Allbutforgottenoldies.net Music News Digest: Week Of April 15, 2018

April 23, 2018 by Amy Gold

During the week of April 15, 2018, "Rocket 88" by Jackie Breston & His Delta Cats, "Rumble" by Link Wray & His Ray Men, "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum, and "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf made history by becoming part of the first class of songs to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Introduced by "Little Steven" Van Zandt, this new category recognizes those singles that have been instrumental in shaping rock and roll over the years.

Pete Townshend's 1972 solo debut album, "Who Came First," was recently re-released on CD and vinyl and includes demos from the abandoned "Lifehouse" project, part of which ended up on The Who's critically acclaimed 1971 album, "Who's Next." Another Who-related album was also recently released titled "Live At The Fillmore East 1968" featuring concerts that took place April 5 and 6 of that year at the famous Manhattan venue.

A new archival album by Neil Young titled "Roxy: Tonight's The Night Live," which was recently offered as a limited-edition vinyl recording at this year's Record Store Day, will be coming out on April 24, 2018 in various formats. Stephen Bishop announced an expanded and remastered version of his 1980 album, "Red Cab To Manhattan," which is due out on May 11 and features guest performances by Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Art Garfunkel, and Gary Brooker of Procol Harum. Also, a new live album titled "Paul Rodgers - Free Spirit - Celebrating The Music Of Free" that captures a 50th anniversary concert from 2017 at London's Royal Albert Hall will be coming out on June 22.

Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues announced a 21-date solo tour in the U.S. that kicks off on August 4, 2018 in Plymouth, NH and ends on September 9 in Santa Clarita, CA, also covering many states in the North and along the East Coast. Also, Graham Nash will launch a 22-date European tour beginning June 30 in Trentino, Italy and ending July 31 in Dublin, Ireland, with stops elsewhere in the U.K. as well as in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Finally, the long-running ABC political thriller TV series, "Scandal," ended on a high note with a new song written by Stevie Wonder featured in the show's final episode which aired on April 19, 2018.

(For more information about the above news items, please see below for a list of sources with links.)

A previously unheard version of Cheech & Chong's sidesplitting 1973 spoof, "Basketball Jones," recently resurfaced that features George Harrison's signature guitar licks. Other instrumental backing artists include Carole King on piano, Billy Preston on organ, and Tom Scott on saxophone, with backing vocals provided by Darlene Love, Michelle Phillips, and Ronnie Spector.