SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
85 Years Ago Today In 1923 - Fats Navarro, trumpet player, bandleader, and Capitol (as a member of Illinois Jacquet and His Orchestra and The Benny Goodman Sextet) and Blue Note Records (solo and part of The Tadd Dameron Sextet) artist, is born Theodore Navarro in Key West, Florida. Dr. Stuart A. Varden has a wondeful site on the life of Fats with a pretty detailed sessionography.
1924 - Sheila MacRae, singer, motion picture and television actress (best known as the third Alice Kramden on "The Honeymooners" segment of "The Jackie Gleason Show", wife of Capitol Records artist Gordon MacRae, and a Capitol Records artist as part of a duo with her husband, is born Sheila Margaret Stephens in London, England. Gordon and Sheila were at the opening night festivities for The Capitol Tower.
1936 - Jim Henson, puppeteer, television and motion picture producer, and creator of The Muppets (an adaptation of their move "Muppets Treasure Island" was released by Capitol Records), is born James Maury Henson in Greenville, Mississippi
1941 - Linda McCartney, photographer, singer, keyboard player, first wife of Paul McCartney, and member of the Capitol Records group Wings and posthumously a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Linda Louise Eastman in Scarsdale, New York

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1961 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' single "Under The Influence Of Love" with "Bad Bad Dream" on the flip side. Other references list this single as being released on July 24, 1961. If anyone knows for sure which date is accurate, please leave a comment.
1962 - Capitol Records releases The Kingston Trio's single "One More Town" with "She Was Too Good To Me" on the flip side. On the same day, the group records the track "New Frontier", written by John Stewart, for their upcoming Capitol Records album of the same name.
1966 - Billboard magazine, in an article with today's street date, reports that The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Paperback Writer", with "Eleanor Rigby" on the flip side, has sold 1.2 million copies in just 4 weeks and has become the band's 21st gold single, setting a setting a record for the most gold records earned by any act in R.I.A.A. history to that date
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - The Beatles' Apple Records single "Hey Jude", distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1969 - Before it's release, Capitol Records sends out new artwork to manufactures for the back cover of The Beatles' album "Abbey Road" which adds the song "Her Majesty" after "The End" in the track listing after many covers had been printed (and used) without listing the song. Both versions are shipped, with the revised version being rarer.
35 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Capitol Records releases Tennessee Ernie Ford's album "Ernie Ford Sings About Jesus"
1990 - Capitol Records releases Megadeth's album "Rust In Peace"
1991 - Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), cartoonist, writer, whose children's stories "Gerald McBoing Boing" and "Gossamer Wump" were released as double sided singles with original artwork paper sleeves by Capitol Records, dies at age 87 in La Jolla, California following several years of illness
2002 - Tuckertime Records releases Tanya Tucker's album "Tanya" with distribution by Capitol Records Nashville
2002 - Capitol Records releases the compilation album "Judy Garland: The Capitol Years 1955-1965" on CD
5 Years Ago Today In 2003 - Matthew Jay, Capitol Records artist, dies at age 24 after falling seven stories from his apartment in Nottingham, England

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1915 - Mary Jane Gumm (aka aka Janie, aka Susie or Suzy), member of the singing group The Gumm Sisters, sister of future Capitol Records artist Judy Garland and aunt to future Capitol Records artist Liza Minnelli, is born. If anyone knows where (possibly Grand Rapids, Minnesota), please leave a comment.
1942 - Gerry Marsden, lead singer with the Parlophone Records group Gerry and The Pacemakers (the second group managed by The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein), is born in (Toxteth) Liverpool, England. Parlophone is distributed by Capitol Music Group's parent company EMI Music Group in the United Kingdom.
1955 - Fats Domino's Imperial Records single "Ain't That A Shame" is #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Singles chart
1955 - "The Ford Star Jubilee" 90 minute variety show premieres on CBS-TV with Judy Garland, on her first television special, re-creating much of her popular stage show. Two days later, on September 26, 1955, Capitol Records releases Garland's album "Miss Show Business" which contains studio versions of many of the songs she performed on the special.
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - The Jazz Crusaders (Wayne Henderson on trombone, Wilton Felder on tenor saxophone, Joe Sample on piano, Bobby Haynes on bass, and Stix Hooper on drums) record the tracks "On Broadway Pacific", "Free Sample", "Sassy", "You Are Sometimes Only Rain", and "Moon River" for their Pacific Jazz album "Heat Wave" at the Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer and recording engineer Richard Bock on to four track masters. Pacific Jazz's library is currently owned by Capitol Records and re-issued by Blue Note Records.
1964 - "The Munsters" premieres on CBS-TV. Tower Records (a subsidiary of Capitol Records) group The Standells will make a guest appearance on an episode performing two songs
1977 - "The Love Boat" premieres on ABC-TV starring Gavin MacLeod, stepfather of Capitol Records' one-time VP of Creative Services Tommy Steele. Not knowing this the first time it happened while I was working freelance inhouse at Capitol, I was wondering why Captain Stubing was sitting on the couch in Tommy's office.
20 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Bobby McFerrin's EMI Manhattan single "Don't Worry Be Happy", the first a cappella record to top Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, is still #1