Singers Who've Kept Their Voice

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

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.