BB King died recently. The blues legend, whose hits included The Thrill Is Gone, was held in high regard by artists such as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt – all considered legends themselves by many people.
This prompted a familiar flurry of Facebook comments saying that all the old guard are disappearing and that the new ones can’t hold a candle to them etc. The consensus in some quarters seems to be that once the older stars have passed on there will be no one to step up and take their place. My personal feeling is that although I like some new music, I keep going back to staples like Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly and The Family Stone, Elton John and jazz musicians from the 40s and 50s. My most recently added favourite was Prince, whose heyday was in the 80s! He just seemed to have some originality as an artist, and no one has really been able to take his place.
Do you feel the same way? Or do you think that the future of music is safe in the hands of the likes of Mary J Blige, Erykah Badu, Beyonce, Adele and more recent stars like Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J? Does it even matter if the nature of the music industry now reflects the consumers’ shorter attention span, and that the ‘favourites’ change at a dizzying rate? Are the real talents to be found outside the mainstream?
Is this an age thing? Or not? Are you a younger person who prefers music from a bygone era? Are you an older person who thinks that music from the 20th Century has passed its sell-by date, and we need to move with the times?
I’d love to hear your views on this – please comment below!