JANUARY 15, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1920 - Yvonne King, singer and member of the Capitol Records group The King Sisters, is born Cornelia Yvonne Driggs in Ephraim, Sanpete, Utah
1937 - Margaret O'Brien, motion picture, radio and television actress, and Capitol Records artist (1944-1948), is born Angela Maxine O'Brien in San Diego, California
1951 - Martha Davis, singer, songwriter, and member of the Capitol Records band The Motels, is born in Berkeley, California
1959 - Pete Trewavas, bass player, backing vocalist, and member of the Capitol Records group Marillion, is born in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1948 - Jack Guthrie (born Leon Jerry Guthrie), singer, songwriter, cousin of Woody Guthrie, and Capitol Records artist (1945-1948), dies of tuberculosis at Livermore Veterans Tubercular Hospital near Sacrament, California at age 32 and is later buried in Sacramento's Memorial Cemetary
1949 - Gordon MacRae & Jo Stafford's Capitol Records single "My Darling, My Darling", with "Girls Were Made To Take Care Of Boys" on the flip side, hits #1 on the U.S. Pop singles charts
1952 - Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan (with Maurice Cameron Hill on guitar) records the tracks "Got My Heart Set On You", "Trade Winds Never Lie", "There's A Blue Sky Way Out Yonder", and "Stingy" for Capitol Records
1955 - Electric Musical Industries (EMI) of Great Britain buys 70 percent of Capitol Records, and a 96.41 percent equity controlling interest, for $8,500,000 and Sir Joseph Lockwood joins Capitol Records’ Board of Directors. EMI's investment will payoff a hundred fold by 1971.
1957 - The Four Freshmen begin recording tracks for their album "The Four Freshmen And Five Saxes" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1964 - Jack Teagarden (born Weldon Leo Teagarden), trombonist, bandleader, singer, radio and motion picture performer, and Capitol Records (1942, 1943, 1955-1959) and Roulette Records (1959-1961) artist, dies of bronchial pneumonia at age 58 in his room at the Prince Conti Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana after playing a gig there the night before, and is later buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Los Angeles, California
1964 - Capitol Records obtains an injuction in Chicago, Illinois which prohibits Vee-Jay Records from manufacturing or distributing any further Beatles records. Vee-Jay files suit against Capitol and Swan Records, which owned the rights to "She Loves You".
1965 - The Beach Boys' finish the second of two sessions to record the stereo track "Kiss Me, Baby" at Western Studios in Los Angeles, California
1966 - The Beach Boys' Capitol Records single "Barbara Ann", with "Girl Don't Tell Me" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart at #31 and will peak at #2 for two weeks on January 29, 1966
1971 - Apple Records finally releases George Harrison's single "My Sweet Lord", with "Isn't It A Pity" on the flip side, in the U.K.
1977 - Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's Capitol Records single "Night Moves", with "Main Street" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart at #36 and will peak at #4 for two weeks on March 12, 1977
1991 - Garth Brooks' Capitol Records Nashville single "Unanswered Prayers", with "Alabamba Clay" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1996 - Les Baxter, bandleader, arranger, music director, and Capitol Records artist (1947-1962), dies of a heart attack brought on by kidney failure at age 73 at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, California at age 73

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1961 - Blue Note Records releases Kenny Dorham (with Hank Mobley, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones)'s album "Whistle Stop". Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records parent company, EMI Music.
1972 - Don MacLean's United Artists Records single "American Pie" (with part 1 on one side and part 2 on the flip side) peaks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart where it will stay for four weeks
1993 - Sammy Cahn, lyricist (responsible for such Oscar-winning songs recorded by Capitol Records artist Frank Sinatra [and many others] as "Call Me Irresponsible", "Three Coins in the Fountain", and "All the Way", as well as many other standards) dies in Los Angeles, California at age 79
1994 - Harry Nilsson (born Harry Edward Nelson III), singer, songwriter, friend of John Lennon, and RCA Records artist, dies of heart failure at his home in Agoura Hills, California at 52 after completing the vocal tracks for his last album ""Harry's Got a Brown New Robe" with producer Mark Hudson earlier that day. The album has yet to be released. Among his biggest hits were the theme from the 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy", "Everybody's Talkin'" (composed by Capitol Records artist Fred Neil), and 1972's "Without You, (composed by Pete Ham and Tom Evans, of the Capitol Records group Badfinger and which on this day in 1972 entered the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart). Among my favorites of his other tracks are "Jump In To The Fire" (which heavily influenced The Cult's single "She Sells Sanctuary"), "Coconut", "Me And My Arrow" from Nilsson's score for the full length animated feature "The Point", as well as the soundtrack to the motion picture "Skidoo" (in which he also had an acting role).
1986 - The Del Lords (featuring Scott Kempner, Eric Ambel, Manny Caqiate, and Frank Funaro making unlisted contributions) record the tracks "Drug Deal", "Saint Jake" and "Against My Will" at an unlisted location. EMI America will issue all the tracks on the band's album "Johnny Comes Marching Home" (AML 3103) in England. EMI America's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Music's parent company, EMI Music.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - Elizabeth Short (aka The Black Dahlia) is found dead, her body badly mutilated, in a vacant lot on the 3800 block of South Norton Avenue in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Her murder has yet to be solved and has spawned many books and a motion picture.
1974 - "Happy Days" premieres on ABC-TV