A band or their music turning 50 years old can be kind of an arbitrary number as so many bands got false starts or stalled starts. For instance, a band may have started under one name and worked that way for a few years and then decided on a new name and got famous under that name. In addition, many bands didn’t take off when releasing their first album. Not all bands were as lucky as BOSTON to reach the mega sphere right out of the box. In any event, bands and their music celebrating their golden anniversary is arbitrary and subjective just like the music we love so much. It may be more accurate to go by when an album was released and became a big hitting success.
Bands like Rush, Queen and Aerosmith were getting very popular 50 years ago back in 1974. Bad Company released Bad Company and “Ready For Love,” took off. David Bowie and Deep Purple were charting with their 1974 releases. All of these bands, artists are marking their Anniversaries from the 50th to the 55th at this point in time.
There was a time that people would never have thought their rock and rock idols would be around and still performing this late in the game but many still are. Look at the Rolling Stones who are still touring. They go back on tour on April 28, 2024 and they are calling it the Hackney Diamonds Tour. They literally formed in 1962. How insane is that? With seven (7) decades under their belts, we may have to call them the longest touring rock and roll band in history.
Steely Dan was reeling in the years with Pretzel Logic. They formed in 1971 but their lineup was not stable until 1974. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention some of these other bands that were famous in the 1970’s.
Boston, Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, The Doobie Brothers, Cheap Trick, Chicago, Styx, Electric Light Orchestra, Kansas, ZZ Top, Foghat Blue Oyster Cult, Heart, Steve Miller Band, Journey, Thin Lizzy, The Babys, Fleetwood Mac, Ted Nugent, The Outlaws, Pink Floyd and 38 Special.
There were also bands like Little River Band that were just getting into their groove. They will be turning 50 years old in 2025. As with so many bands, they will embark on a 50th Anniversary Tour. Another band that is turning 50 in 2025 is Air Supply.
