OCTOBER 4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
1925 - Jack Kingston, singer, songwriter, yodeler, and the first Canadian country artist signed by Capitol Records (1950), is born in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Johnny Mercer, The Pied Pipers with June Hutton and Paul Weston and His Orchestra record the track "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will release the track on a single (180) with the track "There's A Fellow Waiting in P'Keepsie" on the flip side. The single will enter Billboard's Pop singles chart on January 4, 1945 where it will stay for 13 weeks and eventually peak at #2.
1971 - Capitol Records releases Tennessee Ernie Ford's album "The Folk Album" which features Ford's youngest son Brion (then 19) accompanying his father on the track "Cotton Fields", and Buck Owen's compilation album "The Best Of Buck Owens, Volume 4"
1975 - Natalie Cole's first hit Capitol Records single "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" written by Chuck Jackson and Cole's future husband Marvin Yancy, with "Joey" on the flip side, hits #1 on Billboard's R&B chart
1975 - Billy Jean Campbell files for divorce from Capitol Records artist Glen Campbell
1978 - A Taste Of Honey's debut Capitol Records album, "A Taste Of Honey", is certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A.
1989 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owen's album "Act Naturally" on CD
2000 - Capitol Records artist Faron Young is inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the 2000 CMA Award Show in Nashville, Tennessee
2001 - Capitol Record producer Ken Nelson and Capitol Records group The Jordanaires are inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in a special ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee
2005 - Capitol Records releases Liz Phair's album "Somebody's Miracle", Ebony Eyez's album "7 Day Cycle", The Magic Numbers self-titled album, John Lennon's compilation album "Working Class Hero-The Definitive Lennon" 2 CD set, and a remastered version of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's album "Acoustic" on CD
2005 - Capitol Records Nashville releases Chris Cagle's album "Anywhere But Here"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 or 1960 - Afrika Bambaataa, early developer of Hip-Hop, record producer and EMI America artist (1988-1991), may have been born on this day (maybe as Kevin Donovan) in South Bronx, New York City, New York. Capitol Records currently owns EMI America's catalog. If anyone knows his true birth name and birth date, please leave a comment.
1989 - Graham Chapman, certified medical doctor, actor, comedian, member of Monty Python's Flying Circus, dies of spinal cancer at age 48 in a hospital in London England, the day before a 20th anniversary celebration for the show. Fellow Python member Terry Jones jokingly said, "I thought it was in terribly bad taste for him to die when he did" and "That was the worst case of party-pooping I have ever come across". In 1988 when I was working for Virgin Records America, I adapted the U.K packaging of Monty Python's "The Final Rip Off" 2 CD set for release in the United States. Capitol Records currently owns the Virgin Records America.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - Russell Simmons, co-founder (with Rick Rubin) of Def Jam Records, older brother of Rev. Joseph Simmons (aka "Run" of Run-DMC), and media entrepreneur, is born in Queens, New York
1970 - Janis Joplin, singer, is found dead of a heroin overdose at age 27 her room at the Landmark Motor Hotel (now called the Highland Gardens Hotel), 7047 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, CA. She is cremated at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California, and her ashes are scattered into the Pacific Ocean.