Allbutforgottenoldies.net Music News Digest: Week Of March 25, 2018

April 2, 2018 by Amy Gold

During the week of March 25, 2018, ASCAP announced that veteran hit songwriter, Desmond Child, will be presented with the organization's Founders Award at the 2018 Pop Music Awards ceremony to take place April 23 in Los Angeles. He has penned songs for such top bands and artists as Aerosmith, Cher, Alice Cooper, and KISS.

Also that week, it was announced that the guitar Bob Dylan played at his historic and then-controversial 1966 "going electric" tour will be going to auction in May. This iconic instrument was also used during the recording of "Blonde On Blonde," "The Basement Tapes," The Band's 1968 debut, "Music From Big Pink," and its 1969 self-titled album.

Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour dubbed "Last Of The Street Survivors," with 30 show dates confirmed so far. This final trek begins on May 4, 2018 in West Palm Beach, FL and will feature a number of guest artists including Atlanta Rhythm Section, Bad Company, Cheap Trick, The Charlie Daniels Band, Foghat, and ZZ Top.

Alice Cooper and his supergroup, The Hollywood Vampires, announced four North American concerts beginning May 17, 2018 in Verona, NY and ending May 21 in Bethlehem, PA, with stops in Orillia, ON, Canada and Mashantucket, CT. Ringo Starr has confirmed a new series of mostly European tour dates with his All-Starr Band beginning June 2 in Atlantic City, NJ and ending July 11 in Rome, Italy, also covering Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, and Spain. Also, Steely Dan has lined up a series of fall headlining dates beginning October 1 in Richmond, VA and ending October 14 in Bethlehem, PA, with three other concerts in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York, to be followed on October 17-30 by a nine-show run at The Beacon Theatre in New York City.

Yes will soon launch an extended U.S. tour in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Dubbed "#YES50: Celebrating 50 Years Of YES," this 33-date trek begins on June 5, 2018 in St. Charles, IL and ends on July 28 in Atlanta, GA, covering many states across the country. The famed progressive rock band also announced the lineup for its upcoming 6th annual Cruise To The Edge which will set sail February 4, 2019 from Tampa, FL. John Lodge of The Moody Blues and ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett are among the more than 25 featured performers. In additional to concerts, this seagoing music fest will offer such activities as Q&A sessions, photo opportunities with some of the featured artists, and theme nights.

The Kinks just released "Mastered For iTunes" editions of seven early albums: "The Kinks" (1964), "Kinda Kinks" (1965), "The Kink Kontroversy" (1965), "Face To Face" (1966), "Something Else By The Kinks" (1967), "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround Part One" (1970), and "Percy" (1971). Also, The Manhattan Transfer released "The Junction," the group's first new studio album in over a decade.

A new Donna Summer compilation titled "Summer: The Original Hits" that includes such disco classics as "MacArthur Park" and "She Works Hard For The Money" will be coming out on April 20, 2018. On May 18, Paul McCartney will release in various formats remastered versions of four albums spanning his solo career: "Thrillington" (1977), "Wings Greatest" (1978), "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard" (2005) and "NEW" (2013). Also, Jethro Tull will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a career-spanning 3-CD 50-track compilation, "50 For 50," due out on May 25.

Also that week, some details have been announced about the upcoming 2018 edition of Elvis Week, the annual commemoration at Graceland marking the anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley. This year's extravaganza, to take place August 9-18, will feature appearances by Darlene Love, Cissy Houston, and The King's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.

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