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The ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s were incredible decades for music, each with its own distinctive style and sound.
The ‘60s was the decade of free love, psychedelic pop and raw rock ‘n roll; the ‘70s brought the rise of disco, the raw energy of punk and new styles of rock; and the ‘80s was an era of synth-pop, new wave and electronica. And with each of these iconic eras came iconic music stars, singers and musicians.
Sadly, some of the biggest stars from these decades have now passed away, leaving incredible musical legacies through which they’ll live on forever. But many legendary artists from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s are still with us, continuing to make waves through the work that brought them to fame, or through new projects and pursuits.
Let’s take a look at some of the greatest music stars of these decades – how they rose to fame and where they are now.
Cher
‘The Goddess of Pop’, Cher first rose to stardom alongside her then-husband Sonny Bono as the duo Sonny & Cher. Their huge success after releasing I Got You Babe in the ‘60s quickly faded, and from then on, her career was marked by multiple setbacks and subsequent comebacks. She’s dabbled in everything – comedy TV, serious acting roles, and musical projects that span multiple genres while constantly reinventing her public persona.
If there’s one thing Cher has never been, it’s predictable or boring. And if there’s one thing she’s always been, it’s a cultural powerhouse and fashion icon. So much so that even during career lulls, she’s remained a beloved household name.
As of 2025, at 79, Cher remains active and released her memoir Cher: The Memoir, Part One in November 2024, with Part Two on the way. She performed to an enraptured crowd (and was met with online adoration) at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in October 2024, played the annual Love Rocks NYC concert in March 2025, and there’s even a Cher biopic in the works with Universal Pictures.
Van Morrison
Northern Irish legend Van Morrison has been crooning since the 1960s, bringing his distinctively rich baritone voice and soulful, rhythm and blues sound to audiences around the world. Van Morrison cut his musical teeth early, starting his first band at the tender age of 12 and learning to play a range of instruments.
After starting his career as a musician with various show bands, he finally created the band THEM in 1964 and rose to international fame. In 1967, he released what would turn out to be one of the most beloved songs of the entire decade, the still-popular Brown Eyed Girl.
Today, Van the Man is still making music – in fact, he became even more productive after turning 70 and has released seven albums in the last five years. His latest and 47th album, Remembering Now, was released in June 2025 and went straight to No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Album chart. He’s still touring and doing his thing, and long may it continue.
Mick Jagger
Perhaps one of the world’s biggest rock stars, Mick Jagger was the lead singer and frontman of The Rolling Stones. A wild, charismatic figure with a reputation as a ladies’ man, Jagger founded the band with his friends in the early ’60s and very quickly found his way to international fame.
Jagger is one of the key figures behind what’s known as the ‘British Invasion’ – the influx of British artists into the American music scene in the ’60s – and with his songwriting partner, Keith Richards, has been behind some of the greatest rock hits ever written.
Despite the deaths of original members Brian Jones and Charlie Watts, and Jagger’s turbulent relationship with Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones have never officially ended. In fact, they released their latest piece of work as recently as 2023 and toured as recently as 2024. As for Jagger, he’s still busy with music, fame, and being happily engaged to former ballerina Melanie Hendrick, who had their child (his eighth) in 2016.
Stevie Nicks
After Stevie Nicks and her partner Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975, the previously bluesy band took on a new folk-rock/pop sound that would propel them to chart-topping American success.
Nicks’ incredible songwriting contributed massively to the success of Fleetwood Mac. But with multiple songwriters in the band wanting to be heard, she found herself with a surplus of songs that she channelled into a solo career. She left Fleetwood Mac to pursue her solo career in 1990 and returned in 1997.
Stevie Nicks never stopped writing, recording and performing, as a solo artist or a part of the band, though she has recently said that there will be no more Fleetwood Mac since her bandmate and “musical soul mate” Christine McVie passed away in 2022.
Nicks has become iconic to a whole new generation of music lovers, and wrote a poem for Taylor Swift’s recent album, The Tortured Poets Department. She’s currently still bringing her witchy, gothic magic to the world, selling out a whole new American tour that’s due to kick off in August.
Steven Tyler
With his inimitable voice, charisma, and stage presence, Steven Tyler was always meant for stardom. As the frontman of Aerosmith, he’s been a household name since the ’70s and the instantly recognisable voice behind global hits like Crazy, Walk This Way, and Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.
His long and very rock ‘n roll career was somewhat derailed at times by his substance abuse problems and interpersonal issues with his band members. Despite that, the band prevailed and had planned to continue touring together. Unfortunately, they announced that they had no choice but to retire from touring after their 2023 tour failed due to Tyler’s health issues.
He’s recently made some surprise appearances, though, including on the last night of Black Sabbath’s tour, giving fans hope that he’ll be hitting the stage again.
Kate Bush
Kate Bush, the angel-voiced visionary behind 1970s hits like Wuthering Heights and Running Up That Hill, remains a UK music icon. She’s released 10 studio albums since her debut smash hit The Kick Inside, each of them reaching the top 10 in the UK.
Bush stopped touring at the height of her career for several reasons, among them the tragic death of her lighting engineer, the sheer exhaustion of touring and creating music, and her well-documented fear of flying.
Despite not playing live until 2014, her popularity held fast. So much so that her 2014 shows sold out in an instant, and eight of her albums re-entered the top 40 at the same time, in a record-breaking return to the charts. In 2022, Running Up That Hill also saw a huge resurgence in popularity due to its use in the show Stranger Things.
Most recently, Bush has written, directed, and storyboarded Little Shrew, a short animated film about the horrors of children caught up in war. She’s hinted at writing new music, but whether this will materialise remains to be seen…we can only hope!
Jon Bon Jovi
With his signature thick hair and smooth vocals, Jon Bon Jovi led his band to worldwide fame when Slippery When Wet transformed them from rising rockers into global superstars in 1986. Bon Jovi’s hits like Livin’ on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad Name were played on radio stations all over the world, and things just got better and better for the band throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Jon Bon Jovi also began an acting career in the ‘90s, and went on to appear in film and TV shows, including Ally McBeal and Sex and the City. In 2022, he underwent vocal surgery from which he spent some time recovering, while still actively rehearsing and performing select shows. In 2024, Bon Jovi released their sixteenth album, Forever, to generally good reviews.
Today, at 63, he’s a happy family man and has opened a huge five-story restaurant, bar, tattoo parlour and music venue in Nashville called JBJs.
Annie Lennox
The Scottish singer-songwriter and activist is best known as one half of the groundbreaking and unmistakably ’80s synth-pop duo Eurythmics, along with Dave Stewart. Together, they produced some truly era-defining music, including hits like Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and There Must Be An Angel that are still played on dancefloors today.
She launched her solo career in 1992 with the successful album Diva, yielding more hits such as Why and Walking on Broken Glass. Alongside her musical achievements, she’s always been an outspoken activist and founded The Circle, an organisation that fights for women’s rights and against gender-based violence.
As of 2025, Lennox is 70 years old and preparing for her first UK concert since 2019, a charity event for The Circle entitled Sisters: Annie Lennox and Friends at Royal Albert Hall. She also recently announced the release of her first book, Retrospective, in September; a reflection on her nearly five-decades-long career.
Phil Collins
Phil Collins became famous in the ’70s as the drummer and later the lead vocalist of the progressive rock band Genesis. His solo career kicked off in 1981 with the album Face Value, a smash hit that produced global hits like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. The album earned him multiple Grammys and even an Oscar nomination.
Renowned for his emotive voice and innovative drumming, Collins still regularly appears in lists of the greatest drummers of all time.
Sadly, today, at 74, Collins has largely retired from playing and performing due to health issues, including nerve damage and mobility challenges stemming from a 2007 spinal injury. He lives a quiet life in Switzerland, focusing on his family and philanthropy, with no confirmed plans for new music or performances. But he is reissuing his hit album No Jacket Required to mark its 40-year anniversary.
Final thoughts…
The music stars of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s lived fascinating, whirlwind rock ‘n roll lifestyles and brought some truly unforgettable music to the world. Each artist/band created their own style and image that cemented them as legends, not just in their own heyday, but today, too.
And while, for many fans, the early albums that propelled them to fame will always be the greatest, it’s fantastic to see that they’re still making an impact on the world. That the rock ‘n roll spirit persists, and their creativity, ambition and influence continue to shape lives.
Did we mention any of your favourite artists in this article? Did we miss out on any that you’d like to acknowledge? Let us know in the comments below!
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