Late Bloomers
6/24/202628 min
Rock music is supposed to belong to the young...but history tells us a different story.
This time, we look at artists who refused to quit, even as the years passed and the industry insisted their time was over.
From Deborah Harry breaking through with Blondie in her 30s, to James Murphy reinventing himself with LCD Soundsystem at 35, to Leonard Cohen becoming a global icon in his 50s, these are the musicians who proved that success doesn’t always come on schedule.
They've had to deal with ageism baked into the music business, the realities of grinding it out for decades, and the moments when persistence, timing, and reinvention finally collide.
It’s a reminder that while breaking through gets harder with age, it’s never impossible...and sometimes, the best work comes later.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAlan Cross· Host0:00
Hey, it's Alan, and I just wanted to let you know that you can now listen to The Ongoing History of New Music early and ad free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. Hey, before we start the show today, I wanna tell you about something brand new we're launching with our friends at Apple Podcasts called The Ongoing History of New Music Unlimited. For $3.49 a month, $3.49, uh, which is less than the price of your morning coffee, you can now get access to the full archive of our shows ad free. Plus you'll get brand new episodes two days early and special bonus episodes. It's Ongoing History Unlimited, and it's available right now only on Apple Podcasts. Listen to me. It is never too late to follow your dreams. Here are a few inspirational examples. Anna Mary Robertson was born in New York in 1860, and for years she worked as a housekeeper before moving to farm work with her husband, Thomas Moses. They had 10 children. When Thomas died, Anna needed something to occupy her time, so she took up painting. She was 78 years old when she started. Anna became known as Grandma Moses and is one of the most celebrated American painters of the 20th century, and she's also held up as an example of never being too old to follow your dreams. Then, in early 2022, I ran across the story of Ruth Slenczynska. She was the last surviving pupil of classical legend Sergei Rachmaninoff. Ruth first met him when she was declared