The Case for Getting it Together

I've said before that I get a kick out of thinking about all these old rockers who are sitting around strumming their guitars or watering their gardens or doing Tai Chi or whatever. They're thinking that their days of hearing their songs on the radio and screaming fans are long past, but at least they had the sense to clean up their acts. Next thing they know there's an e-mail from Hagashukki Tiramisu saying that they feel that said artist's 70s hit "Baby Baby Babe" would be perfect for their new Subaru commercial and would they mind letting them use it, and oh, yeah...they'll be sending along a check for $1.2-mil if it's okay with the artist. Usually it is. Those guys are my heroes for that situation and they deserve every penny. Of course they wouldn't be around to hear the good news in the first place if they hadn't cleaned up their acts. Hats off to them.
 Of course most of the drummers spontaneously combusted or choked on their own vomit, but many a guitarist and vocalist and even some members of the backup band burned out on alcohol or drugs or both, and they're no longer with us. Who knows...their names likely were on the other side of the hyphen where it listed the songwriters at the top of the sheet music, but by dying they gave up their half of the royalties. The old rockers watering their gardens had the last laugh. Better to water daisies than to be pushing them up I suppose.
 Using Paul Rodgers (pictured), formerly of Bad Company, as an example isn't the best choice, since he's never gone away and has been hugely successful since Bad Company, but there are so many I can't pick one. It is interesting to note that a bass player named Boz Burrell, who played with King Crimson before joining Bad Company, was a perfect example of someone who gave up everything he had, which was a lot, just to become a useless alcoholic. I'm not singling him out or faulting him for a disease, but to see that talent go to shit BY CHOICE is so wrong. He died from a heart attack brought on by drugs and alcohol. Matter of fact he died with a drink in one hand and a joint in the other. It's a damn shame. RIP Boz. I hadn't thought about that when I put Paul's pic up. But to his credit he's been sober and healthy for quite some time, and he's around to enjoy the rewards. The bass player, may God rest his soul, gets flowers once a year.
 I'm only guessing here because I've never read about an actual case of what I'm talking about, but surely it's like that, and I can picture it perfectly. It gives me a warm fuzzy I guess. It's the Cinderella Story. In any case it sure speaks for taking care of yourself. Here's to the aged rockers. "This ginger ale's for you!" Cheers.