Rock Stars Then and Now . . .
August 5, 2010 by Patrick Madrid
Filed under Patrick's Blog
This just in from my “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” files. No doubt most of you, like I, listened to at least some of the music these rock stars performed over the last 40 years. Once upon a time, they were young and firm and beautiful. That’s how I remember them, or at least those of them who interested me, way back when I was young and firm and thought of myself as beautiful.
So, when I ran across those pictures, and these, juxtaposing how some of these famous people used to look with how they look today, I was reminded of Scripture’s admonitions about how fleeting this life is and how quickly our youth and beauty fade. Not even rock stars can escape it. It reminds me of how, in God’s eyes, money, influence, and pulchritude (ah, the pulchritude of youth!) are ultimately meaningless. Seeing these pictures was for me a good, salutary reminder of how I need to keep my eyes fixed on what really matters.
Job 14:2 — “He comes forth like a flower, and withers; he flees like a shadow, and continues not.”
Eccl. 2:1, 11 — “I said to myself, ‘Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself.’ But behold, this also was vanity. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”
Psalm 90:6 — “in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.”
1 Peter 1:24 — “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls.”
James 1:11 — “For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”
I'm amazed that so many of these people are still alive after reading so many years of their drug and alcohol abuse. I pray they seek Jesus Christ as He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
Pat, I so enjoyed the show. We all surrender to time in th end, but I thought some looked pretty great considering (but maybe I grew old too!). The Hoff has become a caricature of himself but still looks great.
Keep up the good work
Hate to tell all these famous types but (to me anyway) Mother Angelica looks better than ALL OF THEM put together!
Mark, you totally missed the point of this post. Looks like you didn't even read it closely. I said nothing here that could reasonably be construed as "lording" anything over anyone, nor are any of your other criticisms valid either.
Picture Grace Slick at her keyboard late at night or early in the morning. (For your convenience, you may use the recent photo of her provided above.) Her fingers hover over the keys. She's tempted to Google her name, knows how silly it is, gives in and does it anyway. Right away she finds the Fox News site with the pictures and feels pretty low, but not as low and disappointed in the human race as she feels when she finds this site with a bunch of Catholics making fun of her appearance, lording their own superiority over these superficial rock stars, and all the while assuming that the rock stars are the ones who are unprepared to meet their Maker. Picture that and then wonder why people are suspicious of you when they find out you're religious. Oh, sure, it would be an honor if people hated us because we were truly following Christ. But how often is that actually the case?
It's interesting what gets posted here and what doesn't. For example, these are OK:
David Renshaw said: They thought they'd live forever… or die young. Either way, they have to face their maker sooner or later. They'd better get themselves right with God, 'cuz eternity is a whole heck of a lot longer than their careers. August 5, 2010 7:16 PM
Susan L said: Oh…my…goodness. Grace Slick.
August 5, 2010 10:26 PM
menriquecruz said: Really enjoyed the slideshow! Wow! I would say that Pat Benatar, Bono and Bruce Springstein fared better than the rest! I feel bad for Steven Tyler,but still enjoy some old Aerosmith! Ozzy looks horrible!
August 6, 2010 1:12 PM
RobertG said: I suspect they would be more beautiful now had they not spent so much money trying to alter their looks, but instead lived a simple life of virtue. August 6, 2010 1:53 PM
But my post gets rejected: Hmmm. Whatever Madrid's intentions, the result is pretty mean-spirited. More catty than Catholic. And honestly, friends, to presume to know the spiritual condition of the souls in these photographs? We should worry about our own souls as we grow one day closer to meeting Our Maker. I don't know how superficial these rock stars are about their appearance (I don't read People magazine either), but we now know how superficial some of you guys are. 🙂
The Stones fared the worst. Ted Nugent, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, and Pat Benatar fared the best. The saddest, however, is Grace Slick. I will say I was pleased to see David Coverdale's then-and-now pics. While he shows the signs of age, his voice does not. He scream the metal, wail the blues, or whisper the ballad as well as ever.
As The Rolling Stones sing, "What a drag it is getting old…"
Who ARE these people?
I suspect they would be more beautiful now had they not spent so much money trying to alter their looks, but instead lived a simple life of virtue.
Is this because they all come from England? (Kyuk, Kyuk)
Really enjoyed the slideshow! Wow! I would
say that Pat Benatar, Bono and Bruce Springstein
fared better than the rest! I feel bad for Steven Tyler,
but still enjoy some old Aerosmith! Ozzy looks
horrible!
I love life.
Gracefully surrender the things of youth…
Now, at 45, I begin to appreciate the formula God has planned; after an expose, a seminar in fleeting worldliness and ignorance – a shot at humility and insight.
How cool.
Thanks God!
Oh…my…goodness. Grace Slick.
They thought they'd live forever… or die young. Either way, they have to face their maker sooner or later. They'd better get themselves right with God, 'cuz eternity is a whole heck of a lot longer than their careers.