Aging is a natural part of life, and it can be career altering for a singer. Some singers have managed to age gracefully and have adapted their material over the years to suit their changing vocal ranges. For others, though, time hasn’t been quite as kind. Although many older pop and rock singers have maintained active performing and recording careers, a few haven’t been quite so lucky. Here are six singers who no longer sound anything like they did during their primes. Unfortunate circumstances have even forced a few of them into early retirement.
Marianne Faithfull
During the 1960s, Marianne Faithfull spent some time as one of Britain’s most prominent stars of stage and cinema. Between recording popular songs like “As Tears Go By” and appearing in films such as “Hamlet” and “The Girl on a Motorcycle,” Faithfull somehow found the time to date Mick Jagger and carve out a permanent place in Rolling Stones lore. However, years of drug addiction, heavy smoking and persistent laryngitis took their toll and robbed Faithfull of her distinctive vocal tone. If you were only familiar with her music from the ’˜60s, you’d never know that Faithfull was the female guest vocalist on Metallica’s 1997 recording “The Memory Remains.” Despite the vocal troubles, Faithfull retains a significant base of fans who insist that her voice actually got better as she aged. It’s a shame that vapes weren’t around in the ’˜60s, though, to help Marianne Faithfull and other singers get off of tobacco and preserve their voices.
Julie Andrews
Known for possessing one of the purest soprano voices in popular music during the 1950s and 1960s, Julie Andrews rocketed to fame in 1956 thanks to her starring role as Eliza Doolittle on Broadway’s “My Fair Lady” and took her stardom even further during the 1960s with legendary performances in the hit films “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music.” Andrews’ stage career was still going strong in the late 1990s when she began to develop vocal problems during “Victor/Victoria,” a stage adaptation of the popular 1982 film. Doctors diagnosed the problem as nodules on Andrews’ vocal cords. Although Andrews didn’t abuse her voice as many singers from her era were known to have done, she was a smoker for at least a while when she was younger. A botched throat operation left Andrews with a noticeable rasp and a greatly diminished vocal range. Andrews sued the doctor responsible for the vocal damage and eventually settled out of court. She was able to regain some of her speaking voice through corrective surgeries, but her former singing ability was never restored.
Ian Anderson
During the early years of Jethro Tull, vocalist/flautist/songwriter Ian Anderson was known for having one of the more powerful and emotive voices in rock. By the late ’˜70s, though, Anderson was beginning to exhibit some noticeable hoarseness in Jethro Tull’s live shows. Anderson’s throat issues climaxed as Tull set out to tour in support of the 1984 album “Under Wraps.” Much maligned for its heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines, the album nevertheless featured some of the most challenging vocal material ever recorded by the band. Anderson had difficulty performing the new songs and was told by doctors that he needed to pause the tour and rest his voice for a while. Anderson pressed forward anyway, causing permanent damage to his voice in the process. On the next Jethro Tull album – “Crest of a Knave,” which infamously bested Metallica for a Grammy award in the Hard Rock/Metal category – the character of Anderson’s voice had changed completely. On the bright side, fans who stuck with Tull through the transition were treated to dramatically improved flute playing as Anderson focused his efforts in that area.
Robert Plant
If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to listen to a live recording of Led Zeppelin from the band’s first major tour in 1969, you probably have little doubt that Robert Plant was the greatest vocalist in rock during Zep’s early years. Although it might be apocryphal, there’s a story that Plant’s microphone suddenly stopped working during an early Led Zeppelin show, and his screams were so loud that the audience couldn’t tell the difference. One thing is certain: no one can abuse his vocal cords the way that Robert Plant did in the late ’˜60s and early ’˜70s without suffering consequences. By the second half of Zeppelin’s 1971 tour, Plant was already beginning to modify his melodies because he couldn’t sing the original notes in the final stanza of “Stairway to Heaven” anymore. Plant compounded the constant vocal abuse by smoking well into the 1980s. His voice retained much of its unique character, though, and Plant has always done a good job of writing new material to suit his diminished vocal range.
Steven Tyler
This is a recent one. After rocking the world for more than 50 years, Aerosmith finally had to call it quits as a touring act in 2024 because front man Steven Tyler was no longer able to sing. The reason? Tyler fractured his larynx while the band was on tour in 2023 – so if he ever talks about being willing to bleed for his fans, he’s not exaggerating. The potentially life-threatening injury damaged Tyler’s vocal cords, and he was never able to regain his singing ability even after surgery. Aerosmith, already on their farewell tour, had to cancel their remaining dates and end the tour prematurely. Steven Tyler had an amazing 50-year run, and Aerosmith’s many fans surely wish him the best in retirement.
Elton John
Elton John almost certainly possesses a voice that has undergone one of the most dramatic changes in popular music over the years. Once renowned for a remarkable vocal range spanning nearly four octaves, John developed nodules and had throat surgery in the 1980s to remove them. After the surgery, his voice was noticeably deeper. Years of drug use and hard living may have compounded the issue, but it’s not rare for vocal cord surgery to change singers’ voices permanently. Although Elton John couldn’t quite reach the high notes anymore after the surgery, he worked around his limitations and remained a dynamic performer until his retirement from touring in 2023.