Seth Saith: Outstanding Octogenarians and Beyond (or: Remembering the Legendary Among the Living)

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Outstanding Octogenarians and Beyond (or: Remembering the Legendary Among the Living)

The other day I went to a concert by one of the greatest living legends I can think of: Chuck Berry.

OK, so as I wrote about here, it wasn't the most satisfying evening. But it was still a thrill to see a man who basically helped to invent rock 'n' roll. As I said to a friend, it costs $22 to visit the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. To see one of its greatest members live on stage for not much more, even for a subpar, abbreviated show, wasn't hard to justify.

Anyway, as I was looking forward to seeing Chuck Berry, it got me thinking about all the "living legends" that I, and perhaps you, don't think about often enough. Too often, it takes someone posting an RIP notice on Facebook to remind me that a legend who recently passed--such as Blake Edwards, Bob Feller or Jerry Bock--had still been alive until they weren't. And in some cases, such as with jazz great Billy Taylor, I wasn't familiar with someone I should have been until reading their obituary.

So today, I'm going to spend a few moments remembering, researching and citing legendary artists and athletes that are of this writing--unless my information is faulty--still alive. I'm sure I'll omit some folks I shouldn't and I'll be happy to hear about such cases. But as a barometer, I will limit those included here to people who are 80 years old and above (or will turn 80 in 2011) and who I perceive as having been among the best or most famous in their particular field.

The people below are listed in no particular order and for each I will link to Wikipedia so that anyone so inclined can learn more about some of history's greatest figures while they're still with us.

Musicians