AUGUST 7, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

115 Years Ago Today In 1910 - Freddie Slack, pianist, bandleader, and Capitol Records artist, is born Frederick Charles Slack in Westby, Wisconsin.

1913 - George Van Eps, innovator of the seven string (extra bass string) guitar, Capitol Records and Columbia Records (as part of Paul Weston and His Orchestra) studio musician (1950s), and a Capitol Record solo artist (late 1960s) is born George Abel Van Eps in Plainfield, New Jersey.

1926 - Stan Freberg, voice actor for cartoons, puppeteer, radio and television actor, commercial writer and creative director, and Capitol Records artist is born Stanley Victor Freberg in Los Angeles, California and will grow up in Pasadena, California.

1943 - Dino Valente, songwriter, singer and original member of the Capitol Records band Quicksilver Messenger Service, is born Chester William Powers, Jr. in New York City.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1947 - The King Cole Trio (Nat "King" Cole on piano and vocals, Oscar Moore on guitar, and Johnny Miller on bass), record the titles "This Is My Night To Dream", "Makin' Whoopee", the instrumental "Laguna Mood", and "There! I've Said It Again" in Radio Recorders' studios at 932 North Western Avenue in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue "This Is My Night To Dream" and "Makin' Whoopee" in the trio's album "King Cole Trio, Volume 3" (CC-59) and "There! I've Said It Again" in the compilation album "King Cole 10th Anniversary" (W 154). "Laguna Mood" was rejected and the master destroyed. After strings and drums are overdubbed and the instrumental solo work spliced out on March 31, 1969, Capitol Records will issue the new edit of "There! I've Said It Again" in the compilation album "There I've Said It Again" (ST-310).

1948 - It is reported by The Billboard magazine that Nat "King" Cole and his personal manager, Carlos Gastel, have extended their existing contract for an additional five years.

1957 - Vocalist Nat "King" Cole, with Billy May conducting his own arrangements to his orchestra (Mannie Klein, Conrad Gozzo, Uan Rasey, and Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, William Schaefer, Murray McEachern, and Ed Kusby on trombone, Francis Howard on bass trombone, Red Callender on tuba, Willie Smith and Harry Klee alto saxophone, Buddy Collette and Jules Jacob on tenor saxophone, Fred Falensby on baritone saxophone, Jimmy Rowles on piano, John Collins on guitar, Charlie Harris on bass, Lee Young on drums, Frank Flynn on percussion and vibraphone, and Helen Bliss Hutchison on harp), records the titles "A Cottage For Sale", "I Understand", a mono take of "When Your Lover Has Gone" and a stereo take of "When Your Lover Has Gone" in The Capitol Tower Studios at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California between 1:00 PM and 4:15 PM. Capitol Records will issue "A Cottage For Sale", "I Understand", and the mono take of "When Your Lover Has Gone" on Cole's album "Just One Of Those Things" (W 903) and "A Cottage For Sale", "I Understand", and the stereo take of "When Your Lover Has Gone" on the stereo version of the album (SW 903).

1958 - The Louvin Brothers, with Spider Rich and Odell Martin, record the titles "Read What's in My Heart", "Red Hen Hop", "She Will Get Lonesome", "I Wonder If You Know", and "Blue" for their Capitol Records album "Country Love Ballads".

1967 - Rubin Mitchell, with unlisted others, records the titles "Spellbound Concerto", "Willkommen", "Medley: Fiddler On The Roof/The Matchmaker", and "I Feel Merry" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue "Medley: Fiddler On The Roof/The Matchmaker" as a single (Capitol 2090) with "Theme From 'The Fox'" (date of recording unlisted) on the flipside. No issuing information is listed for the other titles.

1967 - Capitol Records released the album "Lumpy Gravy" by Frank Zappa who also wrote and produced the album. Following the release of Freak Out!, the debut album of the rock band the Mothers of Invention, Capitol Records A&R representative Nick Venet commissioned an album of orchestral music composed by the Mothers of Invention's leader, Frank Zappa, a self-taught composer. Venet spent $40,000 on the album. Because Zappa's contract with Verve and MGM Records did not allow for him to perform on albums recorded for any other label, he could not play any instrument on the proposed album, and instead served as the conductor of an orchestra consisting of session musicians hired for the recording. Zappa named the group assembled for the sessions the "Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra". Personnel included these Wrecking Crew members: Chuck Berghofe, Jimmy Bond, and Bob Weston bass, Dennis Budimir and Tommy Tedescoon on guitars, Gene Cipriano on woodwinds, Gene Estes and Emil Richards on percussion, Victor Feldman on percussion and drums, and Frank Capp and John Guerin on drums.

1972 - Guitarists Bob Bain and Jack Marshall, with unlisted others, record the titles "Pussy Cat", "Primrose Lane", "Mama's Gone, Goodbye", "Bra Less Bertha" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Pussy Cat" and "Mama's Gone, Goodbye" together as a single (Capitol 3721) and have yet to issue "Primrose Lane" and "Bra Less Bertha".

1982 - Vocalist Tina Turner, with unlisted others, records the title "Hot For You Baby" in Los Angeles, California for Capitol Records. No issuing information is listed.

1987 - Capitol Records registers the masters for Rock And Hyde's (lineup unlisted) title "Sea Of Holes (Medley): Sea Of Time/Sea Of Holes". No issuing information is listed.

1997 - Capitol Records Nashville artist Garth Brooks performs a free evening concert in Central Park's North Meadow in New York City, New York for over 750,000 fans.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1957 - The Quarry Men play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.

1957 - Oliver Hardy (born Norvell Hardy), actor and part of the film duo Laurel and Hardy, dies after a series of strokes at age 65. Hardy was one of the celebrities on the cover of The Beatles' Capitol Records album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

40 Years Ago Today In 1985 - George Thorogood And The Destroyers' EMI America album "Bad To The Bone" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the EMI America catalog.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1939 - My mother was born Roberta Joan Stolz in Midlothian, Illinois.

1969 - Joseph Kosma, composer (best know for "Autumn Leaves" for which Capitol Records' co-founder Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics) and motion picture, ballet and light opera scorer, dies at age 63 near Paris, France.

AUGUST 6, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

1917 - Robert Mitchum, motion picture and television actor and Capitol Records recording artist (the album "Calypso – Is Just So..."), is born Robert Charles Durman Mitchum in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

1972 - Geri Halliwell, member of the musical group The Spice Girls and a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Geraldine Estelle Halliwell in Watford, in the county of Hertfordshire, England.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1947 - The Giants Of Jazz (Louis Armstrong on trumpet and vocals, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, Benny Goodman on clarinet, Charlie Barnet on alto saxophone, Lionel Hampton on vibraphones, Mel Powell on piano, Al Hendrickson on guitar, Harry Babasin on bass, Louis Bellson on drums, Jeri Sullivan on vocals, and The Golden Gate Quartet [Clyde Riddick, Orlandus Wilson, Henry Owens, and Bill Johnson] on vocals) record the titles "A Song Was Born (Part One)" and "A Song Was Born (Part Two)" in Los Angeles, California for the Samuel Goldwyn motion picture "A Song Is Born". The recordings will be released by Capitol Records in 1948 on one of the four discs in the 78 rpm soundtrack album for the movie. The album was sold for the benefit of the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund for cancer research. The artists' fees were waived by the AFM as a donation to the fund and the profits were accepted on behalf of the fund by Walter Winchell.

1948 - The King Cole Trio's Capitol Records album "King Cole For Kids" gets an excellent (85 out of 100) review in The Billboard magazine. The album is also Capitol's first three disk album for children manufactured on "unbreakable" Superflex vinyl.

1958 - Capitol Records records Judy Garland at a live concert at The Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, California. The recording will be released on the Capitol Records album "Live At The Grove".

1959 - Dean Martin records the tracks "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "Out In The Cold Again", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" for his Capitol Records album "A Winter Romance" with an orchestra conducted by Gus Levene at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California.

1966 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' album "Revolver" in the U.S. minus the tracks" I'm Only Sleeping", "And Your Bird Can Sing", and "Doctor Robert", which appear on Parlophone Records' UK release. Capitol also releases The Beatles' single "Eleanor Rigby" with "Yellow Submarine" on the flipside.

1994 - Bonnie Raitt's Capitol Records single "You", with "Feeling Of Falling" on the flipside, debuts on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. CEMA presses a limited jukebox clear red vinyl version.

1999 - Colleen Brooks, Capitol Records artist (under the name Colleen Carroll) and mother of Capitol Records Nashville artist Garth Brooks, dies of cancer.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1918 - Norman Granz, jazz music impresario who founded the "Jazz At The Philharmonic" series of concerts and recordings, record producer, and founder of Clef Records, Norgran Records, Down Home Records, Verve Records and Pablo Records, is born in Los Angeles, California. Granz would use The Capitol Tower Studios many times to record various artists for his Verve label.

1956 - Gemma Corfield, VP of A&R for Virgin Records America, videographer, video editor, and wife of Blue Note president Don Was, is born in England.

60 Years Ago Today In 1965 - Parlophone Records in the U.K. releases The Beatles' soundtrack album "HELP!" in England.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

80 Years Ago Today In 1945 - The United States drops the atomic bomb named "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan killing more than 92,000 civilians.

55 Years Ago Today In 1970 - M. Night Shyamalan, a film director, writer, producer, and actor, is born Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan in Pondicherry, India.

1989 - Creator Burke Breathed ends the production of his comic strip "Bloom County"

AUGUST 5, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

1926 - Jeri Southern, a pianist, vocalist, and Decca (1951-1958), Roulette (1958), and Capitol Records (1958-1960) artist, was born Genevieve Lillian Hering in Royal, Nebraska.

1964 - MCA, a member of the Grand Royal/Capitol Records trio The Beastie Boys, is born Adam Nathaniel Yauch in Brooklyn, New York.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1948 - The Unnatural Seven (uncredited members of Red Ingle and The Natural Seven but Red did not attend the session), with Karen Tedder on vocals, Jim Hawthorne as "Enrohtwah" doing the recitation, and members of the Pasadena Uke Club on ukuleles, record the title "Serutan Yob" at Radio Recorders' studios at 932 North Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records would issue the song as a single (Capitol 15210) with "Oh! Nick-O Deemo" (recorded during a long session from late December 5 to early December 6, 1947) on the flipside.

1948 - The California Eagle newspaper publishes an article titled "King Cole Determined To Move Into Newly Purchased Home" describing the neighbor's resistance to the Coles presence.

75 Years Ago Today In 1950 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Mona Lisa" is still #1 on the singles charts. "Mona Lisa" was originally the flipside of the single "The Greatest Inventor Of Them All" until it got more airplay.

1958 - Pianist John Browning records Liszt's "Mephisto Waltz" in Los Angeles, California. After retakes are recorded on August 20, 1958, Capitol Records will issue the final mix of the title on Browning's album "Debut" (P/SP-8464).

1958 - Felix Slatkin conducts The Hollywood String Quartet (lineup unlisted) as they record the second and third movements Villa-Lobos' "Quartet N° 6" in Studio A of The Capitol Tower Studios at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records has yet to issue the second movement and will issue the third movement on the quartet's album "KODALY-Quartet N° 2/VILLA-LOBOS - Quartet N° 6" (P/SP-8472).

1958 - The Louvin Brothers (Charlie Louvin on vocals and guitar and Ira Louvin on vocals), with Marvin H. Hughes on piano, Paul Yandell and Ray Edenton on guitar, Floyd T. "Lightnin'" Chance on bass, and Murray M. "Buddy" Harman, Jr. on drums, record the titles "If I Could Only Win Your Love" and "You're Learning" in Nashville, Tennessee. Capitol Records will issue "If I Could Only Win Your Love" on the brothers' album "Country Love Ballads" (T 1106) and "You're Learning" as a single (Capitol F4255) with "My Curly Headed Baby" (recorded August 4, 1958) on the flipside and also on the brothers' album "Encore" (T/ST 1547).

65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - Judy Garland returns to EMI's London studios with Norrie Paramour conducting the orchestra to record the titles "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe", "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody", "You Go To My Head", and a medley of "You Made Me Love You" with "For Me and My Gal" and "The Trolley Song".

1962 - The Cannonball Adderley Sextet (Nat Adderley on clarinet, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on alto saxophone, Yusef Lateef on tenor saxophone, flute, and oboe, Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones bass, Louis Hayes on drums) perform a concert at a jazz festival in Belgium as part of their Comblain La Tour which is recorded and includes the titles "P Bouk", "A Few Words From Cannonball", "Work Song", "More Words From Cannonball", "Trouble In Mind", and "Dizzy's Business". Capitol Records will issue the recording on the CD "Cannonball In Europe" (5-60437-2).

1963 - Trombonist Bob Flanigan and guitarist John Gray, with either Al Viola or John Pisano also on guitar, Don Bagley on bass, and Bob Neal on drums, record the titles "It's A Wonderful World", "Moanin'", and "Work Song" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "It's A Wonderful World" and "Moanin'" on Flanigan and Gray's album "Togetherness" (T/ST 1957) and has yet to issue the take of "Work Song" recorded at this session but will issue a new take recorded on August 6, 1963 also on the album "Togetherness".

1963 - The Four Preps (Bruce Belland on tenor vocals, Marvin Inabnett on high tenor vocals, Glen Larson on baritone vocals, and Ed Cobb on bass vocals), with Lincoln Mayorga conducting the orchestra (lineup unlisted), record the titles "So Much In Love", "Till Then" and "Green, Green" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the group's album "Songs For A Campus Party" (T/ST 1976).

1963 - The Lettermen (vocalists Jim Pike, Tony Butala, and Bob Engemann), with Jimmie Haskell conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra (lineup unlisted), record the titles "Somewhere", "Forget Him", "I Heard You Cried Last Night", and "Hearts Were Full Of Spring" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Forget Him" on the group's album "Look At Love" (T/ST 2083) and has yet to issue the other three titles.

1963 - Kenny Fox, with unlisted others, records the titles "Whatcha Gonna Do?", "I Came Running Back From The Party", "Rain Or Shine", and "I'll Take Care Of You" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue "Whatcha Gonna Do?" and "Rain Or Shine" together as a single (Capitol 5094) and has yet to issue the other two titles.

1967 - Vocalist Kay Adams, with Cliffie Stone and His Group (lineup unlisted) records overdubs for the titles "I Let A Stranger (Buy The Wine)", "Husband Stealer", "Get Out Of My Heart", and "Cheatin' Good Time" in Los Angeles, California. Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, will issue the final mixes of all the titles on Adams' album "Alcohol & Tears" (ST 5087).

1977 - Vocalist La Costa, with unlisted others, records overdubs for the titles "I Still Love You" and "Play Me" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the final mixes of both titles on La Costa's self-titled album "La Costa" (ST-11713).

1982 - Vocalist Ebonee Webb, with unlisted others, records the titles "Is Your Husband Married?", "Coldblooded Lady", "Here My Love Is", "Do You Want My Love", "Give Me A Little Sign", "Too Hot To Be Cool", "Don't Ever Stop Loving Me", and " What's That You're Doing" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles, except "Is Your Husband Married?" on Webb's album "Too Hot" (ST-12250), a edited version of "Too Hot To Be Cool" on the soundtrack album ""Bad Boys" (Music From The Motion Picture)" (ST-12272), and has yet to issue "Is Your Husband Married?".

1982 - Gary O'Connor, with unlisted others, records the title "One Time For Old Times" in Los Angeles, California for Capitol Records which has yet to issue the title.

1982 - During two sessions held this day in Los Angeles, California, vocalist Rick Nelson, with unlisted others, records the title "Give 'Em My Number" at the first session and "Switchboard Suzy" at the second session. Capitol Records will issue "Give 'Em My Number" as a single (Capitol 5178) with "No Fair Falling In Love" (recorded May 28, 1982) on the flipside and has yet to issue "Switchboard Suzy".

1983 - George Clinton, with unlisted others, records the title "Atomic Cut Church's" at United Sound Studio in Detroit, Michigan for Capitol Records which has yet to issue the title.

1987 - Lorelei, with unlisted others, records the title "Passion And The Pain" in an unlisted location for Capitol Records, no issuing information is listed.

1991 - Capitol Records releases the CD compilation "Cole Porter: Anything Goes" as part of its "Capitol Sings" series.

2006 - Ed Thrasher, photographer, designer and Grammy-nominated art director with Capitol Records from 1957-1964, dies of cancer at his home in Big Bear Lake, California. According to his son (by former wife and actress Linda Gray), Jeff Thrasher, Ed was working on a book of his historic music photos at the time of his death.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1966 - Parlophone Records, a subsidiary of EMI in the UK, releases The Beatles' album "Revolver" as well as their single "Eleanor Rigby" with "Yellow Submarine" on the flipside. Both will be released by Capitol Records on August 8, 1966.

1967 - Columbia Records in the UK releases Pink Floyd's debut album "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn". Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, will release a version of the album, entitled "Pink Floyd" a month later.

1968 - Pianist Andrew Hill, with Lee Morgan on trumpet, Booker Ervin on tenor saxophone, Ron Carter on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums, records the titles "Grass Roots", "Venture Inward", "Bayou Red", Soul Special", and "Mira" and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Blue Note Records will issue all the titles on Hill's album "Grass Roots" (BST 84303 on 12" vinyl and 5-22672-2 on CD).

1968 - Soprano and tenor saxophonist Pedro Iturralde, with Dino Piana on valve trombone, Paul Grassl on piano, Paco de Algeciras on guitar, Eric Peter on bass, and Peer Wyboris on drums, records the titles "Bulerias", "Adios Granada", "Anda Jaleo!", and "Homenaje A Granados" at the Hispavox studios in Madrid, Spain for the Hispavox (EMI Spain) label. Blue Note Records will later issue all the titles in Spain on the CD "Pedro Iturralde Con Paco De Lucía ‎– Jazz Flamenco Vols. 1 Y 2" (8-53933-2).

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL HISTORY

1957 - "American Bandstand" debuts on ABC-TV, its first time on network television.

1962 - Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bungalow.

AUGUST 4, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

1983 - Craig (aka "Pitbull"), a summer intern at Capitol Records (2002 and 2003), is born in Palm Springs, California. If anyone has more information about him, please leave a comment.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1937 - Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt conducts The German Opera House Orchestra (lineup unlisted) and tenor Peter Anders as they record Richard Strauss' "Di Rigori Armati (from 'Der Rosekavalier')" in Berlin, Germany for Telefunken Records. Capitol Records will license Telefunken's catalog and releases the title as a single by Peter Anders (7-80165) with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Hindulied" (recorded September 17, 1937) on the flipside. Capitol's classical catalog is now owned by Warner Classics.

1952 - Vocalist Jeanne Gayle, with Cliffie Stone's Music (aka Cliffie Stone and his Orchestra [lineup unlisted]), records the titles "Bim Bam Baby", "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", "(Makin' Love) Around The Clock With You", and "Butterflies" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Bim Bam Baby" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" together as a single (Capitol 2200), "Butterflies" as a single (Capitol 2222) with "It Takes Two To Tango" (recorded August 25, 1952) on the flipside, and has yet to issue "(Makin' Love) Around The Clock With You".

1958 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Come Closer (Acercate Mas)" is #25 on WMGM's Top 40 Survey in New York City, New York.

65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - Judy Garland goes back into EMI Studios in London to record the tracks "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "The Man That Got Away", "Over The Rainbow", and "San Francisco", with an orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramour, which were released in 1972 on the album Judy In London".

1967 - Capitol Records purchases the masters for The Standels' (Larry Tamblyn on keyboards and vocals, Gary Lane and Tony Valentino on guitars, Dave Burke on electric bass, and Dick Dodd on drums) titles "Can't Help But Love You", and "Ninety Nine And A Half" and will issue them together through its subsidiary Tower Records as a single (Tower 348) and on the band's album "Try It" (ST 5098).

1977 - During two sessions held this day in (listed as possibly) Los Angeles, California, vocalist Colleen Peterson, with unlisted others, records the titles "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Loud, Loud Music", "Tryin' To Start Out Clean", and "Closest Thing To You" at the first session and the titles "Delaney" and "Stealin' Away" at the second session. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Peterson's album "Colleen" (ST-11714).

1977 - Vocalist Freda Payne, with unlisted others, records the title "Stares And Whispers" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the title as a single (Capitol 4537) with "Feed Me Your Love" (recorded July 15, 1977) on the flipside and on Payne's album "Stares And Whispers" (ST-11700).

1977 - The Sylvers (lineup unlisted) record the titles "The Party Maker" and "I'll See You In My Dreams" in (listed as possibly) Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "The Party Maker" on the group's album "New Horizons" (ST-11705) and "I'll See You In My Dreams" on Foster Sylvers' self-titled album "Foster Sylvers" (ST-11716).

1977 - Sammy Hagar, with unlisted others does overdubs for the titles "You Make Me Crazy", "Someone Out There", "Crack In The World", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Try (Try To Fall In Love)", "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", and "Reckless". Capitol Records will issue the final versions of all the titles on Hagar's album "Musical Chairs" (ST-11706).

1982 - Vocalist Kim Carnes, with unlisted others, records the title "Undertow" in an unlisted location. EMI-America, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, will issue the title on Carnes' album "Voyeur" (ST-17078).

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

85 Years Ago Today In 1940 - Timi Yuro, singer and Liberty Records artist, is born Rosemary Timotea Yuro in Chicago, Illinois.

1958 - Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "Poor Little Fool" (written by Sharon Sheeley, who was Eddie Cochran's girlfriend), with "Don't Leave Me This Way" on the flipside (Imperial X5528), is the first single to be #1 on the debut of Billboard's new Hot 100 Singles chart which was for the week ending August 4, 1958. Universal Music Group, the parent company of Capitol Records, currently owns Imperial's catalog.

1997 - Harry Connick, Jr. beings a week of sessions at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, Califonia, recording tracks for his "Come By Me" album.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1901 - Louis Armstrong is born Louis Daniel Armstrong in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1958 - Billboard Magazine starts it's Hot 100 Singles chart.

AUGUST 3, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

1924 - Gordon Stoker, manager, first tenor, piano player, and briefly second tenor with Capitol Records recording artists (1950-1961) The Jordanaires, is born Hugh Gordon Stoker in Gleason, Tennessee.

80 Years Ago Today In 1945 - Cecil Hale, radio personality, promoter, president of the National Association of Television and Radio Artists, and a vice president at Capitol Records/EMI (1979-1981), is born in St. Louis, Missouri. The History Makers website has a short biography of Hale.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1942 - Capitol Records issues Tex Ritter and His Texan's "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" and "Goodbye, My Little Cherokee" (Capitol 110) and Jack McLean and His Orchestra's "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" with vocals by Wayne Gregg and a male vocal trio and "Today Is My Lucky Day" with vocals just by Wayne Gregg (Capitol 111) as part of the label's third release.

1959 - The Kingston Trio appear on the cover of Life magazine with today's cover date.

1962 - Vocalist Tennessee Ernie Ford, with Jack Fascinato conducting an orchestra and chorus (lineups unlisted), records the titles "How Great Thou Art" and "Eternal Life (Prayer Of St. Francis Of Assisi)" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue both titles together as a single (Capitol 4838) and on Ford's album "God Lives!" (T/ST 2618).

1963 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days Of Summer" is #37 on KDWB's Top 40 chart in St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1967 - Lottie Jo Jones, with unlisted others, records the titles "Walk Tall Baby, That's What I Need" and "When A Woman Loves A Man" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Walk Tall Baby, That's What I Need" as a single (Capitol 5994) with "I Believe To My Soul" (recorded January 12, 1967) on the flipside. No issuing information is listed for "When A Woman Loves A Man".

1968 - Capitol Records releases its first album on cassette, "Sounds Of The Great Bands!" by Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Orchestra.

1992 - Capitol Records releases Judy Garland's compilation album "The Best of the Capitol Masters: The London Sessions" on CD.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1926 - Tony Bennett, singer, painter, and Roulette Records recording artist, is born Antonio Dominick Benedetto in Astoria, Queens, New York. Capitol Records currently owns the Roulette catalog.

1929 - Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone disc record and founder of the Berliner Gramophone Company whose London branch would become EMI, dies of a heart attack at age 78 in the United States. The Library of Congress has a site on Berliner and the birth of the recording industry.

1963 - The Beatles perform for the 292nd and last time at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England.

60 Years Ago Today In 1965 - Arranger and conductor Gerald Wilson (with musicians Melvin Moore, Al Procino, Freddie Hill, and Jules Chaitkin on trumpet; John Ewing, Bob Edmondson, and Lester Robertson on trombone; Kenny Shroyer on bass trombone; Curtis Amy on soprano saxophone; Anthony Ortega on alto saxophone and flute; Teddy Edwards and Don Raffell on tenor saxophone; Jack Nimitz on baritone saxophone; Phil Moore, Jr. on piano; Dennis Budimir on guitar; Buddy Woodson on bass; and Mel Lee on drums) record the tracks "Satin Doll", "Softly As I Leave You" and "For Lonely Hearts" for Wilson's Pacific Jazz Records album "When I'm Feeling Kinda Blue" in Los Angeles, California that were rejected. The tapes from the session are currently missing and are presumed destroyed. Pacific Jazz's catalog is currently owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.

2008 - Louis Teicher (born Louis Milton Teicher), pianist and United Artists Records artist as part of the duo Ferrante and Teicher, has died of heart failure at his summer home in Highlands, North Carolina at age 83. Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the United Artists catalog.

AUGUST 2, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

1937- Garth Hudson, instrumentalist (Lowrey organ, piano, keyboards, saxophones, accordion, horns) with the Capitol Records artists The Band, is born Eric Garth Hudson in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1943 - The King Cole Trio perform on episode 36 of "Jubilee" at NBC Radio City's studios in Hollywood, California with Ernie "Bubbles" Whitman as MC along with other artists including the Lucky Millender Orchestra, Rosetta Tharpe, Mabel Scott, and Trevor Bacon. The show is recorded as an electronic transcription for the Armed Forces Radio Service.

1946 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Chico Alvarez, John Anderson, and Ken Hanna on trumpets; Kai Winding, Harry Forbes, and Miff Sines on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; Al Anthony and Boots Mussulli on alto saxophone; Vido Musso and Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Bob Ahern on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; and Shelly Manne on drums), with vocalist June Christy, record the tracks "Collaboration" arranged by Pete Rugolo, with solos by Kenton, Safranski, Winding and Alvarez; "Don't Want That Man Around" arranged by Rugolo with vocals by Christy and solos by Kenton, Safranski, and Alvarez; and two versions of "Opus In Pastels" arranged by Kenton using the saxophones and rhythm sections only at Radio Recorders studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Lee Gillette.

1948 - Capitol Records registers in Los Angeles, California the masters it purchased for Artie Wayne's titles "Little Mr. Future President" and "(I Offer You The Moon) Senorita" and will issue "Little Mr. President" as a single (Capitol 15219) with another purchased master, "Sleepy Baby", (registered on August 10, 1948) on the flipside. "(I Offer You The Moon) Senorita" has yet to be issued.

1958 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Come Closer To Me (Acercate Mas)" is #35 and the single's flipside, "Nothing In The World", is #62 on Cash Box magazine's Best Selling Singles chart. "Come Closer To Me (Acercate Mas)" is also #25 on KFWB's Fabulous Forty Survey in Los Angeles, California.

1958 - The Jonah Jones Quartet (Jonah Jones on trumpet and vocals, Teddy Brannon on piano, John Brown on bass, and George Foster on drums) record the titles "I'm In The Market For You" and "From The Inside" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue both titles in the group's album "Jonah Jumps Again" (T/ST 1115).

1958 - Vocalist Donna Hightower, with Joe Wilder on trumpet, Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, Hank Jones on piano, Mundell Lowe on guitar, George Duvivier on bass, and Don Lamond on drums, records the titles "Maybe You'll Be There", "Too Young", "Because Of You", and "Trouble In Mind" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Hightower's album "Take One!" (T 1133).

65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - Judy Garland records the titles "Lucky Day", "Stormy Weather", "Chicago", and "Do It Again" in stereo for the first time at EMI Studios in London England with producer Norman Newell and conductor Norrie Paramour. The recordings would eventually be released in 1972 on the Capitol Records Club album "Judy In London".

1963 - Nat "King" Cole was rehearsing for an appearance on episode 6 of "The Judy Garland Show" which would have also featured comedian Jack Carter as a guest when CBS executives declared that they weren't happy with the first 5 episodes, fired producer George Schlatter, the show's writers and choreographer, and cancelled this episode which would have been the first time Cole worked with Garland. The two would never have another opportunity to work together as Cole was bitter about being dropped and refused an invitation to appear on a later episode. Also, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records album "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer" is #2 on KTKT 990 AM's Album Sound Of The Day chart in Tucson, Arizona.

1967 - Vocalist Al Martino, with unlisted others, records the titles "I Dream Of You", "Unchained Melody", "Love Letters In The Sand", "More Than The Eyes Can See" and "With Your Love" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue "I Dream Of You", "Unchained Melody", and "Love Letters In The Sand" on Martino's album "Mary In The Morning" (T/ST 2780), "More Than The Eyes Can See" on Martino's album "This Is Al Martino" (T/ST 2843), and has yet to issue "With Your Love".

1963 - Vocalist Cindy Malone, with unlisted others, records the titles "Every Beat Of My Heart", "Big Things Are Happening", and "Break My Heart, Break" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Every Beat Of My Heart" and "Big Things Are Happening" together as a single (Capitol 5036). No issuing information is listed for "Break My Heart, Break".

1968 - Final overdubs are recorded for Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell's titles "My Elusive Dreams", "Gentle On My Mind", "Heart To Heart Talk", and "Less Of Me". Capitol Records will issue the final mixes of all the titles on the album "Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell" (ST 2928).

1979 - During three sessions held this day in Los Angeles, California, The Neville Brothers (Charles Neville on horns, percussion, and vocals, Gerald Tillman on organ, Arthur Neville, Jr. on keyboards and vocals, Jimmie Ballero and Tony Berg on guitars, Casey Kelly on guitar and harmonica, Eugene Synegal on bass, Newton Mossop, Jr. on drums, Aaron Neville on percussion and vocals, and Cyrille Neville on congas and vocals) record the title "Dancin' Jones" at the first session, the title "If It Takes All Night" at the second session, and the titles "I'll Take My Chances", "Breakaway", "Arianne", and "You Make It Come So Easy" at the third session. Capitol Records will issue all the titles, except "You Make It Come So Easy", on the group's self-titled album "The Neville Brothers" (ST-11865) and "If It Takes All Night" also as a single (Capitol 4688) with "Speed Of Light" (recorded July 31, 1978) on the flipside. No issuing information is listed for "You Make It Come So Easy".

1978 - Kenny Dale, with unlisted others, records the titles "Wrong Side Of Laredo", "Every Other Word Is You", and "Mama's Roses" in Nashville, Tennessee. Capitol Records will issue "Every Other Word Is You" as a single (Capitol 4704) with "Rainbow Man" (recorded sometime in 1979) on the flipside and has yet to issue the other two titles.

1986 - Enigma Records (which had both a joint venture deal and a distribution deal with Capitol Records) releases Poison's debut album "Look What The Cat Dragged In". Capitol would buy Enigma in 1989 and currently Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company owns Enigma's catalog.

1999 - Chris Gaines' (aka Garth Brooks) video for his Capitol Records single "Lost In You" premieres on VH1.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1898 - Fred Gainsberg, The Gramophone Company (later to become EMI)'s first recording engineer, has his first recording session in London at Gramophone & Typewriter's basement studio on Maiden Lane in Convent Garden, London, England where he records a track sung by Syria Lamonte, an opera singer from Australia who was working at Rules Restaurant which is also (and still) located on Maiden Lane. Miss Lamont, according to Gainsberg in a 1949 interview with Brian Rust, had "a large voice" as well as a high enough pitch to overcome the surface noise on the early recording medium. He would later record her again in the same studio on October 3, 1898, when they recorded the track "When A Merry Maiden Marries" from Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta "The Gondoliers" which will become the earliest known surviving disc of a Gilbert & Sullivan selection.

1957 - The Stan Getz Quartet (Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, Lou Levy on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Stan Levey on drums) record the tracks "Where or When", "Woody 'N You", "Smiles", "Three Little Words", "But Beautiful", "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm", "Time After Time Verve", and "This Can't Be Love" for their Verve Records album "Award Winner" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California.

1957 - The Gerry Mulligan/Paul Desmond Quartet (Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Joe Benjamin on acoustic bass, and Dave Bailey on drums) are in The Capitol Tower Studios to record the tracks "Body And Soul", "Blues In Time", "Wintersong" for their Verve Records album "Blues In Time" produced by Norman Granz.

65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - Ella Fitzgerald is back in The Capitol Tower Studios to record the tracks "Get Happy", "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead", "Sing My Heart", "Let's Take A Walk Around The Block (Alternate Take)", and "Sing My Heart (Alternate Take)" with arrangements by Billy May who also conducts the orchestra which includes Ted Nash on alto saxophone, Paul Smith on piano, John Collins or possibly Al Hendrickson on guitar, Joe Mondragon on bass, and Alvin Stoller on drums.

1961 - Guitarist and vocalist Joao Gilberto, with Antonia Carlos Jobim conducting his own arrangement to unlisted trumpets, flutes, bass, drums, percussion, and string players, records the title "O Barquinho" at an unlisted studio in Brazil for EMI Odeon (Brazil). Odeon Records, a subidiary of Blue Note Records, will issue the title in Japan on the CD "João Gilberto ‎– The Legendary João Gilberto : The Original Bossa Nova Recordings (1958-1961)" (TOCP-7874).
Joao Gilberto(g,vo) with Orchestra arr. & cond. by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

1963 - Organist John Patton, with George Braith on soprano saxophone, Grant Green on guitar, and Ben Dixon on drums, records the titles "Hot Sauce", "Bermuda Clay House", "Chunky Chicks", "Dem Dirty Blues", "Country Girl", "Untitled Patton Tune", "Davene", and "Kinda Slick" at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Blue Note records rejected the recordings of "Chunky Chicks", "Untitled Patton Tune", "Davene", and "Kinda Slick" and would issue "Hot Sauce", "Bermuda Clay House", "Dem Dirty Blues", and "Country Girl" on Patton's album "Blue John" (BST84153 on 12" vinyl and 7-84143-2 on CD.

1983 - Kim Carnes, with unlisted others, records the title "Invisible Hands" for EMI-America which will issue the title on Carnes' album "Cafe Racers" (SO-17106) and an edited version as a single (EMI America 8181) with "I'll Be Here Where the Heart Is" (recorded February 23, 1983) on the flipside.

1983 - Lane Brody, with unlisted others, records the titles "Alibis" and "One Heart Away" for EMI America which will issue both titles together as a single (EMI America 8218).

AUGUST 1, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

1922 - Maria Cole, singer, wife of Tuskegee Airman Spurgeon Ellington who was killed in a plane crash in 1945, second wife and widow of Nat "King" Cole, mother of Natalie, Casey and Timolin Cole, and adoptive mother of Carole Cole and Nat Kelly Cole, is born Marie Antoinette Hawkins in Boston, Massachusetts.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1947 - Trumpet player Billy Butterfield and His Orchestra (Archie Johnson, Jack Stametz, and Bobby Peck also on trumpets, Keith Butterfield and Ken Schrudder on trombones, Earl Pearson on alto saxophone, Bill Stegmeyer on clarinet and alto saxophone, Bill Cervantes and Bob Levine on tenor saxophones, Norman Elvin on baritone saxophone, Mickey Crane on piano, Bob Haggart on bass, and Pete Vuolo on drums) record the titles "Pic-A-Nic-In (In The Park) with vocals by Patricia O'Connor, "My Silent Love" with vocals by  Tommy Taylor, "Begin The Beguine", and "Bugle Call Rag" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue "Pic-A-Nic-In (In The Park)" and "My Silent Love" together as a single (Capitol 457) and have yet to issue the takes of "Begin The Beguine" and "Bugle Call Rag" which will be re-recorded at later dates.

1952 - Vocalist Frances Faye, with an orchestra (lineup unlisted) records the titles "Night And Day", "Tweet, Tweet, Tweetheart", and "On A Raft (In The Middle Of The Ocean)" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Night And Day" and "Tweet, Tweet, Tweetheart" together as a single (Capitol 2224) and "On A Raft (In The Middle Of The Ocean)" as a single (Capitol 2347) with "My Last Affair" (recorded September 2, 1952) on the flipside.

1953 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Return To Paradise" is #27, his single "Pretend" is #39, and his single "I Am In Love" is #43 on Cash Box magazine's Best Selling Singles chart.

1957 - Gene Vincent's Capitol Records single "Lotta Lovin'" peaks at #13 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart.

1957 - The Jazz Giants of '58 (Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and Louis Bellson on drums) record the tracks "Chocolate Sundae, Parts 1 and 2", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Candy", Woody 'N You" and "Ballad Medley: It Never Entered My Mind/Lush Life/Lullaby of the Leaves/Makin' Whoopee" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California for the Verve album "Jazz Giants '58" (21215-1).

65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - Ella Fitzgerald is in The Capitol Tower Studios recording the titles "Hooray For Love", "I've Got The World On A String", "Let's Take A Walk Around The Block", "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive", "When The Sun Comes Out", "As Long As I Live", "It's Only A Paper Moon" and "The Man That Got Away" for her Verve Records album "Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Song Book" with Billy May  conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra which included Don Fagerquist on trumpet; Ted Nash on alto saxophone; Plas Johnson on tenor saxophone; Paul Smith on piano; John Collins or possibly Al Hendrickson on guitar; Joe Mondragon on bass; and Alvin Stoller on drums.

1963 - John P. Davis, who earned a Masters of Science degree from CalTech in 1948, was on the technical staff of the air defense department of Hughes Aviation, had a commercial pilot's license, was a member of the SkyRoamers Club, and had been director of Capitol Records' electronics division since 1960, is killed when his glider crashes near Apple Valley, California after being caught in a downdraft. An article on functional design for commercial recording studios that Davis had written for "The Journal Of The Audio Engineering Society" is published posthumously in its October 1963 issue. If anyone has any more information on Mr. Davis, please leave a comment.

1964 - Judy Garland, at her last recording session for Capitol Records, records the tracks "It's Yourself", "The Land Of Promise", "Maggie, Maggie May", and "There's Only One Union". The recording would not be released in the United States, but would be released in the U.K on the EP "Judy Sings Maggie May".

1968 - Capitol Records changes the swing line on the labels of its 45rpm singles to reflect corporate restructuring which made it a subsidiary of Capitol Records Industries, Inc. U.S.A. It also was the debut of 45s made with retooled pressing machines at it's Scranton, Jacksonville, and Los Angeles plants which produce the "non-slip" disc, which has a ring of 360 notches around the label to either interlock to other records when stacked or, because the notches are raised, grip the smooth surface of records without the serrations. In addition, the size of the labels is reduced from 3.625" TO 3.3125" to accommodate the notched ring. This type of disc is produced for one year. The Fab4Collectibles website has images of various types of 45 rpm labels that were produced.

1978 - Dr. Hook (Ray Sawyer on lead vocals, Dennis Locorriere on harmonica, guitar, bass and lead vocals, Bob "Willard" Henke on vocals, guitar, and keyboards, Rik Elswit on vocals and guitar, Jance Garfat on bass, Billy Francis on keyboards and vocals, John Wolters on vocals, drums, and percussion), with unlisted female harmony singers and producer Ron Haffkine, records the title "Sharing The Night Together" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the title as a single (Capitol 4621) with "You Make My Pants Want To Get Up And Dance" (recorded July 18, 1978) on the flipside and also on the group's album "Pleasure & Pain" (SW-11859).

1998 - Alan Livingston, former Capitol Records president, receives the Lifetime of Laughter Achievement Award for his creation of Bozo the Capitol Records Clown at the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

2007 - At 12:15 pm, 45 minutes before its final extension deadline, Terra Firma Capital Partners succeeds in acquiring 90.27% approval from the stockholders of EMI Group PLC (parent company of EMI Music Group, the then parent company of Capitol Music Group) to purchase the company for £2.4 billion (US$4.89 billion).

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1942 - James Petrillo, president of The American Federation of Musicians, declares a strike, banning all musicians in the union from recording. Capitol Records has stockpiled recordings and also comes up with a few novel ways around the ban until they become one of the first majors to settle with the union in June of 1943.

65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - The Beatles make their debut in Hamburg, West Germany, with Stu Sutcliffe on bass guitar and Pete Best on drums.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1981 - MTV debuts when it airs The Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star".

JULY 31, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

1932 - Ted Cassidy, actor and Capitol Records artist as Lurch is born Theodore Crawford Cassidy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1946 - Bob Welch, singer, guitarist, member of the bands Fleetwood Mac, Paris, Touch, and Avenue M as well as being a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Robert Welch in Los Angeles, California.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1942 - Capitol Records' sixteenth ever recording session is held at C. P. MacGregor Studios at 729 South Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Pianist Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (Clyde Hurley, Emanuel "Mannie" Klein, and George Wendt on trumpet, William Anthens and Ed Kusby on trombone, Al Harding, Joe Knechtel, and Henry Evans on reeds, Louis Gonzales on guitar, Fred Whiting on bass, and John Cyr on drums) record the titles "That Old Black Magic" with vocals by Margaret Whiting, "Old Rob Roy" with vocals by Ella Mae Morse, "Hit The Road To Dreamland" with vocals by Margaret Whiting, Johnny Mercer, and the vocal group The Mellowaires (lineup unlisted), and "Get On Board, Little Chillun" again with vocals by Ella Mae Morse and The Mellowaieres between 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM. Later that day Slack and His Orchestra (with the addition of Don Anderson and Bert Harry and minus George Wendt on trumpet, minus Henry Evans on reeds, and the addition of Hubert "Bumps" Meyers on tenor saxophone) are back at C. P. MacGregor studios and record the titles "Waitin' For The Evenin' Mail", "The Wreck Of The Old 97", and "I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City" all with vocals by Johnny Mercer, and "Mr. Anthony Blues" with vocals by Johnny Mercer, Ella Mae Morse, and Freddie Slack. This will be Capitol's last recording session until October 15, 1943, due to the AFM recording strike which starts the next day on August 1, 1942. Capitol Records will issue "That Old Black Magic" and "Hit The Road To Dreamland" together as a single (Capitol 126), "Old Rob Roy" and "Get On Board, Little Chillun" together as a single (Capitol 133), "Waitin' For The Evenin' Mail" as a single (Capitol 137) with "That Old Music Master" (recorded June 12, 1942) on the flipside, and "The Wreck Of The Old 97" and "I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City" together as a single (Capitol 122). Mosaic Select will issue all the titles in the 3 CD box set "Freddie Slack" (MS-018).

1947 - Vocalists Freddie Stewart and The Dream Lady (identity unlisted), with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (lineup unlisted), records the titles "I'll Be There" and "Back In Your Own Backyard" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue both titles together as a single (Capitol 459).

1952 - Vocalist Nat "King" Cole, with Nelson Riddle conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra (lineup unlisted), records the titles "Sweet William", "Because Your Mine", "Sleeping Beauty", and "I'm Never Satisfied" at Capitol Records' studios at 5515 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue "Sweet William" and "Sleeping Beauty" on a promo record (4303) and "Because You're Mine" and "I'm Never Satisfied" together as a single (Capitol 2212).

1952 - Vocalist June Christy, with Pete Rugolo directing his own arrangements to the orchestra (Mannie Klein, Ollie Mitchell, Carlton McBeath, and Pete Candoli on trumpet, Francis Howard, Ed Kusby, Paul Tanner, and Si Zentner on trombone, Bob Cooper and Maxwell Davis on tenor saxophone, Bob Lawson on baritone saxophone, Buddy Cole on piano, John Collins on guitar, Charles Harris on bass, Lee Young and Alvin Stoller on drums and percussion, Jack Costanzo on congas, Mischa Russell, Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Walter Edelstein, Henry Hill, Harry Bluestone, Erno Neufeld, and Jacques Gasselin on violin, Stanley Harris and David Sterkin on cello, and Ann Mason Stockton on harp), records the titles "Some Folks Do And Some Folks Don't" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the title as a single (Capitol 2199) with "Bie Mir Bist Du Schoen" (recorded June 30, 1952) on the flipside.

1957 - Vocalist Nat "King" Cole, with Billy May conducting his own arrangements to His Orchestra (Leonard Mach, Vito Mangano, Pete Candoli, and Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, William Schaefer, Murray McEachern, and Lloyd Ulyate on trombones, George Roberts on bass trombone, Red Callender on tuba, Willie Smith and Willie Schwartz on alto saxophones, Buddy Collette and Jules Jacob on tenor saxophones, Fred Falensby on baritone saxophone, Jimmy Rowles on piano, John Collins on guitar, Charlie Harris on bass, Lee Young on drums, Frank Flynn on percussion, and Helen Bliss Hutchison on harp), records the titles "Just One Of Those Things", "I Should Care", "The Party's Over" and a remake of the title "Just For The Fun Of It" in The Capitol Tower Studios at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California between 1:25PM and 5:15 PM. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Cole's album "Just One Of Those Things" (W/SW 903).

1957 - Vocalist Dakota Staton and pianist George Shearing, with Jean "Toots" Thielemans on guitar, Al McKibbon on bass, and Percy Brice on drums and using arrangements by Shearing, record the titles "Confessin' The Blues", an instrumental version of "The Late, Late Show", and "I'd Love To Make Love To You" in New York City, New York between 12:00 PM and 3:30PM. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the album "The George Shearing Quintet With Dakota Staton - In The Night" (T/DT 1003).

1957 - Jerry Shard directs an orchestra and chorus (lineups unlisted) as they record the titles "Trombone Rock", "You're The Most", "Fantail", and "Put Your Little Foot" in New York City, New York for Capitol Records which has yet to issue any of the titles.

1957 - Don Carroll, with unlisted others, records the titles "At Your Front Door" and "The Gods Were Angry With Me" in Nashville, Tennessee. Capitol Records will issue both titles together as a single (Capitol F3838).

1962 - Vocalist Bobby Darin, with Walter Rain conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra (lineup unlisted), records a remake of the title "The Sermon Of Samson" and the titles "Work Song", "Why Don't You Swing Down", and "Long Time Man" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "The Sermon Of Samson", "Work Song" and "Why Don't You Swing Down" on Darin's album "Earthy!" (T/ST 1826) and have yet to issue the take of "Long Time Man" recorded at this session.

1967 - Dave Cavanaugh and His Orchestra (lineup unlisted) record the titles "There Goes My Everything", "The World We Know", "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "Spanish Eyes", and "The Happening" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Cavanaugh's album "Hits On Hits" (T/ST 2834).

1967 - Vocalist Ray Pennington, with unlisted others, records the titles "Big Operator", "Who's Gonna Walk The Dog", "Everything Except Our Love (Seems To Be Alright)", and "You Be My Woman (I'll Be Your Man)" and overdubs for the titles "Someday You'll Fall Back To Me" and "You Turned the Lights On" in Nashville, Tennessee. Capitol Records will issue "Who's Gonna Walk The Dog" and "You Turned The Lights On" together as a single (Capitol 2006), "Someday You'll Fall Back To Me" as a single (Capitol 2118) with "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" (recorded January 23, 1968) on the flipside, and has yet to issue "Big Operator, "Everything Except Our Love (Seems To Be Alright)", and "You Be My Woman (I'll Be Your Man)".

1968 - The Beatles, with orchestral accompaniment, record the released master track for their song "Hey Jude" using the eight-track recording machine at Trident Studios in London, England.

1972 - Alto saxophonist Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, with Nat Adderley on cornet, George Duke on piano, Walter Booker on bass, Roy McCurdy on drums, Airto Moreira on percussion and vocals, King Errison Mayuto Correa, and Octavio on percussion, and vocalists Flora Purim and Olga James, records the titles, "The Happy People", "Maria Tres Filhos", "Ela", and, with David T. Walker and Chuck Rainey on electric basses and without Mayuto Correa and Octavio on percussion, "Savior" in Studio A in The Capitol Tower Studios at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Cannonball Adderley's album "The Happy People" (ST-11121).

1976 - Natalie Cole, singer and Capitol Records artist, marries Marvin Yancy, a songwriter and a producer.

35 Years Ago Today In 1990 - Capitol Records Nashville calls the R.I.A.A. to request that Garth Brooks' self-titled debut album be certified Gold
1994 - Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan, singer, guitarist and Capitol Records artist (1949-1955) dies at age 78.

2004 - Capitol Records releases the compilation CD "Cocktails With Cole Porter".

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1946 - Gary Lewis, singer, drummer, bandleader of Liberty Records recording artists Gary Lewis and The Playboys, and son of future Capitol Records artist Jerry Lewis, is born Gary Harold Lee Lewis in Los Angeles, California. Liberty Records catalog is currently owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.

30 Years Ago Today In 1995 - Pink Floyd's 2-CD live album "P*U*L*S*E", released by EMI in the U.K. and Columbia in the U.S. is certified Gold, Platinum, and Double Platinum by the R.I.A.A.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1931 - "The Shadow", the mystery-adventure series based on the pulp magazine stories, makes its radio debut.

1951 - Ray Charles marries his first wife, Eileen Williams. After having one child, they will divorce in 1952.

1951 - Peggy Lee records the track "San Souci" with Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra for Decca Records.

60 Years Ago Today In 1965 - J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is born Joanne Kathleen Rowling in the General Hospital at Chipping Sodbury, near her parents' home in Yate, Gloucestershire, England.

1967 - Judy Garland's variety revue titled, "Judy Garland; At Home at the Palace" opens on Broadway at the Palace Theatre. Joining her onstage to perform were her children, Lorna and Joey Luft. The show ran for 32 performances.

1971 - The first lunar rover is driven on the surface of the moon by astronauts as part of the Apollo 15 mission

JULY 30, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

1936 - John W. Anderson (aka KaSandra), songwriter, Stax/Respect and Capitol Records artist, and father of pianist, guitarist, singer, and inventor Yul Anderson is born. If anyone has any further information about John W. Anderson, or KaSandra, please post a response or contact me via email.

1992 - Zoë Gillespie, Vice President - Brand Partnership + Strategic Marketing for Capitol Records, is born.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1942 - During a three-way split session, which is Capitol Records fifteenth session, held this day in Los Angeles, California with Gordon Jenkins conducting His Orchestra (lineup unlisted), first Six Hits And A Miss (vocalists Marvin Bailey, Lee Gotch, Tony Parisis aka Tony Paris, Mack MacLean, William Seckler, and Vincent Degen, with featured vocalist Pauline Byrnes) record the titles "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Two On A Bike", then just Jenkins and the orchestra with featured vocalist Bob Carroll record the titles "White Christmas", "Heaven For Two", "There'll Never Be Another You" and "Daybreak", then Six Hits And A Miss are back to record "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "Would You Rather Be A Colonel With An Eagle On Your Shoulder, Or A Private With A Chicken On Your Knee". Capitol Records will issue "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Two On A Bike" together as a single (Capitol 135), "White Christmas" and "Heaven For Two" together as a single (Capitol 124), "There'll Never Be Another You" and "Daybreak" together as a single (Capitol 119) and "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "Would You Rather Be A Colonel With An Eagle On Your Shoulder, Or A Private With A Chicken On Your Knee" together as a single (Capitol 127).

1948 - The King Cole Trio's booking at Ciro's in Los Angeles, California of two shows a night, which started on July 16, ends. Also, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Nature Boy" is #7 on The Billboard magazine's England's Top Twenty chart, #10 on the magazine's Canada's Top Tunes chart, and #12 on the magazine's Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys chart.

1963 - The Beatles record the titles "It Won't Be Long", "Money (That's What I Want)", and "Please Mr. Postman" at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

1966 - The Beatles' Capitol Records album "Yesterday And Today" hits #1 on Billboard's album chart.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1958 - Kate Bush, singer, songwriter and EMI America recording artist, is born Catherine Bush in Bexleyheath, Kent, England. Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns EMI America's catalog.

1962 - Liberty Records releases Johnny Burnette's last single for the label "Damn The Defiant" (also the first A side of his singles that he wrote himself) with "Lonesome Waters" on the flipside. Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns Liberty's catalog.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

70 Years Ago Today In 1955 - Johnny Cash records the titles "Folsom Prison Blues", "Mean Eyed Cat," "Luther's Boogie" and "So Doggone Lonesome" for Sun Records.

JULY 29, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

75 Years Ago Today In 1950 - Jimmy Robinson, musician, record producer, and recording engineer who will work with various Capitol Records artist is born James Kelly Robinson II in Washington, D.C. 

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1946 - Peggy Lee, with arranger and conductor Frank Devol and His Orchestra (Uan Rasey and Lenny Mach on trumpet; Paul Wiegand on trombone; Dick Perissi on french horn; Skeets Herfurt, Julius Kinsler, Lou Palange, and Paul McLarand on reeds; Henry Sugar, Joe Livoti, Victor Arno, Joe Quadri, Walter Edelstein, and Ted Rosen on violin; Paul Lowenkron and Elizabeth Sugar on viola; Julius Tannenbaum on cello; June Weiland on harp; Dave Barbour on guitar; Buddy Cole on piano; Fred Whiting on bass; John Cyr on drums) records the titles "The Best Man", "If You Were The Only Boy", "Love Doesn't Grow On Trees", "I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home", and "My Sugar Is So Refined" to be released by Capitol Records on transcription discs for radio at Radio Recorders studios in Los Angeles, California.

1949 - Sammy Davis, Jr. supplies vocals and tap sounds for his tracks "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile", "Dedicated To You", "Azure", and "Inka Dinka Doo" for Capitol Records at Capitol Records' Melrose Studios in Hollywood California with arranger, conductor and tenor saxophonist Dave Cavanaugh, Mickey Mangano on trumpet, Gus Bivona on alto saxophone, Art Hulette on baritone saxophone, Mike Rubin on bass, and Don Lamond on drums.

70 Years Ago Today In 1955 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "Same Old Saturday Night" "You Forgot All The Words", and "Fairy Tale" with arranger and conductor Nelson Riddle and Mahlon Clark, Justin Gordon, Jerome Kasper, Babe Russin, and Wilbur Schwartz on reeds;, Frank Beach, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock, and Rubin "Zeke" Zarchy on trumpets; Raymond Klein, Jim Priddy, and Si Zentner on trombones; George Roberts on bass trombone; Jack Marshall on guitar; Joe Comfort on bass; Bill Miller on piano; Frank Flynn on vibraphone; Kathryn Julye on harp; Max Albright on drums; Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Henry Hill, Erno Neufeld, Nathan Ross, Mischa Russell, Eudice Shapiro, and Marshall Sosson on violins; Stanley Spiegelman and Dave Sterkin on viola; Armond Kaproff, Ray Kramer, and Edgar Lustgarten on cellos at radio station KHJ's studios (now the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study and the Academy Film Archive) at 1313 North Vine Street, Hollywood, California between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

1956 - Capitol Records artist Merle Travis attends a ceremony in his boyhood home town, Ebeneezer, Kentucky, to unveil a granite monument the town built to recognize his accomplishments. In 1991, Travis' ashes were buried under the monument.

1959 - Dean Martin records the track "Things We Did Last Summer" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California with Gus Levene conducting the orchestra.

1984 - Fred Waring, band leader, music publisher, co-founder of the National Association of Performing Artists, inventor of the Waring blender, and Capitol Records artist, suffers a massive stroke at age 84 and dies in State College, Pennsylvania.

1994 - The Beastie Boys' Capitol Records album "Ill Communication" is certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A.

1994 - Capitol Records releases the CD version of Red Rider's 1980 album "Don't Fight It".

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1953 - The Chet Baker Quartet (Chet Baker on trumpet, Larry Bunker on drums, Russ Freeman on piano, and Carson Smith on bass), starts a recording sessions that ends early the next morning waxing two takes of the title "Russ Job", then the title "Imagination", two takes of "Long Ago And Far Away", and then the titles "Carson City Stage", "Easy To Love",  and "Batter Up (Lang's Lou)" with producer Richard Bock in Los Angeles, California for Pacific Jazz Records. Pacific Jazz's catalog is currently owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company and distributed by Blue Note Records.

60 Years Ago Today On July 29, 1965 - United Artists premieres The Beatles' second movie "Help!" in London, England. The film will premiere in the United States on August 9, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois.

35 Years Ago Today In 1990 - Dan Seals' EMI America Records single "Good Times" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts. EMI America's catalog is currently owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1974 - "Mama" Cass Elliot, motion picture actress, singer as a solo artist and with the group The Mamas And The Papas, dies in bed in Harry Nilsson's apartment in London, England from heart failure at age 32. Four years later, Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, would die in the same bed in the same room.

1983 - Raymond Massey, actor ("Things To Come", "Arsenic And Old Lace", "East Of Eden", etc.), dies at age 86 of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California.

1983 - David Niven, actor ("The Bachelor Mother", "Around The World In 80 Days", "The Pink Panther", "Casino Royale", "Murder By Death", etc.), dies at age 73 of ALS at his chalet at Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland.

1998 - Jerome Robbins, Broadway choreographer and director ("On The Town", "The King And I", "West Side Story", "High Button Shoes", "Wonderful Town", "Bells Are Ringing", "Fiddler on the Roof", the ballet "Fancy Free", etc.) dies of a stroke at age 79 in New York City.

JULY 28, 2025

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!

1901 - Rudy Vallée, singer, radio, motion picture, and television actor, leader of the Coast Guard band during the second World War, and a Capitol Records artist, was born Hubert Prior Vallée.

80 Years Ago Today In 1945 - Rick Wright, composer, vocalist, and keyboardist with the EMI Columbia, Harvest, Tower, Capitol, and Columbia Records group Pink Floyd, is born Richard William Wright in Hatch End, Middlesex, England.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1942 - Jack McLean and His Orchestra (lineup unlisted), featuring Don Gilbert, records the titles "I Wanna Go Back To West Virginia" with vocals by Wayne Gregg, "You Can't Take Away My Dreams", "Full Moon And Empty Arms", and "I See It Your Eyes" with vocals by Don Gilbert" in Radio Recorders' studios at 932 North Western Avenue in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue "I Wanna Go Back To West Virginia" and "I See It In Your Eyes" together as a single (Capitol 121) and have yet to issue the other two titles.

80 Years Ago Today In 1945 - Johnny Mercer and The Pied Pipers with Paul Weston and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Sante Fe", with "Conversations While Dancing" (with Jo Stafford sharing vocals) on the flipside, is still #1 on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart.

1956 - Capitol Records group Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps appears on "The Perry Como Show".

1958 - Capitol Records releases Nat "King" Cole's album "Cole Español" (W/DW 1031). Also, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Come Closer To Me" is #24 on WMGM's Top 40 Survey in New York City, New York.

1963 -  - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer" is #41 on WDRC 1360 AM's "The Big D" Swinging 60 Survey in Hartford, Connecticut.

1971 - Capitol Records releases George Harrison's Apple Records single "Bangla Desh" with "Deep Blue" on the flipside in the United States.

1973 - Capitol Records group The Band, following the Grateful Dead and before the Allman Brothers Band, perform before a crowd of over 600.000 Rock fans at the Watkins Glen Summer Jam held at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway outside Watkins Glen, New York.

2003 - Capitol Records releases The Dandy Warhols' two-disc CD single. On the first disc are the tracks "You Were The Last High" with a remix of "We Used To Be Friends" by Brian Coates and Clark Stiles, and Tony Lash's remix of "Every Day Should Be A Holiday". The second disc contains another version of "We Used To Be Friends", along with the tracks "Jim" and a live version of "Good Morning" recorded at the KCRW studios in Santa Monica, California. Capitol also releases a 7" vinyl single of "You Were The Last High" with a version of "We Used To Be Friends", remixed by Kenn Richards, on the flipside.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1936 - Future Capitol Records artist Nat "King" Cole makes his recording debut at age 17 playing piano as part of his older brother's band, Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers (Kenneth Roane on trumpet, Tommy Thompson on alto and tenor saxophone, Bill Wright on tenor saxophone, Eddie Cole on bass, and Jimmy Adams on drums), recording "Honey Hush" with vocals by Eddie Cole, "Stompin' At The Panama (Skoller's Shuffle)", "Bedtime (Sleepy Moan)" and "Thunder" for Decca Records in Chicago, Illinois using Nat's arrangements. Decca will release "Thunder" and "Honey Hush" together as a single (Decca 7210) and "Bedtime (Sleepy Moan)" and "Stompin' At The Panama (Skoller's Shuffle)" together as a single (Decca 7215).

1938 - George Cummings, composer, lead guitarist and steel guitarist as a solo artist and for the bands The Chocolate Papers and future Capitol Records artists Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show (whom he named and co-founded in Union City, New Jersey in 1968 but left in 1975 right before the band signed with Capitol with the shortened name Dr. Hook), is born George H. Cummings in Meridian, Mississippi. If anyone knows his middle name, please leave a comment or contact me.

1941 - At age 19, future Capitol Records artist Judy Garland marries her first husband, composer and orchestra leader David Rose, whom she would divorce three years later in 1944.

1967 - The motion picture "The Family Way", with music by Paul McCartney (at the time part of the Capitol Records band The Beatles) and arranged by George Martin, released in the U.K. on December 18, 1966, premieres in New York City, New York.

1999 - Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde, singer and Earthworks Records recording artist dies. Earthworks was distributed by Virgin Records America in the United States. Virgin is currently owned by Universal Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company. My wife and I went to one of his concerts when he and his band appeared at UCLA's Royce Hall and had the nicest, and most fun, time. Everyone in the audience got along and by the end were all up and dancing to the mighty roar of the Lion of Sowetto.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY

1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis appears on national television for the first time when he appears on "The Steve Allen Show" on NBC-TV.