As the 2023 Grammy Awards get ready to air on Feb. 5, fresh new faces gear up for their red carpet debut. During the show, new artists are introduced and many young singers and songwriters are recognized for their musical performances. However, this year, many seasoned musical veterans, including ABBA and Diana Ross, are up for awards. With decades of experience, they have often been asked what it’s like to age in the industry.
These older-adult nominees have been recognized by the Grammy’s for their exceptional contributions to music this year, but they’ve also shared some words of wisdom on aging:
ABBA (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album)
Have stamina
“It’s not very common that you do records when you get past 60,” ABBA’s Agnetha Fältskog, now 72, said in 2013, according to udiscovermusic. “Your voice changes, and your body, and you don’t have the same energy. … I would warn 16-year-old Agnetha that she will need stamina. This life gives you a lot, but it also takes. You can never be ill. Even if you have a fever, you have to work. We had only two canceled concerts during the ABBA tours.”
Bonnie Raitt (Song of the Year, Best American Roots Song, Best Americana Album)
Start your day with a good mindset
“If you’re the ingenue or the leading lady, it’s harder to age gracefully,” a now 73-year-old Raitt told AARP. “The press starts to snipe at you after you put on 3 pounds. But when you’re the equivalent to a character actress, which is what I’d say I am, you age in a more welcoming way. I actually do start every day thinking to myself, I get another chance … I’m going to live this life for the ones who didn’t get that shot.”
Diana Ross (Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album)
Health is beauty
“I like to think of myself as healthy,” Ross, 78, said, according to U.K.-based Express. “Beauty comes from being healthy. [Beauty] means being a good person, having integrity and loyalty and being true to your work, there’s power in that! Walking around being self-indulgent about prettiness, that’s not important.”
Danny Elfman (Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella)
Look ahead of you
“My view of life is you’re on a giant escalator and every step is another year of your life,” Elfman, 69, told U.K.-based inews. “Somewhere just ahead of you is the Grim Reaper. You get one more step and wham! He’s got you. You’re f**kin’ gone. And you can see behind you, but you can’t see ahead. It’s just a blur. So you can look back and go, ‘Wow, I’ve got 69 steps behind me. Damn. Do I have one more? Or 20 more, or 30 more in front of me?’ There’s no way to know. So every birthday I feel like I’ve cheated death one more time.”
Neil Young (Best Music Film)
Don’t stop moving
“It hurts a little to play now where it didn’t before,” Young, 77, told AARP. “I don’t hear quite as well as I did before. My voice is not like it was before. Show me something that is like it was before. I feel good about the future. The idea is, do not stop moving.”
Ozzy Osbourne (Best Rock Song)
Give up the bad stuff
“I can remember when I was 69 and thinking, ‘I wonder when I’ll start to feel old, when I’ll start to feel everything?’” Osborne, 74, told Yahoo. “And suddenly, when I turned 70, the floodgates opened. It was one thing after the other. … I’ve given up a lot of my vices. … You suddenly [get] a moment of clarity and you go, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ Because it all goes by so quickly. So, you get on with it.”
Willie Nelson (Best Country Solo Performance)
Pay for each day
“If you want to live a long time, you have to take care of yourself,” Nelson, 89, told the Wall Street Journal in a new profile. “You have to pay for the day, every day. As you’ve always heard, if you don’t use it, you lose it. You need to move. So every day, I’ll jog or walk, do some sit-ups … just a little something to pay for the day.”
Mel Brooks (Best Audiobook, Narration and Storytelling Recording)
Keep working
“In order to stay alive, work,” Brooks, 96, told Financial Times. “Keep working no matter what if you can, at something you love to do. Never ever retire. Never sit when you can stand, never stand when you can walk. … But don’t leave out the Raisin Bran, that may help,” he said.
