And the days go by, like a strand in the wind — Edge of Seventeen
In 1981 Stevie Nicks had a hit with Edge of Seventeen. This year, at 75, she’s playing arenas and could have a hit Barbie doll.
According to American Songwriter.com, leading up to the development of Edge of Seventeen, Nicks had planned to write a song for Tom Petty and his then-wife Jane Benyo, who were high school sweethearts. But the song’s meaning took a different turn after the deaths of her uncle and John Lennon.
When Nicks was working on the song title, Jane suggested At the Age of Seventeen. But through Jane’s southern accent, Nicks thought she heard Edge of Seventeen.
Age of Seventeen. Edge of Seventeen. Edge of Seventy. You heard right: 70 with a zero.
Nicks and other artists commanding big stages this year are edging toward their 70s, 80s, and even 90s. She’s been hitting the road, sometimes with 74-year-old Billy Joel.
But, first, back to that Stevie Barbie. From the Mattel website: Barbie honors the iconic “Queen of Rock and Roll,” Stevie Nicks, with a collectible doll that emulates her signature spellbinding style. Nicks achieved worldwide success with the band Fleetwood Mac before embarking on a critically acclaimed, chart-topping solo career.
That’s me at left on vacation with friends in NYC in 2014 when Fleetwood Mac
appeared on the Today Show Plaza.
How Stevie became a Barbie in 2023 may be explained in part by this year’s Barbie, an American fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig. Gerwig played the title character in 2013’s Frances Ha, a film I’d describe as equal parts odd — in a good way — and artsy.
Frances Ha, Gerwig’s character, sprints and dances down 22 Catherine Street in Chinatown, NYC, to Davie Bowie’s Modern Love.
The pink blockbuster fantasy-comedy has generated $1.36 billion at the global box office, according to Variety, making Gerwig, 40, the highest grossing female filmmaker at the domestic box office.
If you calculate Barbie's age from her manufacturing debut, the first Barbie doll is now over 64. When you consider that Barbie was created as a 19-year-old doll, she could technically be up to 83 years old.
It’s not just Stevie and Barbie having senior moments.
Since the iconic singer/songwriter Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, she pledged to put out a rock LP.
I haven’t listened to Rockstar yet. But I applaud Parton’s decision to make a rock album at 77. I’m a fan of her songwriting, authenticity, philanthropy, and Southern-style cake mix line. What a way to make a livin’.
I have purchased and heard Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart, the 15th studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams. In 2020 a tornado damaged her new home in Nashville. On top of that, she suffered a debilitating stroke.
On her 70th birthday in January, Williams performed at a sold-out show in Belfast, Ireland.
My husband and I were in the audience for Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways show in Kansas City recently. There was a little fan buzz because he was fresh off playing guitar — and three songs from 1965 — with the Heartbreakers at Farm Aid in Indiana.
All-ages show: Fans lined up outside The Midland to hear Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways.
Late in the set, he covered Buddy Holly and the Crickets Not Fade Away. Not surprisingly, Bob’s gonna tell us how it (the setlist) is gonna be. Bop-bop-bop-bop
The night before Dylan in KC we’d been in Chicago for Peter Gabriel’s show. The morning before that we had realized — in the nick of time — that we’d bought tickets for back-to-back shows in different states, one on September 30 and one October 1. After a brief exchange on logistics, my husband and I channeled our rock-and-roll spirit and decided we could and would drive from Iowa to Chicago and Chicago to KC to catch Saturday and Sunday shows.
The average age of performers I saw this year rounds out to 76.666: Willie Nelson, 90, Dionne Warwick, 82, Bob Dylan, 82, Robert Plant, 75, Peter Gabriel, 73, and Diana Krall, 58.
For good reason, rock-and-roll isn’t typically associated with longevity. You may be familiar with the 27 Club, an informal list of musicians and celebrities who died at 27. And you’ve probably seen the funny Keith Richards memes. Yet the Rolling Stones recently released Hackney Diamonds, their first album of original music in 18 years. I was three when the band formed. Mother’s Little Helper, released in 1966, opens with What a drag it is getting old.
Time appears to have been on the side of the Stones.
Kate Bush, 65, will be inducted into the Performer category at the Rock Hall 2023 Induction, on Nov. 3 on Disney+.
It was strangely satisfying for me, and I imagine Kate Bush, to hear her 1985 Running Up That Hill resurface in season four of Stranger Things on Netflix in 2022. I read that she was delighted to be “running up the charts” 37 years after the release of her track.
Stevie, at the age of 75
Not every project these artists touch is well received or a commercial, critical, or overnight success. They have suffered great personal and professional losses. In recent years, the Stones lost Charlie. Fleetwood Mac lost Christine.
And their personal and professional relationships, sometimes intertwined, have often failed.
Substance use disorders and health issues have plagued some. Williams, as mentioned earlier, had a stroke. Joni Mitchell has had polio and a brain aneurysm.
Their guitar playing, vocal range, and onstage presence may not match their zenith years.
Why, then, have I caught myself looking to these artists for cues on pro-aging?
Maybe it’s because these musicians, some from the '60s and '70s — now in their 60s and 70s — are still touring, recording, taking risks, writing new music, collaborating with each other and younger artists.
They’re demonstrating resiliency and longevity and showing that creativity and passion don’t necessarily age out. They adapt and play to their strengths. Most important to me, on the edge of 64, seeing them is a reminder that anything is possible.
Willie’s on the road again in 2024. The Stones are still rolling. Kate’s been running up the charts. Stevie, at the age of 75, has been concurrently playing solo shows and co-headlining with Billy Joel. To see these artists on stage at this stage of their careers feels like the ultimate encore.
© 2023 by Catherine Broderick Medina
Comments