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One of the hardest achievements for a musician is continuing to make relevant and high quality music for a great period of time. The number of artists and bands who have been able to consistently produce that caliber of music for over 50 years is vanishingly small. Still, there have been a few. They are some of the legends of the music world, artists whose legacy is long and prosperous.

Ray Charles is an excellent example of this quality. He began playing music at a bar at the age of 12, and eventually became one of the most iconic and beloved characters in soul music. His instantly recognizable voice – full of shrieks, yells, groans and howls – has become one of the most distinctive in all music. His lyrical ability is not far behind, either. His songs many times have a very human quality, full of simplicity and honesty. His songs have an almost magnetic quality, sucking you into the emotions he clearly put into them. This great man had a real gift for music, and continued to inspire people with song until his passing in 2004. His is a legacy of greatness and richness that has seldom been equaled and never surpassed.

Another artist whose career was long-lived and productive was Frank Sinatra. Known as one of the greats in the swing and jazz genre, Sinatra wrote and performed enormous amounts of music during a career that lasted over half a century. Many of his greatest hits, such as Fly Me To The Moon, Strangers In The Night and I’ve Got You Under My Skin continue to be performed today by artists like Micheal Buble. A member of the original Rat Pack, Sinatra’s music and influence was almost a trend, and that trend hasn’t died out, even today.

(P.S.: I wrote about artists that have had 50 year long careers, as opposed to band that have. I hope that’s alright)Still bored? Click to continue: Live Music: Robert Davi Sings Sinatra at Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc.