What Stamina

They range in age from 64 to 72.

They have been a significant part of the soundtrack for the last half century!

They still move around that stage like they did 50 years ago.

I'm talking about the Rolling Stones whose concert I am watching on Showtime right now.

It's Just a Shout Away to Jumping Jack Flash, they haven't lost a bit of what made makes them great. They managed to survive what most people thought would kill them. They still look the part of the "bad boys of rock and roll." I don't think it's nostalgia that drives it. No more than in jazz people of all ages flock to see the great masters who are still around as much as the newer generation. In bluegrass Ralph Stanley draws as big a crowd as ever- maybe bigger. With Rock and Roll we weren't supposed to still be enjoying that music today. It was for the rebellious young.

(Wow- Keith Richards can really smile!)

Or maybe it's just damn great music for all generations.

Even if Sympathy for the Devil has come a very long way from Altamont, it's raw power is still there with a different underlying beat that pushes the song forward with a force no one else can bring.

At the same time I am caused to reflect on that other British band from the same era that never made it out of the 60s intact. Half of the Beatles are gone. Their music frozen in time with only Sir Paul and Ringo to make any new contributions. Their music is just as timeless and rings just as true today, but we will never hear the changes and evolution of the music as we do with the Stones.

This is not a back-to-the-60s tour like you get with so many other groups today.

Well, enough. I hope I can be in as good a shape at 70 as they are.

If so- it'll

"Be a gas!"