MAY 25

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1947 - Capitol artist (1975-1976, 1978, 1981) Jessi Colter is born Mirriam Johnson in Phoenix Arizona. She would first marry Duane Eddy (1961-1968) with whom she had daughter Jennifer Eddy and then Waylon Jennings (1969) with whom she had sons Buddy and Scooter Jennings.
1953 - Rich "Dude" Alves, guitarist for the Capitol Records recording act (1990-1991) Pirates of the Mississipi, is born in Pleasanton, California
1955 - Wardell Gray, tenor saxophonist with Benny Goodman's band when Goodman recorded for Capitol Records (1948-1949) and then with Count Basie's band 1950-1955, is found dead in the desert outside Las Vegas with a broken neck. The Jazzitude website has a great article by Marshall Bowden about the life and mysterious death of Gray.

HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY
1976 - Sweet's Capitol Records album "Desolation Alley" is certified gold by the R.I.A.A.

ALSO ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Guitarist Carl Kress, along with guitarist Tony Mattola and a clarinetist, bass player, and drummer, record the tracks "Swan Of Tonnelle Avenue", "Sarong", "Blond On The Loose", and "Walking Behind Miss Lucy" at WMCA studios in New York City
1948 - Margaret Whiting records the vocals for the track "A Tree In The Meadow" in Los Angeles over an instrumental track recorded by Frank DeVol in London, getting around the second Petrillo recording ban. The track would be released as part of a single with "I'm Sorry, But I'm Glad" on the flip side on June 21, 1948 and eventually hits #1 on Billboard's singles chart on August 21, 1948.
1963 - The Beach Boys' first top 10 single "Surfin' USA", with "Shutdown" on the flip side, hits #3 on Billboard's singles chart
1963 - Kyu Sakamoto's Capitol Records single "Sukiyaki", with "Anoko No Namaewa Nantenkana" on the flip side, is #2 on KFWB's Fabulous Forty survey and would reach #1 on June 15, 1963 on Billboard's singles chart where it would stay for 3 weeks.
1967 - John Lennon's Rolls Royce gets a psychedelic paint job from Dutch team of gypsy artists, The Fool who were commissioned by J. P. Fallon Ltd. John Whelan has a pretty comprehensive article about the vehicle, and the paint job, on the Ottawa Beatles Site.
1973 - Virgin Records releases its first album, Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells"
2005 - Domenic Troiano, singer, songwriter, guitarist and solo artist with Capitol Records (1977-1979) and members of the bands Mandala, Bush, James Gang, The Guess Who, and Black Market, dies of cancer at age 59 at his home in Toronto, Canada