In the 1970s, Jon Bauman used the performance skills he’d honed as a classical pianist at the prestigious Julliard School to become Bowzer, the goofy front man of classic rock and roll tribute band Sha-Na-Na.

Now he’s using his fame -- and even his signature exaggerated Bowzer bicep flex -- to talk to local seniors on behalf of the nonpartisan, The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. We caught up with Bauman, who just qualified for Medicare when he turned 65 last month, during a stop at Five Star Senior Living’s Fountainview retirement facility in West Palm Beach.

Question: How did you connect with this organization?

Answer: My involvement actually has a lot to do with Florida. After 2000 and the elections here I became a lot more politically involved and was involved during the elections in 2004 and 2008, doing a lot of political work. I figured with my visibility I can make a difference in these issues. I’m passionate about the things I care about, including Medicare and Social Security. I attended a White House event where this group appeared, and we connected there. I’ve been with them a couple of months, and what it’s done is re-energize their goals. They’re a non-partisan group who just calls it like they see it, and what they see is that changes like making Medicare a voucher program are dreadful ideas. It’s been a tremendously successful program and it’s under siege for reasons we don’t completely comprehend.

Q: Why do you feel so strongly about this?

A: As I say in my speech, I love the music of the ’50s and ’60s but don’t think it’s a good idea to go back to the social policies of the ’50s and ’60s. Before the passage of Medicare, 50 percent of senior citizens had no health insurance, and 35 percent lived below the poverty line.

Q: In some of your presentations, like the one at Fountainview, you played a little Chopin on the piano! Does that blow people’s minds to see Bowzer doing classical music?

A: I do that if there happens to be a piano in the room. I don’t ask for one. (Laughs). If people don’t know (that I play) by now, people who haven’t been to my rock and roll shows are surprised. And it allows me to make a statement that I love all different kinds of music.

Q: You’ve been a leader in the fight to pass the Truth In Music law, that ensures that promoters claiming to represent classic groups, like the Drifters or the Marvelettes, must prove that at least one member actually recorded with that group or owns the trademark to the name.

A: I started down that road in about 2000, and now it’s a bill in 34 states, that’s stopped those imposter groups from profiting from those artists’ names. I love the music of that era, and I’ve gotten to know the people who made that music. That’s been one of the greatest honors of my life. So many of them still sing so well and perform so well, and they were being preyed upon. The other victims were the consumers. This is my way of giving back to those artists.

Q: Why do you think the music of that era endures?

A: Chuck Berry once wrote “It’s got a backbeat, you can’t lose it.” As much as rock and roll has changed, there hasn’t been a massive shift in the fundamentals. We were in the movie “Grease,” and every generation loves that movie. The greatest enduring question is “Why must I be a teenager in love?” It’s simple lyrics articulating adolescent truths.