One of the heartbreaking things about being a live music fan is that, as you age, so do the vocalists you love, and some reach a point where they simply cannot hit the notes anymore. It hurts to hear these artists struggle, remembering as we do that they once could fly.
But every so often you’ll hear a singer who today is just as good, if not better, than she was 30 plus years ago. Such is the happy case with Gwen Dickey, who, as lead singer of the LA band Rose Royce, performed on several hits in the 1970s, a personal favorite of which is “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” Released in November 1978, the track reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. and #2 in the UK, propelled by Gwen’s soulful, expressive vocal.
Compare below Gwen’s live vocal from 1978 with her solo performance of the track in London just last year. The magic is still there!
By Robb Patryk
And last year, performing in the UK:
