Random thoughts about old singers losing their voices

[Ale]

I was just thinking, it's 2025, you can take hair from your ass and put it in your head and it grows just fine and nobody's bald anymore. Of course fake boobs are perfect from looking at them, Adele takes ozempic and goes from being a fat ass to having curves, Salma Hayek and Brad Pitt are going to be 20 again soon and there's no fucking wrinkle in sight. The guy who plays the new Superman was ripped in three months time.
Quadriplejic men and women are walking again with the help of robotics, you can choose the color of your next son's eyes. Etc etc, basically if you have a lot of money, you are not ugly, fat, skinny, bald or hungry.
It's amazing that these billionaries like Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, Ozzy, Coverdale etc etc can get the "miracle" cure for the vocal cords. That hard to fix those two muscles?

[Jason Jennifer Leigh]

Bon Jovi won’t even buy a hair color.

[pieceofme]

I was just thinking, it's 2025, you can take hair from your ass and put it in your head and it grows just fine and nobody's bald anymore. Of course fake boobs are perfect from looking at them, Adele takes ozempic and goes from being a fat ass to having curves, Salma Hayek and Brad Pitt are going to be 20 again soon and there's no fucking wrinkle in sight. The guy who plays the new Superman was ripped in three months time.
Quadriplejic men and women are walking again with the help of robotics, you can choose the color of your next son's eyes. Etc etc, basically if you have a lot of money, you are not ugly, fat, skinny, bald or hungry.
It's amazing that these billionaries like Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, Ozzy, Coverdale etc etc can get the "miracle" cure for the vocal cords. That hard to fix those two muscles?

None of these artists are billionaires. Not in US dollars. Maybe they are in pesos considering the rampant inflation happening in your country.

[Gibsonite]

Neil Young was obviously never the greatest singer, but he always managed to do justice to his recorded material through the years. I tried watching a vid of one of his recent shows the other day and had to turn it off because it was too depressing. Band sounded great but he was really struggling with the vocals on the old stuff.

[SterileEyes1]

That’s not to say these people aren’t doing everything humanly possible to preserve their voices or get it back.

The giveaway is look at all of their necks. Almost any older hard rock singer. Dave Grohl is the ultimate example. That thing goes almost all the way out to his edge of his chin these days. But you can also notice it with Paul and many of the others. Just really weird looking necks.

From what I’ve read it used to be a B12 shot in the ass. I don’t know what it is now (cortisone?) but it seems to be going directly to the throat, with varying degrees of success.

[Ale]

That’s not to say these people aren’t doing everything humanly possible to preserve their voices or get it back.

The giveaway is look at all of their necks. Almost any older hard rock singer. Dave Grohl is the ultimate example. That thing goes almost all the way out to his edge of his chin these days. But you can also notice it with Paul and many of the others. Just really weird looking necks.

From what I’ve read it used to be a B12 shot in the ass. I don’t know what it is now (cortisone?) but it seems to be going directly to the throat, with varying degrees of success.

Of course, but the thing is NO singer that had sever problems with their voice has gotten it back, not even a little better. I guess when the two little muscles are damaged, that's it for ever.
Joe Elliot was one of the few that had one very rough year and then he kinda bounce back.

Axl didn't lose his voice, he just can't sound okay at all and that's it. Paul Stanley and Bon Jovi can't even talk right two years after their last show.

[SterileEyes1]

All very true. I can only think of examples of singers who recovered from injuries/damage fairly early on. Chris Cornell in his 40s and M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold in his 20s. Both went to the same vocal coach and had to radically change how they sang.

But to your points, it does seem that when you get old once it’s gone it’s gone. And unless you’re a very rare freak like Steven Tyler you’re not gonna be able to sing high and with rasp into old age. And yeah it is weird that there hasn’t been a fix invented for this yet given how much money would be on the table if some of these folks could still do it!

[DonJuanDeMarco]

Where does Vince Neil fit in here? He’s aging and technically still has his range at least.

The best example of this I think of is Tony Bennet. He just stripped down the arrangements to a 3 piece. Still put on a great performance.

I think a lot of hard rock guys could pull it off in a quieter setting. But do they want to?

[GoodJudge]

I was just thinking, it's 2025, you can take hair from your ass and put it in your head and it grows just fine and nobody's bald anymore. Of course fake boobs are perfect from looking at them, Adele takes ozempic and goes from being a fat ass to having curves, Salma Hayek and Brad Pitt are going to be 20 again soon and there's no fucking wrinkle in sight. The guy who plays the new Superman was ripped in three months time.
Quadriplejic men and women are walking again with the help of robotics, you can choose the color of your next son's eyes. Etc etc, basically if you have a lot of money, you are not ugly, fat, skinny, bald or hungry.
It's amazing that these billionaries like Bon Jovi, Paul Stanley, Ozzy, Coverdale etc etc can get the "miracle" cure for the vocal cords. That hard to fix those two muscles?

I wonder if their hearing being fucked has anything to do with it. Grohl has admitted he's got a lot of hearing loss. Huey Lewis had to retire due to it. Brian Johnson retired then apparently had pioneering surgery or treatment that may reach the mass market sometime. A few people have perfect pitch and maybe keep it. But if you sing (as opposed to yell or grunt like the thrash and extreme metal guys), if you can't hear what's going on around you well enough you're going to struggle to hit the notes.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Neil Young was obviously never the greatest singer, but he always managed to do justice to his recorded material through the years. I tried watching a vid of one of his recent shows the other day and had to turn it off because it was too depressing. Band sounded great but he was really struggling with the vocals on the old stuff.

Neil Young's music sucks worse than his hygiene!

$tEvil

[DangerZone]

I saw a very small clip of Axl talking at the Sabbath show and his speaking voice is nice & strong.
Seems like he could pull off patience & other songs in his NATURAL range.
Most of the 80s singers sang unnatural. And the songs left no room for interpretation.

Someone like Bach was recorded balls out in the studio, probably hard to hit at their peaks
They all painted themselves into a corner

[Wild Obsession]

pAxl's voice is completely gone and doesn't have the common sense or direction to work more in his lower register. Anyone paying to see scab Guns N' Roses and/or making excuses for the shit show is a fucking moron.

And Dave Grohl is a bitch, not exactly "top tier" classic rock vocalist, any bar band hack can pull off Foo Fighters vanilla pap.

[Stinky McFister]

Paul Stanley screamed and yodeled between songs in the late 80's when he could've easily just spoken into the microphone. His ego wouldn't let him shut the hell up for a few minutes

Not only annoying and hard to listen to but he abused and fucked his vocal cords in the process

Should've taken care of his 1 instrument

He blew it

[Velvis]

All very true. I can only think of examples of singers who recovered from injuries/damage fairly early on. Chris Cornell in his 40s and M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold in his 20s. Both went to the same vocal coach and had to radically change how they sang.

But to your points, it does seem that when you get old once it’s gone it’s gone. And unless you’re a very rare freak like Steven Tyler you’re not gonna be able to sing high and with rasp into old age. And yeah it is weird that there hasn’t been a fix invented for this yet given how much money would be on the table if some of these folks could still do it!

The money is still there which is why Paul Stanley, Axl Rose, Vince Neil, and endless others continue/continued to get on stage and "sing." There is no need for a miracle cure if people are paying regardless.

[Wiseacre]

Where does Vince Neil fit in here? He’s aging and technically still has his range at least.

Vince was smart. He preserved his voice by only singing every other 3rd or 4th word in every song.

[risingfarce]

Paul Stanley screamed and yodeled between songs in the late 80's when he could've easily just spoken into the microphone. His ego wouldn't let him shut the hell up for a few minutes

Not only annoying and hard to listen to but he abused and fucked his vocal cords in the process

Should've taken care of his 1 instrument

He blew it

Intubation during all of the surgeries that he had is the main culprit for his damaged, hemorrhaging vocal cords.

[Stinky McFister]

Paul Stanley screamed and yodeled between songs in the late 80's when he could've easily just spoken into the microphone. His ego wouldn't let him shut the hell up for a few minutes

Not only annoying and hard to listen to but he abused and fucked his vocal cords in the process

Should've taken care of his 1 instrument

He blew it

Intubation during all of the surgeries that he had is the main culprit for his damaged, hemorrhaging vocal cords.

Thanks. I was unaware

[Black Stuff]

Neil Young was obviously never the greatest singer, but he always managed to do justice to his recorded material through the years. I tried watching a vid of one of his recent shows the other day and had to turn it off because it was too depressing. Band sounded great but he was really struggling with the vocals on the old stuff.

Neil Young's music sucks worse than his hygiene!

$tEvil

[CrankerBait]

Come a certain point, all the vocal exercises, herbal teas and surgeries aren't going to work. Your voice ages and some of the damage done to your voice isn't going to be treatable anymore.
Even the luckiest or most genetically blessed professional athletes have to retire sooner or later. Some can adjust their game and become role players. After retirement, some play in senior leagues or at a recreational level, but their speed, jumping ability, stamina, etc. won't be what it once was, and they won't bounce back from injuries like they used to. Singers aren't much different. Brian Johnson and Mick Jagger, no matter what they do, won't sound as good as they did 30 years ago, even if they're only playing twice a week for a couple of months, instead of four or five times a week for six months in a row like they did before, even with backing tracks, backing singers, modern vocal effects, and shortened setlists.

BTW, as a guy who just bought McCartney tickets a couple of hours ago, I'm OK with not seeing the '76 or '89 Macca. I'll still be getting a great show, and possibly my last chance at seeing a rock legend in the flesh.

[The Prez]

Brian Johnson and Mick Jagger, no matter what they do, won't sound as good as they did 30 years ago, even if they're only playing twice a week for a couple of months

Jagger still sounds pretty good...Johnson not so much but I mean his style of singing is very difficult to pull off at any age, let alone when the guy is pushing 80!

[Wiseacre]

What most people don’t understand is that not all vocal issues are due to misuse or damage. Not one part of the human body escapes some form of change as we age. The voice is physical thing. Your throat and all the rest changes with age. It simply affects your range and usually not in a good way. Obviously, people have less of a problem if they are not having to strain when they are young. If you are pushing the limits of your range, things change and it’s not gonna happen.