AUGUST 16

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
1940 - T.S. Bonniwell (aka Sean Bonniwell), singer, guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the group The Music Machine, and a Capitol Records solo recording artist (the 1969 album "Close"), is born Thomas Harvey Bonniwell in San Jose, California
1949 - Bill "Sputnik" Spooner, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, and founder of the Capitol Records recording group The Tubes, is born William Spooner in Arizona. If anyone knows which city, please leave a comment.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Johnny Mercer, with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (Slack on piano; Ray Linn, Jack Mootz, and Ernie Figueroa on trumpets; Kenny Wygal and Roger Ingram on trombone (an email from Kenny Wygal's daughter Tricia reads that her father played trumpet for Freddie Slack not trombone); Jack Ordean and Jimmie Rudge on alto saxophone; Don Brassfield and Everett McLaughlin on tenor saxophone; Sam Sachelle on baritone saxophone; Al Hendirckson on electric guitar; Hilmer "Tiny" Timbrell on guitar; Harry Babason on bass; and Dave Coleman on drums) record the tracks "The H.C. Potter's Ball" with Mercer and Don Raye on vocals, and "The Necessary Evil Blues" with just Mercer on vocals. After recording Mercer's tracks, Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (same lineup as above), record the tracks "Half After" "Cocktail Repartee", and "What Is This Thing Called Rebop? All the tracks were recorded in Los Angeles, California and remained unissued until 2005 when they appeared on Mosaic Records' 3 CD compilation "Mosaic Select: Freddie Slack".
1956 - Louis Armstrong, with Buddy Rich on drums and the Oscar Peterson Trio, records the track "April in Paris" for Verve Records album "Ella and Louis" in The Capitol Tower Studios, in Hollywood California
1958 - The Kingston Trio records the tracks "New York Girls", "They Call The Wind Maria", and "Shady Grove/Lonesome Traveler" for their Capitol Records album "...From The Hungry i"
1961 - The Kingston Trio records the track "Oh Sail Away" for their Capitol Records album "Close-Up"
1968 - Apple Records releases Mary Hopkin's single "Those Were The Days", which is produced by Paul McCartney, with "Turn, Turn, Turn" on the flip side. The record becomes Apple's first big hit, selling 4 million copies worldwide, and is distributed by Capitol Records in the United States.
1996 - The Figgs' Capitol Records debut album "Banda Macho" hits #10 on CMJ's Radio Top 200 records chart
2005 - Capitol Records releases Bob Seger's album "Back In '72" on CD for the first time
2005 - Capitol Records Nashville releases Chris LeDoux's compilation album "Anthology Volume 1"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1929 - Bill Evans, pianist and Blue Note Records recording artist, is born William John Evans in Plainfield, New Jersey. Capitol Records currently owns Blue Note Records catalog.
1952 - The Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Chet Baker on trumpet, Bob Whitlock on bass and Chico Hamilton on drums) records for the first together in the afternoon at the Laurel Canyon bungalow of recording engineer Phil Turetsky. Using Turetsky's early model Ampex tape recorder, they record the tracks "Bernie's Tune" and "Lullaby Of The Leaves which are released as a single by Pacific Jazz. The single will become the label's first big success. Pacific Jazz's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.
1962 - Brian Epstein fires The Beatle's drummer Pete Best and hires Ringo Starr to replace him
1977 - Elvis Presley, father of Capitol Records artist Lisa Marie Presley, is pronounced dead of heart failure at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee at age 42
1996 - Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of demerger proposals. The resulting media company is now known as EMI Group PLC