Grace Slick Is "Expert" On When Musicians Should Retire

By Kenny Love


If you are a musician over the age of 50,
and are still gracing stages to play your
music, particularly, if you are a celebrated
Rock star, former Rocker and lead singer
for Jefferson Airplane, Grace Slick, is of
the opinion that you look really stupid and
embarrassing.

This, from a woman who once leaped
offstage and proceeded to pick the nose
from a fan during a performance as well as
having exposed from stage that she was
panty-less during another performance.

In fact, Ms. Slick allegedly confessed in a
1998 VH1 documentary that "all rock 'n'
rollers over the age of 50 look stupid and
should retire."

Wow!

That statement is pretty hardline in its
nature, and it brought to my mind several
questions that, should I ever have the
opportunity, would ask Ms. Slick, such as:

* By whose or what authority does she
assess the age of 50 for rock star
retirement?

* With her having retired at age 48, why
didn't she do so at, say, age 45 or,
perhaps, age 40?

* What about the law of supply and
demand that says, if there is a product
or service (musicians in demand, despite
their ages), and a readily available
demand (fan base) for that product or
service, the twain should meet?

* To apply Ms. Slick's analogy to other
industries, should actors, doctors,
attorneys, and other professionals retire
at age 50 as well? If so, imagine the
incredible intellectual losses.

To be fair, and being 50 myself, I am,
personally, in agreement with Ms. Slick
(to a minimal degree) that certain acts
onstage are more acceptable by younger
artists and their fans but, again, that is
just my opinion.

And, since our industry specialization is
entertainment and, specifically, music,
again, it comes down to what the
market will bear and its law of "supply
and demand."

Right now, Ms. Slick has embarked on a
new career as a painter, and I am now
wondering if there is an age that
painters are expected to retire from their
profession as well.
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Editor's Note: You can read Grace Slick's
idea on aging Rock stars at
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/SummerConcert/story?id=4956277&page=1