..

oh, and agree 100% re Robert Smith comments.
was very impressed on Sunday.

xpost wrt Van I'm very familiar, and if the criteria is "someone's voice is exactly as powerful and good at 70 as it was at 25" I think this is a blank thread.... but here's In Tiburon off Keep Me Singing, I think he still sounds good and this is not blues growling

https://youtu.be/TDkkXovCCCE

Mark Stewart of The Pop Group

Lydia Lunch's voice is still super strong and powerful as the Teenage Jesus Years, but she sings those songs an octave lower now

I saw the Zombies at the Rock Hall induction thing a few months ago. Not only was Blunstone's voice still pretty much intact, but Rod Argent's nimble fingers were very impressive. Easy to take for granted, but physical dexterity into one's 70's cannot be assumed!

if the criteria is "someone's voice is exactly as powerful and good at 70 as it was at 25" I think this is a blank thread....

nah Diamanda Galas would still be on it

Susumu Hirasawa is 65 and his range is actually better now than it was in his 20s, not sure how he does it

Richard Thompson
Nick Cave

I actually think Cave's voice is improving with age

it's actually not _that_ rare for a singer to sound as good in their 60s as in their 20s -- if you think about classical music and opera.

Sure but plenty of pop/rock performers don't take care of their voices as classically trained singers do.

also, the 20s is a weird benchmark (tho I get it -- in the context of singers in bands, as that is when they tend to start) -- I just remember my classical voice teacher when I was in my late teens telling me, "I hear a lot of young people sing some of these songs, but their voices are too young, you won't have the best voice for them until you are in your 30s or 40s" -- certain things are likely to lead a continued "decline" as it were (a heavy smoking habit, lots of drinking, certain drug use, some medical problems), but if those things aren't going on, I think vocal development peaks later than the 20s.

xp - plenty of pop/rock performers are classically trained or get training at points in their careers!

I sing and my range really changed somewhere in my...forties, I guess? I don't have the higher range. Don't know as that the timbre of my voice has gotten worse, though. Maybe better!

Mark Eitzel is another one who, at 60, seems to keep improving.

See, when VDGG did the tour where they did all their old epics - "Lighthouse Keepers", etc - I thought the wear on Peter Hammill's voice was apparent. He was still good enough to attempt it, at least!

When I saw the Monkees a couple years back I was really impressed with Micky Dolenz's pipes, particularly considering the legendary amount of drinking he did back in the day...

Mark Eitzel is another one who, at 60, seems to keep improving.

― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Wednesday, 3 July 2019 22:38 (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yes! He has developed into an amazing singer. Great phrasing

Both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins?

I also thought Paul Simon's voice was pretty amazing during his farewell performance & on his most recent albums.

Al Jardine

Colin Blunstone

Morrissey

I went back to Rank to see if I was being unfair but... Morrissey wasn't that good in his prime so he really didn't have anywhere to go but up

unsurprisingly, Akiko Yano's voice has held up really well

(Frank) Black (Francis) Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV
- not that I care to listen any more, alas

Saw Petula Clark in her late 70s sing in a cabaret setting and she had flawless pitch

also to those folks citing live performances as evidence that singers don't rely on studio trickery - you know AutoTune et al can be applied to live vocals, right?

Kate Bush comes to mind.

A couple of classic singers that I have heard in the past couple years that seem to still have a strong voice were Judy Collins and Roger McGuinn.

https://youtu.be/l3ChFfKsaXI

I just saw Mark Eitzel at a living room show with a bad flu and no amplification and he still sounded great

also Morrissey's new albums have more autotune than T-Pain

Although he just technically retired from live performances, Garland Jeffreys still sounds pretty good at 75, wait 76 now.

Aimee Mann

Ray Price sounded amazing well into his 80s.

Bruce Dickinson has amazed me the times I have seen them in the past few years. A lot of singers who didn't lose much as they got up there in years didn't have a lot to begin with (which is fine, technically impeccable singers are nice but not necessary) but he was always someone with a distinctive range and watching him keep most of it even now is really phenomenal.

The underrated Kevin Hewick can still sing as well as he did in 1980.

Wisely, "Love, Reign O'er Me" isn't in their current setlist, and when they do "Won't Get Fooled Again," it's just Pete and Roger playing acoustic, and no scream.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, July 3, 2019 12:16 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Love Reign etc was in the set I saw at MSG, sounded very good fwiw

Neil Tennant definitely belongs here. It’s always odd seeing him all old and wrinkly but still singing as a younger version of himself without much effort.

I know I should be suspicious of someone who's known for high-gloss production, but Jeff Lynne still sounds the same.

Ol’ blue eyes kept his voice for a very long time, didn’t he ?

I've just checked Sinatra's 86 live recording and, yeah, he still had it !

Nick Cave
I actually think Cave's voice is improving with age

I totally agree!

A couple of classic singers that I have heard in the past couple years that seem to still have a strong voice were Judy Collins and Roger McGuinn.

Don't know about Judy Collins but I'll second Roger McGuinn.

Nick Lowe

Joe Jackson still sounds great.

Yeah, actually, I just saw him play a few weeks back and he sounded really good.

It may initially seem like cheating to include death metal dudes, but I would submit that in fact doing that kind of ultra-guttural stuff is probably more damaging to your vocal cords long-term than being a conventional singer, so the fact that George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher from Cannibal Corpse still sounds just as powerful as he ever has - while headbanging so furiously it's amazing he doesn't have NFL-player-style head trauma - is pretty astonishing.

John Tardy from Obituary still sounds great, too ("great" meaning "like the kind of person you move as far away from as possible on public transit" in this context).

❤️ June Tabor!!! ❤️

https://youtu.be/BWz0IqNHA3Q?t=1553

It's a from a few years ago, but this is a Judy Collins show I heard on the radio. She seems pretty cool.

Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode hasn’t changed it much and I think he has even improved it “playing the angel” onwards.

yeah, I agree re DG.

Love Reign etc was in the set I saw at MSG, sounded very good fwiw

― mott the hoopleheads (voodoo chili), Thursday, July 4, 2019 12:04 AM (eleven hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Huh, for some reason I thought they'd dropped it. But yeah, Daltrey sounds great in all the clips I've seen of the current tour.

On a similar note, Bettye LaVette sings the he11 out of "Love Reign O'er Me". Awesome voice.

Saw Jonathan Richman the other day, age late 60s now, and while he was hardly ever a classically tuneful singer, he's lost seemingly none of the boyish playfulness and vibrancy. Close your eyes and he sounds little different from the Modern Lovers days.

Dave Gahan started vocal lessons and care after he got clean.

Paul Buchanan, if not the range, the effect seems the same to me.

Neil Young. I saw him yesterday in the Waldbühne and when he sang "Old Man" he sounded almost exactly like almost 50 years ago and his impersonation of the "young man" still convinced me though when I looked at him I realised that his "old man" - if he still lives - might be a centennial now. I think for singers with high voices it might be easier to preserve their voice.

He's also been nominated in the "singers who've lost their voice" thread.

I agree with Alex, saw him at a small theater, solo acoustic this year and I think his voice is still great

hard to say with neil since he always had a creeky, goofy voice.

Neil’s def lost some of his upper register

James Dean Bradfield

he sounds like Neil Young still, maybe he lost some top end but I'm telling you not much

compared to joni mitchell he hasn't lost a lot of his top end...

what about tom waits? the voice he is sharing with the public hasn't changed a lot, has it? it's not his normal voice, i think but that is another story.

James Dean Bradfield

not that old yet (just now 50 - the Manics started real young) but yeah no decline I've noticed

not that old yet (just now 50 - the Manics started real young) but yeah no decline I've noticed

Yeah, I wondered whether to get a relatively young singer in, but he's been singing for a long time with pretty amazing consistency. I remembered how my wife walked in the room when I had their last record on & she asked me if the guy ever aged, as the vocals seemed unchanged from their earlier albums.

Saw Jonathan Richman the other day, age late 60s now, and while he was hardly ever a classically tuneful singer, he's lost seemingly none of the boyish playfulness and vibrancy. Close your eyes and he sounds little different from the Modern Lovers days.

on a similar note...Gary Wilson. his comeback albums, despite being 30 years after the fact, feature the exact same voice. its kinda creepy.

Green Gartside (Scritti Politti) has kept his voice intact. I saw him on the last Scritti tour a few years back, and it's pretty impressive that THAT voice comes out of such a tall, bearded man...

Robert Smith is the best example I can think of. Remarkable how good he sounds 40 years into The Cure's career. Can't speak on Bono but I feel like he's preserved - can anyone confirm?

Reminds me of this piece she wrote
http://diamandagalas.com/writings/the-greek-vampire-a-threat-to-the-enemies-of-artists/

Until his recent passing (or at least into 2014, when Soused came out) Scott Walker seemed to have kept his voice pretty well.

I also remember being impressed by Robert Smith when I saw the Cure a couple of years ago — certainly hearing that voice perform so well was the best part of the show.

some indie-ish singers have gotten better with age simply because they learned how to sing. ...mac mccaughan...

You think? If anything his voice has gotten higher and screechier which is a big part of why I don't ever revisit any recent Superchunk album.

I agree with Alex, saw him at a small theater, solo acoustic this year and I think his voice is still great

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, July 4, 2019 1:35 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

still kicking my own dumb self for not making time to go to one of those shows what the FUCK was i thinking

Bono's definitely lost something in recent years. on their latest album, he doesn't go for the high notes as much and he sounds more tired (doesn't help that the album is bad)

bono's voice started sounding compromised and strained in 2000

that's a fair assessment. even "Beautiful Day" doesn't have the ease of his singing in the Zoo TV era. but I was struck by Songs of Experience, he sounded like he just couldn't put feeling into those songs

Alice Cooper.

John Fogerty sounds amazingly good in 2019.

oh yeah that’s v true

Little Anthony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3tyP2bDvX4

there's something about hearing these old-school doowop songs that still have some original members still performing and keeping the shit alive a little longer.

I saw the O'Jays once with Eddie Levert sometime in 2006 and it was awesome

this is even fuckin better and this was just last year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU9EM0PPv7s

Cool!

Mind boggling that this was 15+ years ago, but I saw the Pixies on their reunion tour in 2004 and I was floored by Frank’s voice. I went into it not expecting much because I thought his voice sounded pretty rough on some of his solo work. But he was on point. He belted out the screaming on Tame like it was nothing, it was like his voice could just erupt out of himself on command. Not sure how he is sounding now but I was impressed then.

youtube often is very interesting in that regard. sometimes i waste hours looking for live videos just to see how an aging vocalist sounds in 2020

Both Arthur Lee and Patti Smith's voices seemed to have improved when I saw them around the turn of the millenium.

Surprised no one's mentioned Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith already; their voices are still as beautiful and strong as ever.

Also, I must live up to my stereotype and mention Simon Le Bon.

Terri Nunn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EDDT9aHRr0

Not going to pretend Al Green sounds like he did in the 1970s, but was pretty amazed to hear how well is 77-year-old voice is holding up on his new cover of Perfect Day (just hope he has some better material in the pipeline).

Another Al, Al Stewart (whose own thread was recently revived), is still sounding good at 78. His delivery was always very clipped and he never really cut loose live, so it's not surprising his vocal cords are still in good shape.

Cathal Coughlan ;_;

xp Ian Anderson has completely lost it, and his voice and delivery has always struck me as similar to Al Stewart's, I figured he'd be well set up for the long haul.

What little I have heard of Smokey Robinson's recent album leads me to believe he deserves to be included in this thread.

xxp: I hadn't heard of Cathal Coughlan's passing until now. I never got totally into his music, but my best friend and I did our best to spread the gospel of Fatima Mansions to the other 8th graders after seeing Only Losers Take the Bus on 120 Minutes one night.

second Richard Thompson

from footage posted by friends on FB and IG of Duran Duran's performance at the Minnesota State Fair, I rather surprised to be nominating Simon LeBon to this thread.

second Richard Thompson

from footage posted by friends on FB and IG of Duran Duran's performance at the Minnesota State Fair, I rather surprised to be nominating Simon LeBon to this thread.

was mentioned before but Russell Mael sounded amazing when I saw Sparks a couple months ago, he's genuinely just as good as he was in the 70s

yeah i saw them w/franz ferdinand when that came out and was pretty amazed

While I haven't heard them live, Graham Gouldman and Graham Nash still sound great in records at least.And none of them have the kind of hoarse or deep "rock" vocal style that is easier to combine with age.

David Crosby obviously songs no more but his voice remained intact when be still did.

neil has for the most part, too

oh yeah re: Al Stewart, I just watched a video on youtube from a few months ago of him doing Year of the Cat live and he sounds exactly the same as he did in the 70's, and the dude is almost 80 years old.

Russell Mael is the gold standard for this thread imo

Brian Ross of Blitzkrieg and Satan fame still sounds like butter almost 40+ years later.

Jon Anderson also sounds incredibly good right now

xpost i would love to see Satan live

i mean performing live, he was there when we signed the paperwork

lol

granted this was a few years ago but hoo boy Chaka Khan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMCxw_nENWA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsCIeklgp1M

A rickroll for your Thursday

Ann <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBq_THTWNM4

Russell Mael is the gold standard for this thread imo

Listening to her Sun’s Signature EP, Liz Fraser still has her wonderful voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0f-gwU5dhI

David Crosby obviously sings no more but his voice remained intact when be still did.

I saw him in 2019 and this was indeed a pleasant surprise, especially given his various addictions over the years. They took a toll on him in every way EXCEPT on his voice. I only went to see him because it was free but I'm so glad I went - it exceeded every expectation I had, helped by a near-flawless setlist. (I'm a far more of a Byrds fan but besides his best work with them, he also picked the CS&N(Y) and solo songs that I actually liked, closing out with a furious take on Young's "Ohio.")

I'll also add Bonnie Raitt. I've never done a direct comparison, and to be fair, given the blues and R&B nature of her work, rougher textures in anyone's voice can actually help, but I saw her last year and for all I know she didn't sound different from the first time I saw her on a VHS copy of her Road Tested concert video.

I mentioned this in the Taylor Dayne thread, but I saw Taylor Dayne recently, and… well, Taylor Dayne has kept her voice!

Couldn't quite believe my ears when I heard Jimmy Somerville's falsetto as a guest vocal on Oliver Sim's Hideous last year.

David Hidalgo, although he always had this "Elder Zen" thing going on.

#onethread

Check out Smokey Robinson's NPR Tiny Desk Concert. What a singer!

Kevin Rowland is sounding good on his/Dexys' current tour. If you were being churlish you might say he's not as strong on the high notes as he used to be, but still I thought he was on fine form, sounding very much himself.