Musicians

respond...but my kneejerk response to anyone creative NOT continuing to do creative work is usually to tell them NOT to retire, or to get back to creating if they've already given it up. And that isn't always the appropriate response.

I do want to emphasize, re your "billions yawn" comment in the thread title, that not having become famous in no way means you aren't very talented. Competition is so brutal in the creative professions that offer fame and fortune for the most successful that no one should ever assume that just because you didn't have hit records, that somehow means you're not as talented as others who did. Sheer luck, especially serendipitous timing, has everything to do with it.

Re wanting to change/save the world with your art... Very few artists have, at least in terms of having a visible effect that created what they wanted. The idealistic musicians of the '60s would not have expected Reagan to become president, let alone Trump.

I'm listening to one of your interview videos now, to what you said about hearing an interview where Grace Slick talked about not being able to change the nature of human aggression with her music and message.

And I just paused that, since I can't always multitask when I'm writing.

Anyway, the point I want to get to is that even if you CAN'T see the immediate effect from your music that you want to have, it's still more than likely that you had SOME effect on the people who heard you.

If their minds had been too closed, you probably pushed them open a bit.

If they were already openminded, you probably helped nudge them in a direction they could follow to create change.

Where they shared your music with others, it probably helped them find a common purpose.

And even if no change resulted, your music almost certainly helped a lot of people get through another day, bringing them pleasure, distracting from their personal stresses.

None of us can ever know exactly how much of an impact we have on others. But for every single one of the few very famous people who make headlines and history with what they do, there are a lot of others, including artists, who have contributed to those positive changes, even if their contributions aren't as celebrated.

And you deserve applause for what you did, for so many years.

I'm not going to pretend I don't hope you'll stay creative, in whatever way you choose. A lot of musicians who've retired turn to painting or sculpture. A lot of them teach...and YouTube can be perfect for that.

Whatever you choose to do, I hope it brings you a lot of satisfaction.