Theme: Musical Ascension -
17A. Music medium that succeeded the cassette tape: COMPACT DISC
24A. Music legend known as the First Lady of Song: ELLA FITZGERALD
38A. Equipment for rock bands: GUITAR AMPLIFIER
48A. Lennon-McCartney collection whose publishing rights were once owned by Michael Jackson: BEATLES' CATALOG
58A. When strung together, musical sequence represented by the initials of 17-, 24-, 38- and 48-Across: C MAJOR SCALE
Argyle here. It's been over a year since Grant's debut, a Monday. Quite a different follow-up, I'd say. Ol' Man Keith has his diagonal solve but from right to left, bottom to top, aptly for this puzzle, eh. It certainly had me wondering until the reveal. The entries are all somewhat musically connected.
Across:
1. Fire remnants: ASHES
6-Across is at the end.
11. Dazzle: AWE
14. Companion of reduce and recycle: REUSE
15. Log dwelling: CABIN
16. Composer Rorem: NED. Amazingly prolific. Selected works
19. Martini liquor: GIN
20. Confer knighthood on: DUB
21. Camping gear retailer: REI. (Recreational Equipment, Inc) We've had it often enough that I remembered the letters if not the exact order.
22. Verdi creation: OPERA. Ned Rorem has a few.
29. Yale grads: ELIs
30. State strongly: AVER
31. Gelatin dish: ASPIC
33. Lucy's old sitcom partner: DESI. Desi Arnaz, Sr.
35. 42-Across doubled: TWO
42. 35-Across halved: ONE
43. Grandson of Adam: ENOS
44. Formally gives up: CEDEs
45. Test for an aspiring atty.: LSAT.(Law School Admission Test)
47. Anti-fur-farming org.: PETA. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
54. South Beach city: MIAMI. Life's a beach.
55. __ Baba: ALI
56. Michelle of the LPGA: WIE
57. Bath's land: Abbr.: ENG. (England)
63. Birthday count: AGE
64. Gold purity unit: KARAT
65. Lives like a nomad: ROVES
66. Partner of neither: NOR
67. Searches for: SEEKS
68. Stockholm native: SWEDE
Down:
1. Paris' __ Triomphe: ARC DE
2. South Korean capital: SEOUL
3. Comeuppance that's "eaten": HUMBLE PIE
4. Seer's claim: ESP. Not 'every single perp' like some claim.
5. Watery expanse: SEA
6. Group of eight: OCTET
7. Spanish port city: CADIZ. And this concludes today's travelogue.
8. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI. Star Wars. Has anybody seen The Last Jedi yet?
9. Prefix with spell: MIS
10. "Play more music!": "ENCORE!"
11-Down is at the end.
12. Really out there: WEIRD. 13. Flamboyant Dame: EDNA. 12-, and 13-Down, now there's a pairing!
18. NFL sportscaster Collinsworth: CRIS
23. Golf course standard: PAR
25. Came down to earth: ALIT
26. Pay stub acronym: FICA. (Federal Insurance Contributions Act)
27. Surprised sounds: GASPS. Kids with their first pay check and discover FICA.
28. Rotten to the core: EVIL
31. Before now: AGO
32. Daylight provider: SUN
33. "Divine Comedy" poet: DANTE
34. Revealing rock genre: EMO
35. Coastal flooding cause: TIDAL WAVE
36. Tiny: WEE
37. Surgery ctrs.: ORs. (operating room)
39. Genuine: REAL
40. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE T
41. Greek cheese: FETA
45. Go on the __: skip town: LAM
46. Hangs (around): STICKS
47. Au __: live-in nanny: PAIR. Originally, French for ‘on equal terms’ but now a young foreign person, typically a girl, who helps with housework or child care in exchange for room and board.
48. "You got it!": "BINGO!"
49. Raring to go: EAGER
50. "Wheel of Fortune" host: SAJAK. Pat.
51. Coagulates: CLOTS
52. Quieted, as noisy hinges: OILED
53. Birds in a gaggle: GEESE
54. Not at all nice: MEAN
59. Sassy West: MAE
60. "Roses __ red": ARE
61. H.S. grads-to-be: SRs. (seniors)
62. Dairy farm animal: COW
6. "__, all ye faithful ... ": O, COME. 11D. Heavenly being: ANGEL
Argyle
