AUGUST 1, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1922 - Marie Ellington, singer, second wife on Capitol Records artist Nat "King" Cole, mother of Capitol Records artist Natalie Cole, and a Capitol Records artist, is born Marie Hawkins in Boston, Massachusetts. She got the name Ellington after she married a fighter pilot named Spurgeon Ellington who was killed in a plane crash in 1945.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
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).
1960 - Ella Fitzgerald is in The Capitol Tower Studios recording the tracks "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's arrangements and him conducting 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.
45 Years Ago Today In 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 was 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".
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Capitol Records changes the swing line on label 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 aree reduced from 3.625" TO 3.3125" to accommodate the notched ring. This type of disc is produced for 1 year. The Fab4Collectibles web site has images of various types of 45 rpm labels that were produced.
10 Years Ago Today In 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 stock holders of EMI Group PLC (parent company of EMI Music Group, the 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.
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"