May 11, 2014 by Amy Gold
During the week of May 4, 2014, it was announced that rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry will be honored with the Polar Music Prize at a ceremony that takes place this August in Stockholm, Sweden. Established in 1989, this prestigious award is considered by many to be "the Nobel Prize of Music."
Also, Bob Marley's "Legends," a compilation album of the late reggae legend's greatest hits, celebrates its 30th anniversary and continues to rank in the Billboard 200 where it holds the record for being the longest charting album to date.
Barry Gibb will be launching a solo tour on May 15, 2014 in Boston, MA. Richie Furay, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, will also be giving three solo shows later this month. The Doobie Brothers and Boston will be performing together this summer in various cities across the U.S. Ringo Starr will also be touring with his All Starr Band this summer in North America. Also, members of the Allman Brothers Band, the Doors and the Grateful Dead will be among the featured performers at this year's Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN which takes place this June.
This June, Nazareth will be releasing a new album titled "Rock 'n' Roll Telephone," and this October, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page will be reissuing his photographic autobiography, first published in 2010. It was announced that Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, and Lionel Richie are among this year's CMT Award nominees. The award ceremonies will be televised live on CMT June 4, 2014. Also, Michael Jackson re-entered the Billboard charts with his new single, "Love Never Felt So Good," which is on his latest album, "XSCAPE," a posthumous compilation of previously unreleased songs. Also, the late King of Pop is set to make an "appearance" at the upcoming Billboard Music Awards, possibly as a hologram. This event will be televised on ABC May 18, 2014.
(For more information about the above-listed news items, please see below for a list of sources with links and article summaries.)
Finally, below is a trailer for the upcoming "B.B. King: The Life Of Riley," a documentary about the blues legend that will be coming out in selected theaters across the country starting May 21, 2014. (For a list of movie premiere dates and locations, go to BBKing.com.)
May 5, 2014: Doobie Brothers And Boston To Perform Together This Summer
The Doobie Brothers and Boston will be performing together this June and August in various cities across the U.S. The two bands have lined up a series of joint shows that begin on June 17, 2014 in The Woodlands, TX, and end on August 9 at Fort McCoy in Sparta, WI.
Source: Doobie Brothers Teaming Up with Boston for a Series of Summer Concerts
May 5, 2014: Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, Lionel Richie Among This Year's CMT Award Nominees
Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, and Lionel Richie are among a number of mostly non-country artists who have been nominated for the 2014 CMT Performance Of The Year prize. The award ceremonies are set to take place on June 4, 2014 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena and will air live on CMT. Young was nominated for his song, "Long May You Run," performed as a duet with Willie Nelson. Nicks was nominated for her duet with Lady Antebellum of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon" which they performed on CMT Crossroads. Richie was nominated for his medley of "Oh No"/"All Night Long" with Luke Bryan which was also performed on CMT.
Source: Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, Lionel Richie Among This Year's Nominees for the CMT Music Awards
May 7, 2014: Ringo Starr And All Starr Band To Launch North American Tour
Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band will soon be launching a tour of North American covering Ontario, Canada and much of the U.S. The tour kicks off on June 6, 2014 in Rama, ON, Canada, and ends on July 19 in Los Angeles. Todd Rundgren and Gregg Rolie (formerly of Santana and Journey) are among Starr's band members.
Source: Ringo Starr's All Starr Band Debuts Trailer for Upcoming North American
May 7, 2014: Richie Furay To Play Solo Shows
Richie Furay, formerly of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, has lined up three shows with his backup band for later this month starting May 17, 2014, in South Orange, NJ. He is also working on a new album, to be titled "Hand in Hand."
Source: Richie Furay to Play Trio of US Shows Later This Month
May 7, 2014: Doors, Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band Members To Perform At Bonnaroo
Members of the Allman Brothers Band, the Doors and the Grateful Dead will be among the featured performers at the SuperJam events at this year's Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN. Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band will be performing on July 13, 2014 with his wife, Susan Tedeschi, and famed R&B singer, Chaka Khan. Robby Krieger of the Doors and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead will perform together on July 14 along with Bob Marley's son, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley.
Source: Doors, Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band Members Scheduled for SuperJams at Bonnaroo
May 8, 2014: Bob Marley's "Legends" Celebrates Longest Run On Billboard 200
"Legends" by Bob Marley and the Wailers, a compilation album of the late reggae legend's greatest hits, celebrates its 30th anniversary and holds the record for being the longest charting album on the Billboard 200. This album, released in 1984 three years after Marley's death, has, to date, spent an astounding 1,110 weeks on Billboard’s Catalog Albums chart and also 274 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart, where it currently ranks at #105.
May 8, 2014: Nazareth To Release New Album
On June 3, 2014, Nazareth will be releasing a new album titled "Rock 'n' Roll Telephone" in standard and deluxe formats on both CD and vinyl. Both versions include 11 songs, with the deluxe version containing additional bonus tracks that includes concert performances recorded between 2000 and 2008.
Source: New Nazareth Studio Album, "Rock 'n' Roll Telephone," Due in June
May 8, 2014: Jimmy Page Autobiography To Be Reissued
This October, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page will be reissuing his self-titled autobiography, first published in 2010 as a limited edition, which includes over 600 photographs documenting his musical journey and his years with the band. Page's book is the only one to date about Led Zeppelin that is by a member of the band.
Source: Photographic Autobiography by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page Will Be Reissued in October
May 8, 2014: Chuck Berry Wins Polar Music Prize
Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry will be honored with the prestigious Polar Music Prize this August. The award ceremonies will take place on August 26, 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden, where the 87-year old legend will receive a £100,000 prize. The Polar Music Prize was established in 1989 by the late Stig Anderson who was the manager of ABBA. This award, considered to be the "Nobel Prize of Music," is given each year to two musicians, one contemporary and one classical.
Source: Chuck Berry to get music's 'Nobel Prize' - Telegraph
May 9, 2014: Michael Jackson Re-enters Billboard Charts
The late King of Pop has re-entered the Billboard charts at #20 with his new single, "Love Never Felt So Good." This song is part of Jackson's latest album, "XSCAPE," which is due out on May 13, 2014. "XSCAPE" is the second posthumous compilation album of previously unreleased songs by Jackson since his death in 2009. Also, he is set to make an "appearance" at the upcoming Billboard Music Awards, possibly as a hologram. The award ceremonies will air on May 18, 2014 live on ABC.
Source: Michael Jackson Back in the Top 20; Will He Appear as a Hologram at the "Billboard" Awards?
May 9, 2014: Barry Gibb To Launch Solo Tour
Barry Gibb, the only surviving member of the Bee Gees, will be launching a solo tour on May 15, 2014 in Boston, MA and has six shows scheduled to date. He will be joined onstage by his son Stephen and will pay tribute to his brothers Maurice, Robin, and Andy as part of his shows.
Source: Barry Gibb Says His Upcoming Solo Shows Will Be "Extremely Varied"
