I went to a clinic with Shawn Pelton, (SNL band drummer, and currently 56 years old) and he talked a bit about doing the session for Kelly Clarkson's "Behind These Hazel Eyes." He said that there was a concern that he wasn't going to be able to bring a young, hi-energy vibe to it, and he was only 42 at the time. His playing said totally otherwise - you'd have no idea how old the drummer was listening to it - in your head you could very well imagine it to be a 20 year old kid thrashing that kit.
Another fun example was the Aly and AJ (Disney actresses Alyson and Amanda Michalka ) album "Into the Rush." While this record is a guilty pleasure of mine, I had it on my iPod because it was my daughter's music and that it made it easier to listen to what she wanted when we were in the car. In any case, the drumming on that record is super solid, and when I looked up who the drummer was, it came as no surprise to see that it was John "JR" Robinson. He was 50 when he recorded that, and it sounds just fine to me.