Where do old musicians go?
The soul revolution made a lot of money for record companies, but very little for the people who actually made the music. ‘My songs made billions; I saw thousands,’ Nile Rogers said.”
Gladys Knight, 82, was one of the old musicians who cancelled their final tour on the grounds of a medical emergency. (File)
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WHAT’S UP!
In April 1951, the American World War II hero, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, was fired as United Nations commander in the Korean War. As he gave his final address to the American Congress, he quoted an old British barracks song.
“...old soldiers never die, they just fade away,” he said.
Like many things British, there is a heavy dose of sarcasm here. Soldiers probably have the lowest life expectancy among known professions. They are more likely to die ‘untimely’ than anyone else, and they know it. Very few active soldiers get old, so those who do are very special people. They don’t die, but just fade away. Again, like so many army songs, it doesn’t really make any sense. It does not need to; just sing away and don’t think about tomorrow.
That phrase came to mind when I read a post on a jazz music group I am on. The post said that not one, not two, but four musical acts, superstars all, had cancelled their tours or postponed them. These included Dionne Warwick, 85, Rod Stewart, 81, Tom Jones, 86, and Jill Scott, 54. The odd man out was Michael Kiwanuka, who is only 37 but has lately suffered a stroke.
Just two months ago, Lionel Richie, 77, was reported to have also cancelled a September concert due to problems with his heart. The group he was scheduled to feature with, Earth, Wind & Fire, had also reported a medical emergency.
These were, and still are, big names who led the ‘soul revolution’ of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. This was African American music that stopped trying to be polite and hoping White audiences would give it a listen, but said loudly that ‘we are black and this is our music.’ The White audiences had no choice but to go to the music.
Although soul itself as a genre has since undergone many metamorphoses, giving birth to funk, disco, hip hop, modern R&B and neo-soul, the big names who engraved their names on that revolution have since either died off or are in the evening of their lives. But many are still touring and giving concerts.
Diana Ross, 81, was already a global star when she ‘discovered’ the Jackson 5, who included an 11-year-old Michael Jackson. Ross is in the middle of her Diana in Motion — 2026 US Tour.
Smokey Robinson, 86, has just kicked off his Legacy of Love Tour, which will take him to eight US states. Stevie Wonder, 76, is also on his Songs in the Key of Life 50th Anniversary Tour, which will see him perform at 21 venues across the US.
Otis Williams, 85, the sole surviving original member of the Temptations, has just concluded a tour of the UK, his 64th year with the band.
Patti LaBelle, 82, Stephanie Mills, 69, and Chaka Khan, 72, are headlining together on the Queens Tour. Mavis Staples, 86, the only surviving member of the gospel family group the Staple Singers, and Dionne Warwickm, 85, are also still touring.
The question is, why are these ‘old’ musicians still going at it? Shouldn’t they have retired by now? The main reason, sadly, is money.
The soul revolution made a lot of money for record companies, but very little for the people who actually made the music. “My songs made billions; I saw thousands,” Nile Rogers said.
Streaming platforms, where music is mostly consumed these days, pay about $0.005 (about sh2,000) per stream. So, while 10 million streams might sound like a killing, it translates to about $30,000 (about sh128m). Peanuts to those big stars.
By contrast, for anyone thinking of bringing Ross or Knight to Kampala, that would be $1m (about sh4.2b) before they got on to a plane. So, yeah, it is for the money.
But also, that is what they have been doing all their lives. Entertainment and being celebrities have been their life; how do you retire from that?
So, where do old musicians go? They go for a ‘final’ tour, then another final tour, and then still another final tour. Ask the Temptations; they have been giving farewell concerts for almost 30 years.
You can follow Kalungi Kabuye on X: @KalungiKabuye