All Things Must Pass
This site celebrates the giants of a generation of musicians that is now, slowly but surely, leaving us. The focus might appear morbid, even mawkish - it is not meant to be.
Rather, it celebrates the longevity and continuing creativity of a generation of musicians who never dreamed they could make life-long careers in the then-new rock 'n roll. (The Beatles famously had plans for life after fame, including Ringo opening a chain of hair salons.) But, it turns out, they could and many did. We hope to show that the 27 Club has a much smaller membership than you would think, and certainly much smaller than the 80-And-Still-Going-Club (current documented membership 200+ and still growing).
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An even more elite club is the 90-And-Still-Going-Club, who have had six new members so far in 2026:
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John Gorman (4 January) He was a founder of The Scaffold comedy musical group, who had two hits in the late 60s, including the UK's 1968 Christmas #1, Lily The Pink . In 1974 Scaffold morphed into GRIMMS, with the addition of many new members. In the late 70s he was involved with the TV programme Tiswas, and then its adult derivative O.T.T. He then became a TV presenter, before moving to France. On his return he followed a portfolio life of activities in the theatre, visual arts and literature. Scaffold have occasionally reformed for one-off shows, most recently in 2018. In 2020 they re-recorded vocals for Thank U Very Much, in support of the NHS
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​​The total membership of the 80ASG Club passed 300 in our database in February, 2026. New members of the 80ASG club in December to March include:​​​​​​
Bob Lang (10 January) He joined Wayne Fontana and the Jets as the bassist in 1962. At a showcase gig in early 1963 only Lang and Fontana turned up, so Eric Stewart and Ric Rothwell were recruited at short notice. The four decided to continue under the new name of Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders. They had a #1 hit in the US in 1965 with The Game of Love, but Fontana quit shortly afterwards. The Mindbenders, as they now were, then had a massive hit in the US and UK with Groovy Kind Of Love. They had a couple of good years touring, but couldn't sustain chart success and Lang left in March 1968, to open a record shop, being replaced by Graham Gouldman. Lang did play briefly (but not record) with Welsh group Racing Cars.
Robbie Krieger (8 January). Really, all you need to know is that he wrote Light My Fire. Self-taught, he was a competent flamenco (Spanish Caravan), bottleneck, and finger-picking guitarist before joining The Doors in 1965. After Jim Morrison died in 1971, the other three Doors continued for a couple of years before disbanding. Since then Robbie has had a solo career, his own band and has guested for many. He's also participated in a number of quasi-Doors reunions and recreations. He's also a good golfer. His 2021 memoir Set The Night On Fire (a great read) revealed his long-term drug addiction after The Doors, now beaten, as was a bout of cancer.
Andy Brown (7 January) Previously the drummer with West Midlands outfit The Lawmen, Andy (top right in the photo) joined The Fortunes, as they had just become, in 1963. It took them five singles to have a hit, the Cook/Greenaway-penned You've Got Your Troubles, in 1965, which was really their peak year with three hit singles, although they had a late flourish of two hit singles in 1971. They were part of the "British Invasion" of the US in 1965. The band has continued to this day, and continues to tour, albeit with no original members left. Andy left in 1978, and is rumoured to have become a postman, although he didn't give drumming up entirely.
John Paul Jones (3 January). Born into a musical family, he started piano aged six. Aged 14 he acquired, against the advice of his father, a bass guitar. He was soon in a band, and at 16 he was the bassist for the ex-Shadows Tony Harris and Jet Meehan for two years. He then spent four years as a session musician, both a bassist and an arranger. Here he often worked with Jimmy Page. When the latter started Zeppelin, Jones, tired of the slog of session work, asked if he needed a bassist. He did, and Jones became the musical brain of Zeppelin for the next 12 years. After Zeppelin was done, he became a producer, arranger, composer and performer in a multiplicity of genres, and is still making new music today.
Chick Churchill (2 January). Classically trained on piano, he became interested in rock and blues in his late teens. A chance meeting with Alvin Lee of The Jaybirds led to Churchill becoming that group's road manager, and soon thereafter its keyboard player. Re-christened as Ten Years After, the group became popular on the blues/rock circuit and an appearance at Woodstock moved them into a different class. After TYA broke up in 1974, Churchill became a publisher, promoter and manager. He rejoined TYA for a brief reunion in 1983, and then permanently in 1988, since when, in various configurations - all of which up to 2024 featured Churchill - the band has continued.
Peter Criss (20 December). A drummer with roots in swing, Criss was in a number of New York bands in the late 1960s. After the last of these expired he put an ad in Rolling Stone which was seen by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, who were looking to complete the original line-up of KISS. Picked as much for his vocals as his drumming, he joined in 1973, under the persona of Catman. KISS became a headline act in the late 70s, but by the end of the Dynasty tour in 1979, Criss was done, his drumming deteriorating, and he was eased out. His subsequent solo career was not commercially successful; he rejoined KISS twice (1996-2001, 2003-2004). He released solo albums in 2007 and 2025; he last performed in public in 2017.
John McEuen (19 December). Influenced by country pioneers The Dillards, he learnt banjo when he was 18. Later he would also play fiddle and mandolin. He joined The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1966, replacing Jackson Browne, and stayed with them till 1986. He rejoined for a second spell, 2001 - 2017. In between, and after, he did solo and guest work, and collaborated with Steve Martin, a childhood friend whom McEuen had helped learn the banjo.
Robert Martinez (13 December). He was the drummer in the trio that formed the original Mysterians in 1962, a Michigan garage band (and proto-punk band). His brother Rudy - known as Question Mark - joined on vocals, and "? and the Mysterians" was born. When a keyboard player was added, they found their style and had a #1 US hit in 1966 with the much-covered 96 Tears. Not exactly one-hit wonders as they had other singles that charted, but they disbanded in 1969. Since then, various reunions have taken place, most recently in late 2023.
Alan Ward (12 December). Classically trained, skilled on piano, he was the original guitarist with The Honeycombs, famous for having a female drummer. He joined in 1963, when they were The Sheratons and he was only 18. They were spotted by the songwriting team of Howard and Blaikley, whose Have I The Right? they recorded as The Honeycombs (drummer Honey Lantree was a hairdresser's assistant). It was a world-wide hit, and the group toured on the back of it, becoming famously big in Japan. But they could not replicate the success of their first single, and Alan left the group in 1966, after which he opened a music shop and recording studio in London. The original line-up briefly reunited in 1999.
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Bette Midler (1 December). Already an actress, she started singing in a gay bathhouse in NYC, accompanied by Barry Manilow. He arranged and co-produced her debut album The Divine Miss M, which went platinum. And then she continued....She's sold 30 million records, released 14 studio albums (four gold, three platinum, three multi-platinum), and won three Grammys. Her biggest singles, all #1s, are The Rose, Wind Beneath My Wings and From A Distance. She also memorably covered The Andrews Sisters.
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Some sad news recently of too many departures including Neil Sedaka, Andrew Ranken, Sly Dunbar, Chris Rea, Joe Ely, Jimmy Cliff, and Mani. Brief tributes to some of these, and to other recent losses from across the world of music, are on our Farewell page.
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To celebrate rock's 80 year olds, and other feats of longevity, please visit our Analyses of these living legends.
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Best place to start is probably with the Bands pages. We've grouped the bands into five categories, dependent on the survival rate of the membership. We're only focusing, initially, on major line-ups, although our database aims to track all recording line-ups. We're much less interested at this stage (although not uninterested) in touring line-ups.
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An "On this day..." feature is on our Celebrations page.
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Please note - the site is still (yes, still) undergoing a major refresh, during which old, outdated material will still be available for a while - please bear with us while we clean everything up, including proper attribution of all the photos we have used.
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Photo credits
The Who, Jim Summaria, (Wikipedia:Contact us/Photo submission), licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
The Small Faces, Billboard , now in public domain
The Beatles, unknown photographer, public domain
Robert Lee Smith, unknown photographer, retrieved from Facebook
Jess Conrad, Jack1956, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
John Leyton, public domain press photo from 1967
Doug Kershaw, David Simpson (cajunzydecophotos), CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Clarence Carter, John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
John Gorman, Jo Bell, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Pierre van der Linden, Hjvannes, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Aynsley Dunbar, Karoli, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Bob Lang, from Bob Lang (Differently), CC-BY-SA
Robbie Krieger, Franccesco Velasquez, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Fortunes, Chuck Boyd of KRLA Beat magazine. This is a retouched picture. Modifications made by Dcameron814., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
John Paul Jones, https://www.flickr.com/photos/laraclifford/ Lara Clifford], CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Chick Churchill, (cropped from) Deram / London Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Peter Criss, Casablanca Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
John McEuen, JohnMHoover, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Tony Hicks, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
? and the Mysterians, unknown author - retouched picture, digitally altered from its original version. Modifications made by Dcameron814., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Alan Ward, extracted from Honeycombs photo, Eric Koch for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bette Midler, Alan Light, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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Page last updated 21 March 2026