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Most 91-year-olds are quietly biding their time at a peaceful retirement home. Not Californian Jerrie Thill, who spends her days beating the drums and recording new offbeat tracks -- all while lugging around an oxygen tank.

Why We Love Her: Jerrie proves that age ain't nothin' but a number -- and that you can rock out whether your 9 or 90.

The native Iowan got her start when she was barely out of high school, becoming the vaudeville leader of an all-girl swing band in Chicago. She then spent several years singing and drumming for a series of jazz ensembles. And then in the early '70s, she joined the Dixie Belles, with whom she played for 20 years. She and the Belles appeared on "Married With Children" and "The Golden Girls."

These days you can find her at her monthly gig at the restaurant El Cid in L.A.'s Silverlake neighborhood. In her new collaboration with oddball singer Allee Willis, Jerrie says that she "chose drums over a diamond ring," and we think she made the right choice. While diamonds might be a girl's best friend, drums are way cooler.

Quote: "You have to stay in life's stream," Jerrie told the Studio City Sun in a 2005 interview. "Because the minute you sit down, you've had it."

Check out a video of Jerrie's new song with Allee after the jump.


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