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>>>There don't seem to be many who retire while still anywhere near peak form. I think that applies as much to entertainers (singers, dancers, actors, etc.) as to athletes. I don't even go see the old rockers any more, even the ones who were favorites (and still are on CD). It's too depressing.
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>>I wish Elton John would! I saw him in an interview where he was going on about not only had his voice stood the test of time, but it had got better. Soon after I heard him in a gig and he sounded awful. e.g. he had NO CHANCE of hitting the exciting notes in "Benny and the Jets" (so why did he bother doing it). I hate it when artistes still try to old stuff they no longer can, so they tend to drop a key or octave, or go for an easier harmony, or even SAY the words.
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>>Dionne Warwick is a case in point. I saw her a few years ago, all full of herself and her own importance, but singing old hits like St Jose she just could hit any of the high notes for which she became famous.
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>She was on the finale of "American Idol" last year and it was excruciating. Just awful.

Ecco!

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>I saw Elton John once when he was still good, at a bicentennial (7/4/76) concert in Foxboro, Mass. He was a wild man, not the fat old hag he has become. He was dressed in red, white, and blue, including a tophat bigger than the one worn by the cat in the hat. Great show.

He was good back then but now, as you say ... (did you mean "hag" or did you get one letter wrong?) :-)