Please spell the name of the Indian raga singer whose voice we heard very briefly on this show. Thanks!

This subject is fascinating! I could write pages about it. This kid from the sixties is now listening closely to his favorite vocalists, hoping (mostly in vain) that they've managed to keep their chops. I just listened to some of Ringo Starr's VH1 live performance. We all know he wasn't a vocal force in The Beatles, yet he sounds exactly the same as he did when they became famous. Yes, it's an odd choice, but hearing him sing "With A Little Help From My Friends" gave me goosebumps. "Rock on one time for Ringo!"

Debbie Harry's voice continues to improve as she ages. The work she did with the Jazz Passengers was the best.

Grace Jones had a great album out last year and it sounds like she picked up where she left off in the 80s (she looks amazing, too!).

craig wedren from shudder to think still sings amazingly...i saw them at bowery ballroom a few months ago.

I think Sinatra is way ahead of anyone.His ''golden'' voice from the '40's became a wonderful instrument in the '50's when he did his best innovative work.Too bad he smoked and drank so much. He did say that he quit smokin' and drinkin' before a recording session. Some of the stuff the family is allowing out today are things he never would have agreed to. Great to hear the master though no matter how bad.

I thought that Domingo has lost a bit of the upper range in his voice but it's still mostly there. Maria Callas really lost hers early, likely from bad technique and an unhealthy lifestyle. Oy!

Tom Jones has been singing for four decades and not only his voice is still amazingly pitch perfect, but his range is thoroughly intact.

I've seen him live three times - and not only is his voice still amazing, but he works that crowd like a maestro. It's awesome to watch!

(Um...I'm in my 30s BTW...)

Saw Rosemary Clooney a year before she died. Her voice had suffered from age, but had also been embued with a smoky, soulful quality that aren't present on her younger recordings. Her version of Fools Rush In on the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is probably my favorite because of this quality.

How about Harry Belafonte? He famously does something different (that I don't really understand) w/his speaking voice to preserve his singing voice. Seems to be working as far as I can tell!

If you have the presence and musical leadership qualities of Pete Seeger, you can perform at any age. He turns his concerts into an audience sing-a-long and we love it. He humbly acknowledges that his voice is not what it used to be, the audience accepts it, and is happy to experience a legend in action.

:))) Bill withers has got terribly charming personality.Thank you for being alive :)

Billie holiday's voice was so peculiar, it could not be affiliated with any age. It was ageless.

Frank Sinatra never really SANG either exactly.

I would love to add Melanie Safka to the list. I saw her at BB King's a couple years ago and her voice has just grown in richness and beauty!

Why is Glenn calling?

Bono's voice has aged beautifully although seems to be showing some signs of wear lately. I'm disappointed at what Sting's voice has turned into.

But my favorite singer (and this is going to sound self-serving) is my husband. His voice has changed into a gorgeous baratone growl over the course of our 20 relationship and his 25 year music career (www.lloydunited.com). It was nothing special when we first started dating and now he's got to be one of my favorite singers.

Another voice that I loved is Diana Ross - "Don't Hurry Love" and "Love Child" were really amazing displays of her voice and range, but her age has affected some of that Motown perfection.

Still great singers, perhaps even better than they were:
James Taylor
Don Henly
Elvis Costello

BTW, there is no need for anyone, under any circumstances, to go see Bob Dylan sing live. I am a huge Dylan fan and when I saw him last tour it was the most unintelligible, unlistenable singing I've ever witnessed...it sounded as if he was burping. If you want to view history, go to the Washington monument.

Perfect example of hard living would be Whitney Houston. After years of alcohol and drug abuse you can really hear it in her music. She just doesn't have the "voice" that she used to. What a terrible shame.

Bob Dylan's voice was polarizing even in his youth, but I find it even more so now. I love the albums (including live albums) of his youth but find his notoriously abrasive concert style now irritating

Tony Bennett is in his 80s and still going strong

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Tom Waits!

Johnny Fontane from the godfather. sure, he's fictional. but he lost his great singing voice to booze and smokes and had to move into big movie roles to save his career

Dion DiMucci's voice and delivery have become so soulful.

One voice that is still quite beautiful is that of George Beverly Shea, the long-time singer for Billy Graham. Very rich bass, very expressive. I believe he is well into his 90s.

I loved Lauren Hill's raw soulful voice in the 90's, but it is almost completely lost now. I regret to say that this might not be an issue with age, as it might be with other factors.

carly simon??

Etta James... Need I say more?

Stevie Wonder's voice is still amazing!

annie ross's voice is is getting more and more beautiful and interesting as she gets older.
love all of the music she did for robert altman's film ""shortcuts"

When I was an undergraduate at Indiana University in the 1970s, there was a teacher at the IU Music School named Ralph Appleman who was a bass. He was in his mid 60's and still sang Grunemanz in the annual Parsifal. He also was awarded a patent on a bio-feedback voice training machine that he intended to keep singers using their voices in a most natural way, but I think was mostly talked about for speech therapy.

Often, the longer into their life a popular singer sings , the less "pretty" and/or "tonally accurate" their voice will sound, and the further away it will get from the quality of their youth. However, what increases are more sublime qualities like wisdom, weariness, honesty that are just as special and important to a listener. Obvious examples of this would be Dylan, Marianne Faithful, Johnny Cash.

Neti pot is an ayurvedic practice. You pour salty water in one nostril and let it drain out the other. It is very effective because nasal sprays go down your throat but with the neti pot, it just goes through the nasal passages and sinuses.

if you can't sing, or can't sing anymore, just speak it--like john trudell does. it works for him; it works for the material

most rock singers can't sing anything other than the idiosynchratic stuff they write for themselves, anyway. witness some of the embarassing attempts at harmonizing on the recent rock and roll hall of fame event HBO broadcast.

I agree. Leonard never really tried to sing.

I guess never training or taking care of one's self is part of the issue.
But you can hear in Faithful's young voice that it's flawed, untrained, she hardly extends a note.

What about Judy Collins- she had a marvelous instrument that is now showing its age. Joni Mitchell, as well. (Smoker)

Marnie Nixon sounds AMAZING now - she always took excellent care of her voice, but she worked a lot.

Keeping up the idiocy on Soundcheck. Marianne Faithful, trustworthy because "she lived it"??? She's a pampered aristocrat. Give me a break.

One of my favorite singers is the baritone Thomas Allen, also in his 60s). Like a lot of promising singers in the '70s, he was invited to sing heavy roles by Karajan, and politely declined. And the landscape is littered with voices destroyed by HvK, but Sir Tom is still singing beautifully.