Hockey players hang up their skates so how about the bard of the 1960s

Bob Dylan will be 69 this spring, on May 24th to be exact. His voice is nothing like it used to be, so they say. Will he retire from the Never Ending Tour?

Age has nothing to do with it. I saw Tony Bennett in Toronto a few years ago when he was 80. I wanted to see John Lee Hooker in his 80s and I’ll pay money any day to see B.B. King who is 85. B.B. King followed blues man Colin James in a Toronto concert 12 years ago and he blew Colin out of the park.

A college sophomore at Georgetown U. wondered if Dylan was past his prime in Too Old to Rock?

A few years ago, I felt lucky to see Bob Dylan play a show. In the week leading up to the show, I listened only to his new album, “Modern Times,” which I found as enjoyable as his classics. When Dylan walked onto stage, my excitement peaked. Then, he began to sing. Only two or three garbled words at a time could escape from between his ragged breaths. This continued throughout the show. A deep feeling of pity for Dylan arose inside me. Here was a talented artist whose chosen manner of expression, his voice, had failed him, and therby made it nearly impossible to appreciate his delicately crafted lyrics. Many musicians face this problem when they continue touring into old age. Guitarists and pianists develop arthritis. Singers lose their voices. When the situation gets as bad as it was for Dylan, fans may feel betrayed because one of their favorite artists did not seem to care enough to adjust for his limitations.

Here’s Dylan singing Shelter from the Storm

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion but I don’t think Bob Dylan has lost his voice. He wanted to sound “old” when he was 21. Now is is old and sounds old.

All of the concerts we attended since 2005 have been awesome. My traveling partner had never seen Dylan and she was impressed. The guy entertains and doesn’t disappoint.

Millions of people follow Bob Dylan. They aren’t just 60s types like me. He has an audience that spans all age groups. The reviews from his Japan tour are going well. He’ll be in Ireland this summer and they are pleased as punch.

My traveling partner asked today where Dylan was touring this summer. She wanted to get her vacation set. We used to take week-long Dylan vacations, from 2005 through to 2008. I had to think: is Dylan worth a week’s vacation? Whether or not I make it to a concert this summer is another matter. Things are more complicated now for me so I may pass this year. But if he comes back this way again, you can rest assured. I’ll do my best to see him. On this I give my word.

I’m a pretty died-in-the-wool Dylan fan or Dylanophile. My life has been a thread of following Dylan from 1963 onward including owning all his albums, come three and four times for the different versions. In the area I’m known as the Bob-Dylan jukebox. It took years to wean me from playing nothing but Dylan in public. The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia is within arms reach of the computer and I’ve read enough books about Dylan to know who’s faking it. He doesn’t get a blanket “Bob is wonderful” endorsement but he is a great artist of our time.

If you want to hear more, here’s Highway 61

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