Allbutforgottenoldies.net Music News Digest: Week Of August 9, 2020

August 17, 2020 by Amy Gold

During the week of August 9, 2020, fans bade a final farewell to Trini Lopez (May 13, 1937 - August 11, 2020) who died from complications of COVID-19. Born in Dallas, TX to Mexican parents, the famed veteran folk rock singer had a Top 5 hit in 1963 with his upbeat rendition of "If I Had A Hammer," and his many other hits included covers of "Kansas City" (1963) and "Lemon Tree" (1965). In addition, Lopez designed two guitars for the Gibson Guitar Corporation which are now collector's items. He was also an actor whose credits included portraying Pedro Jimenez in the 1967 war movie, "The Dirty Dozen."

Also that week, USA Today announced its list of "100 Women of the Century" commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Among the honorees are such veteran award-winning performing artists as Gloria Estefan, Dolly Parton, and the late Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone.

August 12 is National Vinyl Record Day and in commemoration, the makers of Genesee Cream Ale compiled a list of the top 10 vinyl albums of all time. Topping this list is Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side Of The Moon," followed by The Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album (a.k.a. The White Album) at #2 and Led Zeppelin's "Led Zeppelin IV" at #3.

Members of Styx, Kansas, and Booker T. & The MG's are among the many featured performers in the upcoming online benefit special, "Six String Salute," to take place September 17, 2020. This event will be streamed at Live Nation's official YouTube channel and Live from Home platform. All net proceeds will go towards Live Nation's Crew Nation relief fund to assist those who lost work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After this show's initial streaming, encore performances will be shown on various social media sites.

"The Who: Every Album, Every Song," a new book that provides a comprehensive guide to the British rock legends' entire catalog of recorded music, will be published on October 28, 2020. In addition to all of the band's studio albums spanning "My Generation" (1965) through "WHO" (2019), this upcoming book also covers live albums, non-album tracks, soundtracks, and compilations.

Also that week, it was announced that "Meeting The Beatles In India," a new documentary about the band's 1968 trip to Rishikesh, India to study Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, will make its world premiere online on September 9, 2020 from gathr.com. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, this film features interviews and dozens of previously-unseen photos of The Beatles during their historic visit.

Finally, a Japanese Sunburst electric guitar that Jimi Hendrix had played during the early 1960s sold at GWS Auctions for a whopping $216,000. The late guitar legend began performing on this instrument after he completed his service in the U.S. Army in 1962, and it remained in his possession until he left for the U.K. in 1966 to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

New & Upcoming Releases:
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Canceled & Postponed Events:
(Band/Artist - Event(s) - Location - Original Dates - Rescheduled Dates)

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