Who are the only rock stars who still have their singing voice?

Who still sounds good? The list isn't very long.

This list is quite short. It is MY list. I didn't put a whole lot of research or time into this article, as I kind of did this off the top of my head. As I started writing, I began to really have to think about who can still sing, and sing well? Here's my life.

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Michael Anthony

Van Halen's bassist on every album, was known for all of the high harmony vocals on all of those classic V.H. songs. Michael Anthony (Sobolewski) has mostly been Sammy Hagar's bassist since a few years before the fall and demise of Van Halen. As a bassist, I have been a huge fan of Michael Anthony, since the very beginning. I have always sung high vocal harmonies in the bands I was in. I saw Sammy Hagar and The Circle a couple of years ago in downtown Orlando. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with the overall show. However, Michael Anthony sounded great. At 69 years of age, he is one of the few remaining rock stars who can still effortlessly sing all of his original vocal parts. 

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Kip Winger

Another absolutely amazing musician and composer. I have been a diehard fan of Kip and the band Winger since their first album released in 1988. Kip does not have his 1980's, 1990's vocals, but it doesn't matter. He can still belt out a song that will leave you speechless. I know of no other 80's rock hair band that has excelled musically nearly as much as the band Winger. They are the only remaining rock band with all of the original members. When you have a leader like Kip, it's hard to go wrong.

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Ann Wilson

Heart's most amazing famous siren. I have been a huge fan of Heart since the first album in 1976. At 73 years of age, Ann can still hit those notes. She was just simply born to sing.

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Tommy Shaw

I truly believe that when Tommy Shaw joined (saved) Styx in 1975, he became the catalyst for their overall success throughout the late 1970's into the 80's. Shaw has been a huge influence in my early development as an acoustic guitarist. At 69 years old, he still sounds as good as ever.

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Sting

At 71 years of age, it's difficult to imagine Gordon Sumner not being an amazing vocalist. Have you ever heard him not sing well? Me either.

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Tori Amos

I went with one of my former female guitar students to see Tori in concert at the Hard Rock Live venue in Orlando in November 2007. Other than the bartender, I might have been the only straight guy there. The house was packed with female Tori fans all understandably crushing on her. The show was amazing. She was amazing. Her latest material sounds as incredible as her first albums, maybe better. Tori Amos and I both turned 60 years old this year.

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On the other hand...

Many of the artists and bands I grew up with, have all aged out. Everyone is in their 60's 70's and 80's, which is ironic because those were the decades when their music was popular. As we grow older, we (musicians) slowly lose some of that ability to sing well. I can still kinda sing okay, but I don't practice singing nearly enough. I need to be in a band for a while for me to sing better. 

I am not a big supporter of old rock bands with old members of the band still trying to sell extremely high-priced concert tickets for a less than stellar performance. These guys honestly can't sing anymore. Look at David Lee Roth. His career was over in the late 1980's, but he was the last one to believe it. I think the thing that irritates me the most is when old rock stars lower the keys of their hit songs so much that they become unrecognizable. They do this for the wealthy fans who have little or no musical talent or reference to what the music "should" sound like, but they can afford bragging rights to go see these ultra-expensive concerts. Most of these old, tired rock bands have maybe one original member in the band. Maybe the singer was convinced that he should try to lose 75 pounds of belly fat so he could slob crawl up on stage and pretend to be 24 years old again. I don't buy it.

Very few aging rock stars can still sing well. Other than the list of people I mentioned above, I have absolutely no desire to go see any old rock stars in concert. I can't afford tickets for these concerts anyway; and even if I could, I still wouldn't go. I think it is far better for these aging rock people to allow themselves to age gracefully and slowly step away from the limelight - so they can allow the diehard fans of the world to remember the former versions of those old rock stars that have long since become the soundtrack of their lives.