Allbutforgottenoldies.net Music News Digest: Week Of May 31, 2020

June 7, 2020 by Amy Gold

During the week of May 31, 2020, fans bade a final farewell to Steve Priest (February 23, 1948 - June 4, 2020), co-founder of the British glam rock band, Sweet, who served as bassist and backing vocalist. He co-wrote many songs with his bandmates that included the 1975 hits, "Fox On The Run" and "Action." With lead singer Brian Connolly, Priest helped create Sweet's signature frenzied, breathless sound with his distinctive high-pitched vocals.

Also that week, Record Store Day 2020 organizers announced this year's schedule for music store openings with a new format in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than a single weekend day as in previous years, this event will be spread out over three separate days: August 29, September 26, and October 24. Below is a sampling of veteran bands and artists with offerings (visit recordstoreday.com for a complete list of releases with dates):

The Kinks declared June 12 to be "Lola Day" in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the U.K. release of this oldies classic. The band will be posting previously unseen videos, new cover versions, and more on its Facebook page and other social media sites. In addition, The Kinks are inviting fans to partake in the celebration by posting their own renditions of "Lola" and sharing their memories, photos, and artwork through social media using the #LolaDay hashtag. Entries can also be emailed to LolaDayEntries@gmail.com.

Also that week, Willie Nelson announced that he and his wife Annie will be teaming up with Paul Simon and wife Edie Brickell for the upcoming "A Night For Austin," a TV and livestream benefit to aid the Austin Community Foundation during the COVID-19 crisis. Other featured performers will include James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. This event, to take place June 10, 2020 at 8 PM CT, will be livestreamed on anightforaustin.com and Twitch TV and televised on CBS Austin.

Finally, The Beatles got a beetle species named after them, making this the band's first official namesake from the animal kingdom. According to a recently-published scientific paper posted on Brill.com, a species of cave beetle found by Dutch scientists and citizen researchers in Amsterdam's Vondelpark was given the taxonomical name Ptomaphagus thebeatles. The Leiden, Netherlands-based Naturalis Biodiversity Center tweeted a funny image of four beetles crawling across the landmark Abbey Road crosswalk.

Newly-Announced Recordings:
(Band/Artist - Title - Format - Release Date)

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.)