DECEMBER 31, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
100 Years Ago Today 1908 or 1909 - Jonah Jones, trumpet player, singer, band leader, and Capitol Records artist, is born Robert Elliott Jones in Louisville, Kentucky. If anyone knows for sure which year, please leave a comment.
80 Years Ago Today In 1928 - Ross Barbour, vocalist with the Capitol Records group The Four Freshmen, is born in Columbus, Indiana
1951 - George Thorogood, singer, guitarist, EMI America Records and Capitol Records artist, is born in Wilmington, Delaware

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Tex Ritter's Capitol Records single "I’m Wastin’ My Tears on You", with "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1947 - Roy Rogers marries Dale Evans. Both would become Capitol Records solo artists as well as a Capitol Records duo.
1952 - Skeets McDonald's Capitol Records single "Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes", with "Big Family Trouble" on the flip side, is still #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1955 - Nelson Riddle's Capitol Records single "Lisbon Antiqua" enters the top 40 of Billboard's Pop singles chart
1960 - Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records single "Wings of a Dove" is still #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1965 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single, "I Feel Fine" (with "She's A Woman" on the flip side), and Capitol Records album, "Beatles '65", are both certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1966 - The Seekers' Capitol Records single "Georgy Girl" enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Glen Campbell's Capitol Records single "Wichita Lineman" is still #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1969 - Jimi Hendrix and Band of Gypsies play for the first time in public at the first of two consecutive days of gigs at the Fillmore East in New York City, New York. The last two shows performed the next day on January 1, 1970 will be recorded for a live album that will be released by Capitol Records to honor a 1965 contract that Hendrix had signed with the label.
1970 - Paul McCartney files a writ in London High Court against "The Beatles and Co.", seeking the legal dissolution of the partnership, which will finally take place December 30, 1974
1981 - Dave Cavanaugh (aka "Big Dave" Cavanaugh), tenor saxophonist, bass player, and A&R producer for Capitol Records, dies in Tarzana, California at age 62
1984 - Duran Duran's Capitol Records single "The Wild Boys" is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1985 - Rick Nelson (radio, telelvision, and motion picture actor, singer, songwriter, Imperial Records and Capitol Records artist), his fiancée Helen Blair, and five members of Nelson's Stone Canyon Band die after their plane crashes a mile southeast of DeKalb, Texas after a Fire in the pasenger cabin forces the pilots of Nelson’s DC-3 to attempt an emergency landing in a field. The crew escaped through the cockpit windows, but none of the pasengers survived.
1994 - Capitol Records Nashville releases Garth Brooks' album "The Hits" which will go on to sell over 10 million copies and be certified Diamond by the R.I.A.A.
2001 - Charlie Louvin, former Capitol Records artist and member of The Grand Ole Opry, suffers broken ribs, a concussion, and a cracked breastbone in a car wreck

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1929 - Future Capitol Records artist Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians' first annual New Year's Eve broadcast from the Roosevelt Grill in New York City is heard over the CBS Radio network
1931 - Gil Melle, saxophonist, synthesizer and drum machine player, painter, graphic artist (designed album covers for Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, and Sonny Rollins), film score writer ("The Andromeda Strain", one of the first electronic music film scores), who at age 19 became Blue Note Records first white artist, is born Gilbert John Melle in Riverside, California
1947 - Future Capitol Records artists (both as a duo and as solo artists) Roy Rogers and Dale Evans are married.
1960 - Ferrante & Teicher's United Artists Records single "Exodus" is #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. The United Artists catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music
1961 - Future Capitol Records band The Beach Boys (previously performing under the names The Pendletones, Kenny and The Cadets, and Carl and The Passions) play for the first time using that name when the appear at a Ritchie Valens' Memorial Concert in Long Beach, California and earn $300
2002 - Kevin Macmichael, guitarist and co-founder (with vocalist Nick Van Eede) of the Virgin Records America band Cutting Crew, dies of lung cancer at age 51. Their 1987 hit "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is the label's first U.S. release and its first #1 single. Virgin Records America's catalog is now owned by Capitol's parent company, EMI Music.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1905 - Jule Styne, pop, motion picture and Broadway composer (wrote, with lyricists that included Sammy Cahn and Frederick Loewe, the music for the songs "I've Heard That Song Before", "I'll Walk Alone", "It's Been a Long, Long Time","Let It Snow, Let It Snow", "The Things We Did Last Summer", "Saturday Night Is the Loneliest Night in the Week", "[Kiss Me Once and Kiss Me Twice] It's Been A Long, Long Time", "Five Minutes More", "Three Coins in the Fountain" [an Academy Award Winning tune] and others, and the scores for the Broadway shows "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" [1949, lyrics by Leo Robin, which includes the songs "Diamond's Are a Girl's Best Friend" and "The Party's Over"], "Bells Are Ringing" [1956, with lyrics by Comden and Green which was turned into the 1960 movie whose soundtrack was released by Capitol Records and included Capitol Records artist Dean Martin singing "Just in Time"] as well as "Funny Girl" [1964, with lyrics by Bob Merrill] whose original Broadway cast album was also released by Capitol Records] and others) is born Julius Kerwin Stein in London, England

DECEMBER 30, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1917 - Wesley Tuttle, singer, yodeler, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader, motion picture actor and voice actor, radio and television host, Western Music Association Hall of Fame inductee, and Capitol Records artist (1944-1957), is born Wesley LeRoy Tuttle in Lamar, Colorado
1939 - Del Shannon, singer, songwriter (wrote "I Go To Pieces" for Capitol Records duo Peter & Gordon), and 1999 Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, is born Charles Westover in Coppersville, Michigan
1945 - Davy Jones, singer, jockey, television and motion picture actor, with the band The Monkees and the Capitol Records group, Dolens, Jones, Boyce and Hart, is born David Jones in Manchester, England
1947 - Jeff Lynne, vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the groups Electic Light Orchestra and The Traveling Wilburys, and record producer (The Beatles' last single "Free As A Bird") is born in Birmingham, England
1956 - Suzy Bogguss, singer and Capitol Records artist (1991-1999), is born Susan Kay Bogguss in Aledo, Illinois

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1967 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Hello Goodbye", with "I Am The Walrus" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "I've Got You On My Mind Again"
1972 - Paul McCartney's Apple Records single "Hi Hi Hi", with "C Moon" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1974 - The Beatles are legally dissolved as a group
1996 - It is announced that Capitol Records artist Paul McCartney will be honoured with knighthood and henceforth be known as Sir Paul McCartney.
1999 - George Harrison is stabbed four times in the chest during an attempted robbery early in the morning at his home at Henley-Upon-Thames, near London. Harrison and his wife Olivia struggle with the intruder, subdue him until the authorities arrive, and are then transported to a nearby hospital.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Cole Porter's Broadway musical "Kiss Me, Kate" opens at The New Century Theatre in New York City. In 1949 Capitol will release an album of songs from the show recorded by Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae and in 1959 will release a new stereo recording of the soundtrack that features Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk, and Harold Lang, all members of the original Broadway cast.
1957 - Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "Stood Up", with "Waitin' In School" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Pop singles chart
1981 - The J.Geils Band's EMI America Records album "Freeze-Frame" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. and will be certified Platinum on January 11, 1982. EMI America's catalog is currently distributed by Capitol Records and owned by EMI Music.
1989 - Paula Abdul (with Wild Pair)'s Virgin Records America single "Opposites Attract" enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1989 - Roxette's EMI America Records single "Dangerous", the last single released from their album "Look Sharp" and with live versions of "Surrender and "Neverending Love" also on the single, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart where it will peak at #2

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
80 Years Ago Today In 1928 - Bo Diddley (aka Ellas McDaniel), guitarist, singer, songwriter, motion picture actor, and 1987 Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, is born Otha Ellas Bates in McComb, Mississippi
1942 - Mike Nesmith, singer, guitarist, songwriter, television and motion picture actor and producer, music video producer, winner of first Grammy for best video, and member of The Monkees, is born in Houston, Texas
1979 - Richard Rodgers, Broadway and motion picture score composer (first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II) and Broadway producer, dies in New York City at age 77.

DECEMBER 29, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
65 Years Ago Today In 1943 - Rick Danko, rhythm guitar player with the group The Hawks and electric bass player and singer with the Capitol Records group The Band, is born in Green's Corners, outside of Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
1944 - Patti Drew, singer with the Capitol Records group (1964) The Drew-vels (which includes her sisters Lorraine and Erma and bass vocalist Carlton Black) and a Capitol Records solo artist (1967-1971), is born in Charleston, North Carolina. Her mother, a domestic worker for Capitol Records regional promoter Maury Lathower in Evanston, Illinois, invited him to hear her daughters sing at a church function and he got the group signed to Capitol.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - The Dinning Sisters record the track "Buttons And Bows" for Capitol Records which will release it as a single with "San Antonio Rose" on the flip side. The single will enter Billboard's Pop singles charts on October 22, 1948 were it will stay for 16 weeks, eventually peaking at #7.
1952 - Fletcher Henderson, band leader, pianist, arranger, and member of the Capitol Records band Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, dies in New York City, New York at age 55
1962 - The Green River Boys (a "one-off" group, one of whose members is future Capitol Records solo artist Glen Campbell)' Capitol Records single "Kentucky Means Paradise", with "Truck Drivin' Man" on the flip side, enters Billboard's Country singles chart where it will peak at #20
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - The "Good Guys", on 5,000-watt radio station WMCA, become the first New York disc jockeys to play The Beatles’ Capitol Records single "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
1964 - Buck Owens records the track "Gonna Have Love" for Capitol Records
1966 - The Beatles' record the track "Penny Lane" at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, England which will be released as a single by Capitol Records in the United States with "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the flip side
1967 - Paul Whiteman (aka "The King of Jazz"), who commissioned George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" and premiered the piece with Gershwin at the piano, bandleader (whose members included future Capitol Records artists Jack Teagarden and Red Nichols as well as vocalist and future Capitol Records co-founder Johnny Mercer), radio and television show host, motion picture actor, and a Capitol Records artist (whose first single, "I Found A New Baby" [with "The General Jumped At Dawn" on the flip side] is the label's first release), dies in Doylestown, Pennsylvania at age 77
1969 - Capitol Records releases Grand Funk Railroad's album "Grand Funk" (aka "The Red Album")
35 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Ringo Starr's Apple Records single "You're Sixteen", a cover of Johnny Burnette's Imperial Records track, with "Devil Woman" on the flip side and distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart at # 27 and will peak at #1 on January 26, 1974
1974 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "Angie Baby" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1990 - Wilson Phillips' SBK Records single "Impulsive", distributed by Capitol Records, is still #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Etta Jones, with Barney Bigard, record the tracks "Blow Top Blues", "Salty Papa Blues", "Evil Gal Blues" and "Long Long Journey" in Los Angeles, California for Black and White Records. Black and White's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - The Chipmunks with David Saville's Liberty Records single "The Chipmunk Song" is still #1 on Billboard's Pop singles chart and Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "Lonesome Town" is #3. Liberty and Imperial's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records parent company EMI Music.
1962 - Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "It's Up To You", with "I Need You" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and will peak at #6 on February 2, 1963
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - The Beach Boys' Candix Records single "Surfin'" (their first single) debuts at #33 on Los Angeles radio station KFWB's "Fabulous Forty Survey" for this week

DECEMBER 28, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
110 Years Ago Today In 1898 - Mischa Spoliansky, composer (scores for several British films, including the soundtrack for 1957's "Saint Joan" which was released on Capitol), is born in Bialystok, Russia
1921 - Johnny Otis, bandleader, singer, drummer, vibraphonist, record producer, radio disc jockey, and Capitol Records artist, is born John Veliotes in Vallejo, California
1932 - Dorsey Burnette, singer, songwriter, bassist, electrician, part of the Coral Records group The Rock And Roll Trio, part of the Imperial Records group The Burnette Brothers (with his brother Johnny Burnette), and solo artist for many labels including Imperial Records and Capitol Records (1972-1973), is born in Memphis, Tennessee

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - The King Cole Trio's Capitol Records single "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons", with "The Best Man" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Pop singles chart, and ist the group's first #1 Pop hit
1955 - Jean Shepard records the track "I Learned It All From You" at Capitol Records Melrose Avenue studios in Hollywood, California
1956 - Nat "King" Cole records the track "When I Fall In Love" for his Capitol Records album "Love Is The Thing"
1956 - Jean Shepard records the track "Other Woman" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. The track will be released by Capitol Records as a single with "Under Suspicion" on the flip side. I wonder if she or Nat listened to each other's sessions.
1964 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' single "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" with "Cryin' Time" on the flip side
1965 - Buck Owens and The Buckaroos' Capitol Records single "Buckaroo", with "If You Want A Love" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - The Beatles' self-titled Apple Records album (aka "The White Album", and their first on the Apple label), distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, is #1 on Billboard's album chart where it will stay for nine weeks
35 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Capitol Records artist Tex Ritter make his final appearance on the Grand Ole Opry
35 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Merle Haggard's Capitol Records single "If We Make It Through December", with "It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad)" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1975 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "Angie Baby", with "I'll Think I'll Write A Song" on the flip side, is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
25 Years Ago Today In 1983 - Dennis Wilson, singer, songwriter, and drummer in the Capitol Records group The Beach Boys and Capitol Records solo artist, drowns at age 39 while diving to bring up personal items that he had thrown overboard near his boat, "Harmony", in the harbor at Marina del Ray, California

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1922 - Stan Lee (aka Stan "The Man" Lee), writer, founding editor (currently Chairman Emeritus) of Marvel Comics, and co-creator of many of its early best-sellers, is born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City, New York

DECEMBER 27, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1901 - Marlene Dietrich, motion picture actress, singer, and Capitol Records artist (1961-1965), is born Maria Magdelene Dietrich in Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany. In his autobiography, Dave Dexter, Jr. remembers her calling him to get hundreds of promotional copies of her albums to give out while she was touring.
1950 - Terry Bozzio, drummer with Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention, and the Capitol Records group Missing Persons as well as one-time husband of Missing Persons' lead singer Dale Bozzio, is born

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Andy Russell's Capitol Records single "I Can't Begin To Tell You", with "Love Me" on the flip side, is released by Capitol Records and will peak at #7 on the U.S. Pop singles charts in 1946
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae's Capitol Records single "My Darlin, My Darling", with "Girls Were Made To Take Care Of Boys" on the flip side, is #3 on the U.S. Pop singles charts
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "I Feel Fine" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and its flip side, "She's A Woman", is #2
1966 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "Open Up Your Heart"
20 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", with "Back To The Rocking Horse" on the flip side, is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and is, so far, the group's only #1 single

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Merle Haggard's Tally Records single "Sing A Sad Song", with "You Don't Even Try" on the flip side, enters Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart where it will peak at #19. Haggard's Tally masters are currently owned and distributed by Capitol Records.
1980 - John Lennon's Geffen Records/Lenono Music single "(Just Like) Starting Over" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart and Lennon and Yoko Ono's Geffen Records/Lenono Music album "Double Fantasy" is #1 on Billboard's Pop album chart. Capitol Records currently distributes all of Lennon's catalog and has reissued "Double Fantasy" as a remastered CD on the Capitol label.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1879 - Sydney Greenstreet, motion picture and radio actor, is born
1906 - Oscar Levant, pianist, singer, motion picture actor, and television quiz show panelist, is born
1927 - The Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II musical "Show Boat" premieres at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Every year there is a celebration dinner organized and hosted by Miles Kreuger (president and founder of the Institute Of The American Musical and writer of the definitive book on the history of "Show Boat"), in Los Angeles, California at the Plum Tree Inn in Chinatown.
1932 - Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City. It is the largest indoor theatre in the world at the time, with a nearly 10,000-square-foot stage and seating more than 6,200 people. The gala grand opening show is a six-hour extravaganza that will lose half a million dollars within three weeks.
1947 - Buffalo Bob (Smith), Clarabelle the Clown (Bob Keeshan, the future Captain Kangaroo), Judy Canova, and a host of others join puppet Howdy Doody for the premiere of his self-titled television show on NBC-TV. The show will stay on the air for 13 years and be revived in the 1970s.
1981 - Hoagie Carmichael, songwriter (one-time partner with Capitol Records co-founder Johnny Mercer) and motion picture actor, dies of a heart attack at age 82 in Rancho Mirage, California

DECEMBER 26, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1921 - Steve Allen, television variety show host, motion picture actor, songwriter, pianist, and Capitol Records artist (1958 on the LP "Ray Anthony Plays Steve Allen"), is born in New York City, New York
1940 - Phil Spector, director of A&R for Liberty (1962) and Apple Records (1971), record producer (who has worked with Capitol Records artists The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Starsailor, and The Vines), is born Harvey Phillip Spector in the Bronx, New York

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, John Anderson, Russ Burgher, and Bob Lymperis on trumpet; Freddie Zito, Ray Klein, Milt Kabak on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; Al Anthony and Boots Mussulli on alto saxophone; Vido Musso and Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Bob Ahern on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; Ralph Collier on drums; and June Christy and Gene Howard on vocals) record the tracks "Shoo Fly Pie And Apple Pan Dowdy" (with Christy on vocals and solos by Wetzel and Musso) and "I Been Down In Texas" (with vocals by Christy, Howard, Wetzel, and Kenton), which will be released together as a single (235) for Capitol Records, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California
1955 - Dean Martin's Capitol Records single "Memories Are Made Of This", with "Change Of Heart" on the flip side, is #2 on Billboard's Pop singles chart
1955 - Tennessee Ernie Ford's Capitol Records single "Sixteen Tons", with " You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" on the flip side, is still #1 on Billboard's Country singles chart
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Capitol Records rush releases it's first single by The Beatles, "I Want To Hold Your Hand", with "I Saw Her Standing There" on the flip side. The single will be #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 5 weeks on February 1, 1964
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Buck Owen's Capitol Records single "Love’s Gonna Live Here", with "Getting Used To Losing You" on the flip side, is still #1 on Billboard's Country singles chart
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "I Feel Fine", with "She's A Woman" on the flip side, is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1966 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owen's single "Where Does The Good Times Go" with "The Way That I Love You" on the flip side
1970 - George Harrison's Apple Records "My Sweet Lord", with "Isn't It A Pity" on the flip side and distributed in the United States by Capitol Records, is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1974 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "Angie Baby" with "I Think I'll Write A Song" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. It is Reddy's third and last # 1 song to date.
1981 - The Little River Band's Capitol Records single "Take It Easy On Me", with "Orbit Zero" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles and Cashbox's Top 100 Singles charts

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1967 - BBC-TV in the U.K. airs The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" for the first time
1987 - The Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield's EMI America Records single "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", with "A New Life" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. EMI America's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1931 - George Gershwin’s musical "Of Thee I Sing" opens at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. The show will become the first American musical to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

DECEMBER 25, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1915 - Pete Rugolo, bandleader, songwriter, arranger (for Capitol Records artists Stan Kenton, Frank Sinatra, June Christy, Nat "King" Cole, Harry Belafonte, and many others), music director of Capitol Records from 1949-1957, and motion picture and television score composer, is born in San Piero, Sicily
90 Years Ago Today In 1918 - Eddie Safranski, bandleader and bass player with Capitol Records group Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Barbara Mandrell, singer and Capitol Records artist (1986), is born Barbara Ann Mandrell in Houston, Texas
1954 - Steve Wariner, singer, songwriter, guitarist, member of The Grand Ole Opry, and Capitol Records Nashville artist (1998), is born in Noblesville, Indiana

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - The King Cole Trio's Capitol Records single "The Christmas Song", with "In The Cool Of The Evening" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Pop singles charts and Merle Travis' Capitol Records single "Divorce Me C.O.D.", with "Missouri" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts.
1965 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Day Tripper" enters the top 40 of Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart at #28 and will peak at #5 on January 22, 1966. It's flip side, "We Can Work It Out" is #11 and will peak at #1 on January 8, 1966.
1970 - George Harrison's Apple Records single "My Sweet Lord", with "Isn't It A Pity" on the flip side and distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1982 - Capitol Records releases Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's album "The Distance" on cassette
1986 - Duran Duran's Capitol Records single "Notorious", with "Winter Marches On" on the flip side, is #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1995 - Dean Martin, singer, motion picture actor, televsion variety show host, and Capitol Records solo artist and part of the the group The Rat Pack, dies at 3:00 AM of acute respiratory failure at age 78 in Beverly Hills, California

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Henry Vestine (aka "The Sunflower"), guitarist with The Beans, The Mothers Of Invention and the Liberty Records group Canned Heat (1965-early 1969, 1971), is born in Tacoma Park, Maryland. Liberty's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music.
30 Years Ago Today In 1978 - Kenny Rogers' United Artists Records single "The Gambler", with "Momma's Waiting" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart. United Artists' catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music.

DECEMBER 24, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1916 - Sid Feller, trumpet player, pianist, arranger, songwriter, record producer, conductor, head in-house arranger for Capitol Records (1951-1955 with artists Peggy Lee, Jackie Gleason, Nancy Wilson, Dean Martin, Matt Monro, Jane Froman, and others), ABC Records (1955-1965 most notably with Ray Charles, whose band he would conduct on the road even after leaving ABC), music director for "The Flip Wilson Show" and other TV series, is born Sidney Harold Feller in New York City, New York
1929 - Stoney Edwards, singer, songwriter ("Two Dollar Toy", "The Cute Little Waitress", "Blackbird (Hold Your Head High)", and more), guitarist, and Capitol Records artist (1971-1976), is born Frenchey Edwards in Seminole, Oklahoma. According to an article on Hillbilly-Music.com, Edwards was once refused entrance to a party in the early '70s at the Capitol Records offices in Los Angeles because of his race (African-American, American Indian, and Irish) which may have had some influence on his writing the song "Blackbird" (not to be confused with The Beatles' song of the same name).
1944 - Mike Curb, musician, Lieutenant Governor of California, race car owner, president MGM Records, founder of the singing group The Mike Curb Congregation, record producer (most notably the Academy Award winner "You Light Up My Life") and founder of Curb Records, some of whose releases are distributed by Capitol Records and which also releases compilation albums using tracks from Capitol Records and EMI Music's catalog, is born in Savannah, Georgia

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
55 Years Ago Today In 1953 - Dean Martin, with Dick Stabile conducting the studio orchestra, re-records the track "I'd Cry Like A Baby" with new arrangement by Gus Levine after not getting a successful take on August 13, 1953 using an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. The Capitol Records single, with "Hey Brother, Pour The Wine" on the flip side, will peak at #21 after it is released in March 1954.
1965 - The Beatles' Capitol Records album "Rubber Soul" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. just two and a half weeks after its release
1967 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Hello Goodbye", with "I Am The Walrus" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1979 - Capitol Records releases Weird Al Yankovic's single "My Bologna" with "School Cafeteria" on the flip side.
20 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
115 Years Ago Today In 1893 - Harry Warren, composer ("I Found A Million Dollar Baby In A Five-And-Ten Cent Store", "Shuffle Off To Buffalo", "Forty-Second Street", "Lullaby of Broadway" [his first Academy Award winner], "She's A Latin From Manhattan", "Jeepers Creepers" [with lyrics by Capitol Records co-founder Johnny Mercer], "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", "On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe" [with lyrics also by Mercer], "Serenade in Blue", "I Had the Craziest Dream", "Highland Fling" [lyrics by Ira Gershwin], Dean Martin's Capitol Records hit "That's Amore", and many more), is born Salvatore Guaragna in Brooklyn, New York
1922 - Ava Gardner, actress and one time wife of Capitol Records artist Frank Sinatra (as well as Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw), is born Ava Lavinia Garnder in Brogden, Johnston County, North Carolina
1965 - Trumpeter Don Cherry records the tracks for his Blue Note album "Complete Communion" which will be released in 1966 on vinyl and in 2000 on CD. Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music and Blue Note Records is currently a division of Capitol Records, Incorporated.
1984 - Peter Lawford (born born Peter Sidney Lawford), motion picture actor, one time husband of Patricia Kennedy and brother-in-law of John and Robert Kennedy, and member of The Rat Pack (which included Capitol Records artists Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.), dies of cardiac arrest complicated by kidney and liver failure at age 61.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1886 - Michael Curtiz, circus performer, actor, and motion picture director ("The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Casablanca", "White Christmas", and many others), is born Manó Kertész Kaminer in Budapest, Hungary
1906 - Reginald A. Fessenden, Canadian-born radio inventor (and discoverer of the superheterodyne principle which is the basis for all modern radio receivers), becomes the first person to broadcast a music program over radio when he speaks a little verse then, on violin with a female singer, plays "O Holy Night", and concludes with a speech, live via a transmitter in Brant Rock, Massachusetts
1997 - Tishiro Mufuni, actor, dies at 77

DECEMBER 23, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1929 - Chet Baker, trumpetist, flugelhorn player, singer, and Pacific Jazz and Capitol Records artist as a solo artist and as a member of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and Quintet and with the Miles Davis nonet, is born Chesney Henry Baker in Yale, Oklahoma
1955 - Dave Murray, songwriter and guitarist with the EMI/Harvest/Capitol Records band Iron Maiden, is born David Michael Murray in Edmonton, London, England

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Tex Ritter's Capitol Records single "I’m Wastin’ My Tears on You", with "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1952 - Skeets McDonald's Capitol Records single "Don’t Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes", with "Big Family Trouble" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1959 - Buck Owens records the tracks "Excuse Me I Think I've Got A Heartache" and
"Above And Beyond" for Capitol Records
1960 - Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records single "Wings of a Dove", with "Next To Jimmy" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "I Feel Fine", with "She's A Woman" on the flip side, hits #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. This is the 30th song by the group to hit Billboard's Hot 100 in 1964, the most songs in one year by any group.
1964 - Brian Wilson, singer, songwriter, producer and member of the Capitol Records group The Beach Boys, suffers a nervous breakdown on flight from Los Angeles to Houston and decides to retire from live performances
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Glen Campbell's Capitol Records single "Wichita Lineman", with Campbell's self-penned "Fate Of Man" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles charts.
1969 - Merle Haggard records the track "The Fightin' Side of Me" for Capitol Records
1971 - Capitol Records co-founder Glenn Everett Wallichs dies
1972 - John Lennon's film "Imagine" premieres on national TV
1972 - Hurricane Smith (aka Norman Smith, EMI recording engineer at Abbey Road who worked with The Beatles and producer of Pink Floyd's second single "See Emily Play")'s Capitol Records single "Oh Babe, What Would You Say?" with "Getting To Know You (Is Like A New Dance)" on the flip side, debuts in the top 40 of both Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and Cashbox's Top 100 Singles chart. On a personal note, this is my favorite song. When if first came out I was 12 and it sounded so different from anything else on the radio at that time. Also, it was a song my whole family liked and would sing along to while driving around Buffalo that winter (having a song that the kids singing wouldn't sound worse than Smith's vocals was a real plus for my parents). With it's lush string arrangment, smoking sax solo, and romantic (but down to earth and easy to understand) lyrics, this was also the song that started my interest in "earlier" music. Many thanks Norman!

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1938 - The "Spirituals to Swing" concert is presented at Carnegie Hall in New York City by music impresario John Hammond. Pianists Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, and Pete Johnson, vocalist Joe Turner, clarintetist Sidney Bechet, the Count Basie Orchestra, blue singer Big Bill Broonzy, and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe all appear on stage. The show is credited with starting the "Boogie Woogie" craze. Also, twenty nine year old Alfred Lion is in the audience and is so enthused by Lewis and Ammon's piano playing that he arranges a recording session, funded with start-up capitol by writer Max Margulis, exactly two weeks later on January 6, 1939 at 2:00 PM (listed as probably being at WMGM Studios) in New York City where he records 4 solos by each and 2 duets with both men playing on the same piano. Thus is Blue Notes Records born. Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music, Capitol's parent company, and Blue Note Records is currently a division of Capitol Records, Incorporated. If anyone knows for sure which studio was used, please leave a comment.

DECEMBER 22, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
1915 - Felix Slatkin, violinist, conductor, concertmaster at 20th Century Fox Studios, session musician and concert master for many of Frank Sinatra's Capitol Records recordings, member and musical director of the Capitol Records group The Hollywood String Quartet (with his wife, cellist Eleanor Aller Slatkin, violinist Joachim Chassman [later replaced by Paul C. Shure], and violist Paul Robyn) which produced 21 albums for Capitol and with whom Sinatra also recorded, as well as The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, founder of The Concert Arts Orchestra, solo artist for Liberty Records (the "Fantastic" series), father of conductor and music director Leonard Slatkin and cellist Frederick Zlotkin (the original Russian spelling of Slatkin), is born in Saint Louis, Missouri

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Eddie Miller and His Orchestra (including Miller on tenor saxophone, Matty Matlock on clarinet) record the track "Everything I Have Is Yours" (arranged by Matlock with a vocal by Martha Tilton), which will go unreleased until it is included on the 1997 Mosaic Records box set "Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions", and "Who, Me?" (written and arranged by Matlock), that will be released on a promotional single (7-1223) by Capitol Records on the flip side of "The Hour Of Parting", in Los Angeles, California
1947 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Al Porcino, Chico Alvarez, and Ken Hanna on trumpet; Milt Bernhart, Eddie Bert, Harry Betts, and Harry Forbes on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; George Weidler and Art Pepper on alto saxophone; Bob Cooper, and Warner Weidler on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Laurindo Almeida on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; Shelly Manne on drums; Jack Costanzo on bongos; and June Christy on vocals) record the tracks "Harlem Holiday (A Message To Harlem)" (solos by Costanzo, Alvarez, Cooper, Bert, Pepper, Porcino, Kenton, Safranski and Manne), "This Is My Theme" (vocals by Christy), "Bongo Riff" (solo by Costanzo), "Somnambulism" (solos by Safranski, G. Weidler, Bernhart, and Cooper), and "Interlude" (trombones and rhythm only, solo by Kenton) for Capitol Records at RKO-Pathe Studios in New York City, New York
1950 - Les Paul and Mary Ford's first Capitol Records single together, "Tennessee Waltz" with Paul's "Little Rock Getaway" on the flip side, enters Billboard's Pop singles chart
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Frank Sinatra, with conductor Billy May, records the tracks "Day In - Day Out", "Baubles, Bangles And Beads", "Dancing In The Dark", "Saturday Night" and "Cheek To Cheek" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. May arranged all the tracks except "Saturday Night" which was arranged by Heine Beau. All the tracks will be included on Sinatra's Capitol Records album "Come Dance With Me"
1966 - By changing the speeds on two takes, producer George Martin is able to edit them together creating the finished version of The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever"
1974 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "Angie Baby", with "I Think I'll Write A Song" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1976 - Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's Capitol Records album "Live Bullet" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
2001 - Johnny Wakley, singer, songwriter, and son of Capitol Records artist Jimmy Wakely, dies from liver disease at age 57

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1900 - The "His Master's Voice" picture is registered as a trademark of The Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd. (later to become Capitol's parent company EMI) in Britain. Francis Barraud's painting "His Master's Voice" was purchased by The Gramophone Company Ltd. on September 15, 1899 and was first used the following year on the company's Record Supplement for January 1900. The company later hired Barraud to paint copies which hang in EMI's corporate offices around the world, including (at least as of 2001) one on the "E" (13th) floor of The Capitol Tower in Hollywood, California.
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - The Chipmunks with David Seville's Liberty Records single "The Chipmunk Song", with The Chipmunks' "Alvin's Harmonica" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Pop singles chart. Liberty's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music.

DECEMBER 21, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1926 - Freddie Hart, singer, guitarist, songwriter and Capitol Records artist (1953-1956 and 1970) is born Frederick Segrest in Lockapoke, Alabama
1926 - Edward W. Ray, executive assistant to the president at Imperial Records (1955-1964) and vice president for artist and repertoire at Capitol Records (1964-1969), is born in Franklin, North Carolina
1946 - Carl Wilson, guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer, youngest of the three Wilson brothers, husband to Capitol Records artist Dean Martin's daughter Gina, solo artist, and with the Capitol Records group The Beach Boys, is born in Hawthorne, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Andy Russell's Capitol Records single "I Dream Of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", with "Magic Is The Moonlight" on the flip side, enters Billboard's Pop singles chart where it will stay for 3 weeks and peak at #5
1947 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Al Porcino, Chico Alvarez, and Ken Hanna on trumpet; Milt Bernhart, Eddie Bert, Harry Betts, and Harry Forbes on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; George Weidler and Art Pepper on alto saxophone; Bob Cooper, and Warner Weidler on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Laurindo Almeida on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; Shelly Manne on drums; Jack Costanzo on bongos; and June Christy on vocals) record the tracks "Metronome Riff (Pete's Riff)" (with the Metronome All Stars: Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Bill Harris on trombone, Flip Phillips on tenor saxophone, Buddy DeFranco on clarinet, Nat Cole on piano, Billy Bauer on guitar, and Buddy Rich on drums, solos by Cole, Bauer, DeFranco, Harris, Phillips Gillespie, Safranski, and Rich), "Introduction To A Latin Rhythm (Prologue Suite - First Movement)" (with Carlos Vidal on congas and Machito on maracas, solos by Kenton, Cooper, and Bert), "Journey To Brazil (Prologue Suite - Finale)" (with Carlos Vidal on congas and Machito on maracas, solos by Almeida, Bernhart, Bert, Cooper, Pepper, Porcino, Childers, and Costanzo), and "How High The Moon" (vocal by Christy, solos by Bert, Alvarez, and Pepper) at RKO-Pathe Studios, in New York City, New York
1962 - Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra record the tracks "Bonanza Theme", "New Naked City Theme", "Ballad Of Paladin", and "Dick Van Dyke Theme" for his Capitol Records album "More Hit TV Themes"
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - The Beach Boy's Capitol Records single "Be True To Your School", with "In My Room" on the flip side, peaks at #6 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1965 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "We Can Work It Out" enters Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1966 - The Beatles record the tracks for their songs "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Strawberry Fields Forever"
1966 - The Beach Boys' Capitol Records single "Good Vibrations", with "Let's Go Away for Awhile" on the flip side, and their Capitol Records albums "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Shut Down, Vol. 2." are certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. "Good Vibrations" is the only single by The Beach Boys to be certified Gold during the 1960s.
1974 - Grand Funk Railroad records the track "Some Kind Of Wonderful" for Capitol Records
1974 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "Angie Baby" is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1985 - Heart's self-titled Capitol Records album hits #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart
1990 - Wilson Phillips' SBK Records single "Impulsive", distributed by Capitol Records, peaks at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1992 - Nathan Milstein, violinist and Capitol Records artist (1958 with pianist Artur Balsam "Beethoven: Sonata Number 9 in A Major, Opus 47 "Kreutzer" and Sonota Number 8 in G Major, Opus 30 Number 3", released as part of the FDS series), dies at age 88, ten days before his 89th birthday on December 31, in London, England

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1951 - Nick Gilder, singer with the band Sweeney Todd and a solo artist with Chrysalis Records (1977-1979), is born in London, England
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Jan and Dean record the track "Drag City" which will be released as Liberty Records single with "Schlock Rod Part 1" on the flip side and peak at #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart.
1980 - John Lennon's Geffen/Lenono Music single "(Just Like) Starting Over" hits #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart 13 days after his death

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1905 - Harry Revel, composer ("Did You Ever See A Dream Walking", "Stay As Sweet As You Are", "Love Thy Neighbor", "Paris in the Spring" and many more) and winner (with songwriting partner Mack Gordon) of nine Academy Awards for nine different songs, is born in London, England
1914 - "Tillie’s Punctured Romance", the first six-reel feature-length comedy motion picture, is released. The film stars Marie Dressler, Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand and Mack Swain and is directed by Mack Sennett.
1937 - Walt Disney presents the first full-length animated feature, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood, California
1940 - Frank Zappa, singer, songwriter, guitarist, band leader, and conductor, is born in Baltimore, Maryland

DECEMBER 20, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1949 - Alan Parsons, singer, keyboardist, flutist, music engineer (on The Beatles’ album "Abbey Road", Pink Floyd's album "Dark Side Of The Moon", early Wings albums, and many others), record producer, and founder of the band The Alan Parsons Project, is born in London, England

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, John Anderson, Russ Burgher, and Bob Lymperis on trumpet; Freddie Zito, Jimmy Simms, Milt Kabak, and Ray Kline on trombone; Bart Varsalona on baritione trombone; Al Anthony and Boots Mussulli on alto saxophone; Vido Musso and Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Bob Ahern on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; Ralph Collier on drums; June Christy and Gene Howard on vocals) record the tracks "Solitude" (solo by Simms), "No Baby, Nobody But You" (vocal by Christy, solos by Kenton, Safranski, Wetzel, Musso, and Simms), "Never Too Late To Pray" (vocal by Howard), "Tea For Two" (solos by Kenton, Safranksi, and Mussulli), "One Twenty" (solos by Mussulli, Kenton, and Childers), "Dont Blame Me" (vocal by Howard), "Intermission Riff" (solos by Musso, Wetzel, and Mussulli) "It Ain't Necessarily So" (vocal by Christy), "I Never Thought I'd Sing The Blues" (vocal by Christy, solos by Safranski, Kenton and Wetzel), "Artistry In Rhythm - Opening Theme" (with solo by Kenton), and "Artistry In Rhythm - Closing Theme" (solos by Kenton and Collier) for Capitol Records at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California
1949 - Tennessee Ernie Ford's Capitol Records single "Mule Train" is still #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1949 - Harry Belafonte records the tracks "Whispering", "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child", "I Still Get A Thrill" and "Farewell To Arms" at his second (and last) recording session for Capitol Records. If anyone knows where the session was held, please leave a comment.
1957 - Peggy Lee, with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, records the tracks "I Hear Music", "Old Devil Moon", and "What A Little Moonlight Can Do" for her Capitol Records album "Jump For Joy" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "I Feeel Fine" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1966 - The Beatles record the track "When I'm Sixty-Four"
1970 - George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
35 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassoto), singer, motion picture actor, and Capitol Records artist, dies of heart failure after open-heart surgery at age 37. In accordance with his wishes, his body was donated to the UCLA Medical Center for research purposes.
1997 - Garth Brook's Capitol Nashville single "Longneck Bottle", with "Rollin'" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1907 - Paul Francis Webster, lyricist ("Masquerade", "Two Cigarettes In The Dark", Betty Hutton's Capitol Records release "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief", "Secret Love", The Lettermen's Capitol Records release "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing", and many more), is born in New York City, New York
90 Years Ago Today In 1918 - John Hardee, tenor saxophonist, band leader, and Blue Note Records artist (1946-1948), is born in Corsicana, Texas
1920 - Future Capitol Records artist Bob Hope (born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, London, England) becomes an American citizen. Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by Capitol's parent company, EMI Music, and Blue Note Records is currently a division of Capitol Records, Inc.
1967 - Chrysalis band Jethro Tull is formed when Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick name the band after an eighteenth-century inventor of farming implements. Chrysalis' catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company, EMI Music.

DECEMBER 19, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1915 - Edith Piaf, singer and Capitol Records artist, is born Edith Giovanna Gassion near Paris in Ménilmontant, France
1945 - John McEuen (aka "The String Wizard"), singer; songwriter; as well as banjo, fiddle, guitar, accordian, mandolin, dulcimar, piano and lap steel guitar player with the Capitol Records group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, is born in Garden Grove, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Jimmy Wakely's Capitol Records single "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)", with "You’re The Sweetest Rose In Texas" on the flip side, is still #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1949 - Capitol Records artists Les Paul and Mary Ford are married and future Capitol Records artist Steve Miller's father is their best man
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "I Feel Fine", with "She's A Woman" on the flip side, is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1969 - The Scott Richard Case (aka SRC) finishes recording tracks for their Capitol Records album "Traveler's Tale"
20 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", with "Look But You Can't Touch" on the flip side is now #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
2001 - Capitol and Nettwerk Records artist Tara MacLean gives birth to her daughter Sophia Madrien Soleil Bell at 4:24 PM in Oakville, Ontario, Canada

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1955 - An article called "Angel At Two" in Time Magazine with today's street date talks with the label's managers about the company
1957 - Meredith Willson’s "The Music Man" opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City starring Robert Preston, and will run for 1,375 shows. Capitol Records will later release the originial Broadway cast album for the show.
1961 - "Judgment At Nuremberg" opens in New York City with a cast that includes Capitol Records artists Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich, as well as Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Montgomery Clift, and Maximillian Schell
1980 - Kenny Rogers' Liberty Records single "Lady" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1980 - John Lennon's Geffen/Lenono Records single "(Just Like) Starting Over" is #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1960 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "Ring-A-Ding-Ding", "Let’s Fall in Love", "In The Still Of The Night", and "A Foggy Day (In London Town)" for his very own record company, Reprise Records, during his first of three straight days of sessions with arranger Johnny Mandel conducting the studio orchestra
2000 - Milt Hinton (aka "The Judge"), bass player and photographer of almost every well known Jazz artist, dies at age 90

DECEMBER 18, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1919 - Anita O'Day, singer with Gene Krupa and His Orchestra, Woody Herman and His Orchestra, and Capitol Records band Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, as well as a solo artist for Verve Records, is born Anita Belle Colton in Chicago, Illinois

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - Red Norvo with Orchestra (Norvo on xylophone; Don Bonnie, Lloyd Rathburn, and Al Gershoff on reeds; Jimmy Rowles on piano; Red Callender on bass; and Irv Cottler on drums) record the tracks "Summer Night" (released by Capitol Records as the flip side of the single "Take The Red Car"), "El Rojo" (released by Capitol as the flip side of the single "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You", and "Band In Boston" (released by Capitol as the flip side of the single "Twelfth Street Rag", all arranged by Johnny Thompson, in Los Angeles, California
1947 - Stan Hasselgard and His All Star Six (Hasselgard on clarinet; Red Norvo on vibraphones; Arnold Ross on piano; Barney Kessel on guitar; Rollo Garberg on bass; and Frank Bode on drums) record the tracks "Swedish Pastry" (which will be released by Capitol Records as the flip side of the single "Who Sleeps"), two takes of "Sweet And Hot Mop" (the final take will be released by Capitol as the flip side of the final take of the single "I'll Never Be The Same"), "Who Sleeps", and two takes of "I'll Never Be The Same" in Los Angeles, California
1955 - Frank Sinatra's Capitol Records single "Love and Marriage", with "The Impatient Years" on the flip side, is #2 on Billboard's Pop singles chart and Tennessee Ernie Ford's Capitol Records single "Sixteen Tons" is still #1 on the Country singles chart
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Buck Owen's Capitol Records single "Love’s Gonna Live Here", with "Getting Used To Losing You" on the flip side, is still #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1965 - Both sides of The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Day Tripper" with "We Can Work It Out" on the flip side, enter Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1971 - Badfinger's Capitol Records single "Day After Day", with "Money" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1972 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "I Am Woman", with "More Than You Could Take" on the flip side, is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1982 - Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's Capitol Records single "Shame On The Moon", with "House Behind A House" on the flip side, debuts on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
20 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", with "Back To The Rocking Horse" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1897 - Fletcher Henderson, one of the founders of the modern swing sound, pianist, band leader, composer, arranger, accompanist, and member of Capitol Records band Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, is born Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. in Cuthbert, Georgia
1916 - Betty Grable, motion picture actress, singer, dancer, and one-time wife of Capitol Records artist Harry James, is born Ruth Elizabeth Grable in Saint Louis, Missouri
1931 - Allen Klein, businessman, artist manager (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and others) and record label owner (Cameo, Parkway, ABKC0), is born. If anyone knows where he was born and/or his middle name, please leave a comment.
65 Years Ago Today In 1943 - Keith Richards, guitarist, singer, songwriter, founding member of the Virgin Records band The Rolling Stones, and a solo Virgin Records artist, is born in Dartford, Kent, England
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - MGM releases the motion picture "Some Came Running" starring Capitol Records artists Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin
1966 - The motion picture "The Family Way", with a musical score composed by Paul McCartney, premieres in London

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1949 - "Home Town Jamboree", a three hour Country, Rockabilly, and early Rock 'n' Roll show broadcast live from Compton (yes, Compton), California, in front of a very large and enthusiastic studio audience, debuts on Southern California TV and will last until September 12, 1959. Many Capitol, Liberty, and Imperial Records artists will appear on the show. There are clips of Liberty Records artist Eddie Cochran on YouTube from the show and, they may not be Capitol Records artists but, I really recommend checking out the clips of Columbia Records artists The Collins Kids if you're a fan of Rockabilly and early Rock 'n' Roll.
2000 - British music magazine Melody Maker, which began publishing weekly in 1926, publishes its last issue

DECEMBER 17, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
1935 - George Lindsey, comedian, actor and Capitol Records artist (1968 album "Goober Sings") is born in Fairfield, Alabama
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Jim Bonfanti, drummer with the Capitol Records group The Raspberries as well as the groups Dynamite and Boxer, is born James Alexander Bonfanti in Windber, Pennsylvania

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Margaret Whiting's Capitol Records single "Far Away Places", with "My Own True Places" enters the top 40 of the U.S. Pop Singles chart
1952 - Capitol Records releases Ray Anthony's single "Mr. Anthony's Boogie" with "I Wonder What's Become Of Sally" on the flip side
55 Years Ago Today In 1953 - Jean Sheppard records the track "Two Whoops and a Holler" which will be released by Capitol Records as the flip side of the single "Why Did You Wait" (Capitol F2791)
1955 - Frank Sinatra's Capitol Records single "(Love Is) The Tender Trap", with "Weep They Will" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of the U.S. Pop Singles chart
1957 - The final episode of "The Nat 'King' Cole Show" airs on NBC-TV due to lack of a national sponsor to cover its costs.
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - James Carroll, a DJ at WWDC (in Washington, DC), starts playing a copy of The Beatles' Parlophone single "I Want To Hold Your Hand", which Carroll's stewardess girlfriend brought back for him from England. Due to listener demand, the station will play the song once an hour for days. Capitol intially considered court action, since the label hasn't released the single in the United States yet, but will instead release the single on January 13, 1964, earlier than planned.
1965 - Capitol Records artist Judy Garland and other artists perform at the grand opening of the new Houston Astrodome
1966 - Capitol Records releases Merle Haggard's single "The Fugitive", written by Liz Anderson and with "Down Every Road" on the flip side. The single will become Haggard's first #1 on the Country singles charts.
15 Years Ago Today In 1993 - Blind Melon's self-titled Capitol Records album is certified double platinum by the R.I.A.A.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
105 Years Ago Today In 1903 - Ray Noble, band leader, arranger, radio and motion picture actor and composer ("Goodnight Sweetheart", "Cherokee", "Love is the Sweetest Thing", "The Very Thought of You", and many more) is born Raymond Stanley Noble in Brighton, England
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Columbia Records in the U.K. releases Pink Floyd's single "Point Me At The Sky" with "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" on the flip side which will be the group's last single for eleven years

DECEMBER 16, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1899 - Sir Noel Coward, composer, stage and motion picture writer, actor, director and producer, singer, and Capitol Records artist (an album of Coward singing the songs of his 1961 Broadway show "Sail Away") is born Noel Peirce Coward in Teddington (a suburb of London), England
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Christopher Thorn, record producer, recording studio owner, and guitarist with the Capitol Records band Blind Melon (1991-1999), is born in Dover, Pennsylvania

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
65 Years Ago Today In 1943 - Ella Mae Morse's Capitol Records single "Shoo-Shoo Baby" enters the top 40 of the U.S. Pop Singles chart
1947 - Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (Paul Lopez on trumpet, Jimmy Knepper on trombone), Hank Horn on tenor saxophone), Slack on piano, Darrell Homer on guitar, Morty Corb on bass, Maynard Sloate on drums) record the tracks "Be-Bop Boogie" and "Two Left Hands" (with Charlotte Blackburn on vocal but no horns) in Los Angeles, California that will be released as singles by Capitol Records
1964 - The Beach Boys' begin the first of two sessions to record the stereo track "Kiss Me, Baby" at Western Studios in Los Angeles, California. The second session will be held January 15, 1965 also at Western Studios.
1970 - During a busy day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Capitol Records and Sid and Marty Kroftt artists The Bugaloos appear on Captain Jim's children's television show, meet with the local Christmas Seals chairman and become honorary Ambassadors, and do an in-store signing at Kaufmann's Department Store
1972 - Paul McCartney’s single "Hi, Hi, Hi" is released in the U.S. by Capitol Records and will peak at #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart on February 3, 1973
1974 - Capitol Records releases John Lennon's single "# 9 Dream" with "What You Got" on the flip side
1977 - Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's Capitol Records album "Live Bullet" is certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A.
2002 - Capitol Records group Coldplay appear on CBS-TV's "The Late Show With David Letterman" at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City, New York

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1954 - Warner Brothers releases the motion picture "Young At Heart" which uses Frank Sinatra's Capitol Records recording of the title track
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - The Chipmunk's Liberty Records single "The Chipmunk Song" is #1 on the U.S. Pop Singles charts
1965 - "The Music of Lennon & McCartney", a television special recorded at Granada TV Centre, Manchester, England and featuring The Beatles and other artists performing Lennon-McCartney songs, is broadcast in London, England
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Mavis Smith begins work as executive of the Apple Corp. press office
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Jack Wilson (with Jack Wilson on piano, Andy Simpkins and Ray Brown on bass, Howard Roberts on guitar, Jimmie Smith and Donald Bailey on drums, and Victor Feldman and Tommy Vig on vibes and tympani)records the tracks "Herman's Helmet", "Night Creature", "Soft Summer Rain", and "Eighty-One" in Los Angeles, California for his Blue Note Records album "Song For My Daughter"
1971 - Don McLean’s eight-minute-plus (8:32) version of "American Pie" is released to radio by United Artists Records and will hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart on January 15, 1972
20 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Pianist Don Pullen (with Gary Peacock on bass, and Tony Williams on drums) records the tracks "Jana’s Delight", "Once Upon A Time", "Warriors", "New Beginnings", "At The Café Centrale", "Reap The Whirlwind", and "Silence = Death" at A & R Studios in New York City, with producer by Michael Cuscuna and recording engineer David Baker, for Pullen's Blue Note Records album "New Beginnings"
2005 - The Beatles sue EMI Group, Capitol Records' parent company, claiming that they are owed 30 million pounds in royalties

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, composer and pianist, is born in Bonn, Germany
1907 - At a studio in New York city's Brooklyn Navy Yard, Eugene H. Farrar, singing "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?", becomes the first singer to broadcast on radio

DECEMBER 15, 2008

Hey, it's my 1,000th entry!

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1911 - Stan Kenton, pianist, bandleader, and Capitol Records artist, is born Stanley Newcomb Kenton in Wichita, Kansas
1946 - Carmine Appice, singer, songwriter and drummer for the bands Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, The Rod Stewart Band, Beck, Bogart & Appice, and Capitol Records band King Cobra (1986-1988), is born on Staten Island in New York

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - The Pied Pipers' Capitol Records Single "The Trolley Song" is #2 on the U.S. Pop singles chart
1944 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra's single "Everytime We Say Goodbye" enters the top 40 of the U.S. Pop singles charts
1947 - Ray Bauduc and his Bobcats (Nate Kazebier on trumpet, Brad Gowans on valve trombone, Matty Matlock on clarinet, Eddie Miller on tenor saxopone, Stan Wrightsman on piano, Nappy Lamare on guitar, Morty Corb on bass, and Bauduc on drums), records the tracks "Susie" and "Down In Honky Tonk Town" (which will be released together as a single by Capitol Records), as well as "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street" and "Li'l Liza Jane" (also later released together as a single by Capitol) which has a vocal that may have been done by Nappy Lamar, in Los Angeles, California.
1955 - It is reported that Tennessee Ernie Ford's Capitol Records single "Sixteen Tons", the flip side of "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry"", has sold more than 2 million copies in the less than two months since it's October 17, 1955 release, making it the most successful single, and the most sucessful "B-Side", ever recorded to that date
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Capitol Records group The Kingston Trio give a concert in El Paso, Texas that is recorded by Capitol and later released as part of the Bear Family box set "The Kingston Trio: The Guard Years"
1960 - Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records single "Wings Of A Dove" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1964 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' album "Beatles '65" in the United States
1965 - Capitol Records releases Peter and Gordon's single "A World Without Love" with "Nobody I Know" on the flip side as part of its green labled Starline series
1967 - The Beatles' Capitol Records album "Magical Mystery Tour" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Sonny James' Capitol Records single "Born To Be With You" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1969 - John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band (Featuring George Harrison, Delanie and Bonnie, Keith Moon and Billy Preston) make their debut UK concert appearance at the "War Is Over" UNICEF benefit concert at The Lyceum in London, England. It will be Lennon's last live performance in England. On the same day posters and billboards, paid for by John and Yoko, go up around the world stating "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It)".
1984 - Duran Duran's Capitol Records single "The Wild Boys" is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson (with Donald Byrd on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Sonny Clark on piano, Jamil Nasser (aka George Joyner) on bass, and Art Taylor on drums) records the tracks "Groovin' High", "Strollin' In", "Sputnik", and "Dewey Square", with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder, for Donaldson's 1958 Blue Note album "Lou Takes Off". Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by Capitol's parent company EMI Music and Blue Note Records is currently a division of Capitol Records, Inc.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1939 - The David O. Selznick/MGM motion picture "Gone With The Wind" premieres at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
65 Years Ago Today In 1943 - Fats Waller, pianist, pipe organist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader, dies of pneumonia at age 39 aboard a train in Kansas City Missouri that's heading to New York City
1944 - The plane transporting 40 year old US Army Major and bandleader Glenn Miller, along with other military personnel, takes off from Bedford, England, is seen starting to cross the English Channel, but does not land at its destination in Paris, France. Their whereabouts are still unknown. The most recent theory was that the plane was destroyed when it flew below returning bombers that had to drop their unused bombs before landing, but other sources suggest that Miller landed and was later either killed later during a spy mission or died of a heart attack in a French bordello. None of these theories have been proved for certain, so far.
1966 - Walt Disney (born (Walter Elias Disney), animator, film producer, studio and entertainment park founder, dies of lung cancer in Burbank, California at age 65 and is later not cryogenically preserved below the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland, but is cremated on December 17, 1966 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Glendale, California. His ashes are buried in the cemetery's Court of Freedom section.

DECEMBER 14, 2008

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Capitol Records group The Kingston Trio finish an extended appearance at La Fiesta, in Juarez, Mexico that started on November 24, 1958. Their performances of the tracks "Bay Of Mexico", "Across The Wide Missouri", "Scotch And Soda", and "Pay Me My Money Down" on this day are recorded in stereo by Capitol Records but go unreleased until they appear on the Bear Family Records box set "The Kingston Trio: The Guard Years"
1967 - Sonny James' Capitol Records single "It’s the Little Things", with "Don't Cut Lumber On A Windy Day" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1970 - John Ono Lennon's Capitol Records single "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)", with Yoko Ono Lennon (with The Plastic Ono Band)'s "Who Has Seen The Wind?" on the flip side and distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1970 - George Harrison's Apple Records single "My Sweet Lord", with "Isn't It A Pity" on the flip side and distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. I designed a special 45 sleeve for release to college radio when the track was used to promote the re-release of Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album on CD in 2001.
1985 - Paul McCartney and Wings Capitol Records single "Spies Like Us", with "My Carnival" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1991 - Hammer's Capitol Records single "Addams Groove", with the LP version on one side and the instrumental version on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1992 - On the same day he files for bankruptcy, Capitol Records artist Merle Haggard becomes the father of a son, Binion Louis Haggard.
1994 – Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's Capitol Records Compilation album "Greatest Hits" is certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1900 - Dorle Jarmel Soria, record producer, co-founder (with her husband Dario Soria) of the Cetra-Soria label which was sold to Capitol Records when the couple became the first co-managers of Angel Records, is born Dorle Jarmel in New York City, New York. She would live until age 101, passing away on July 7, 2002. Angel Records was created by Capitol's future parent company, EMI, to distribute the company's classical recordings in the United States. The couple left the company after EMI bought Capitol Records and merged Angel with Capitol's domestic classical music division.
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Alto Saxophonist Lou Donaldson (with Herman Foster on piano, Peck Morrison on bass, Jimmy Wormsworth on drums, and Ray Barretto on congas) records the tracks "Walkin' By The River", "Green Eyes", "Light", a false start and then a complete take of "Hog Maw", "Jump Up", "Mary Ann", "Day Dreams", two takes of "Stella By Starlight", and an alternate take of "Mary Ann" for his Blue Note Records album "Lightfoot" with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. The Blue Note catalog is currently owned by EMI Music, Capitol Records' parent company and Blue Note Records is currently a division of Capitol Records, Inc.
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones), singer on the Verve and Roulette Records labels, dies from an accidental overdose of prescription sleeping medication ingested on an empty stomach in Detroit, Michigan at age 39. The Roulette catalog is currently owned by EMI Music, Capitol Records' parent company and released by Blue Note Records.
1972 - "Born to Boogie", a documentary about Marc Bolan directed by Ringo Starr, premieres in London, England
1980 - At Yoko Ono's request, a ten-minute worldwide silent vigil is held at 2:00 PM EST for John Lennon, who had been shot down just six days earlier. Over 100,000 observe the vigil in New York's Central Park, while 30,000 observe it in Liverpool.
1999 - EMI releases Glen Campbell's compilation album "Capitol Years: 1965-1977" in the U.K.
1999 - Paul McCartney performs at the rebuilt Cavern Club in Liverpool, England for 150 fans who had won a raffle including the first selected, an 18 year old John Ono Lennon (he'd had his name legally changed). The last time McCartney had played at the original Cavern Club was on August 3, 1963 as a member of The Beatles

DECEMBER 13, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1954 - Berton Averre, lead guitarist and vocalist with the Capitol Records group The Knack, is born in Van Nuys, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Singer June Christy signs a personal contract with Capitol Records
1954 - Frank Sinatra, with Ray Anthony conducting the studio orchestra (Morris Bercov and Fred Fallensby on reeds; Arthur "Skeets" Herfert and Wilbur Schwartz on alto saxpohone; Leo Anthony on baritone saxophone; John Best, Conrad Gozzo, Manny Klein, and Uan Rasey on trumpet; Ed Kusby, Tommy Pederson, and Si Zentner on trombone; George Roberts on bass trombone; Al Hendrickson on guitar; Paul Smith on piano; and Jack Constanzo, Lou Singer, and Alvin Stoller on drums), records the tracks "Melody Of Love" and "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die", both of which are arranged by Dick Reynolds and released on the same Capitol Records single, at Capitol Records' Melrose Avenue studios in Hollywood, California
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Capitol Records signs a right of first refusal agreement with The Beatles
1965 - Capitol Records releases its version of The Beatles' album "Rubber Soul"
1966 - Peter and Gordon's Capitol Records single "Lady Godiva", with "Morning's Calling" on the flip side is at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1966 - The Beach Boys records the vocals for their "Heroes And Villans" track
1990 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Something To Believe In", with "Ball and Chain" on the flip side, is #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
2004 - Capitol Records Nashville releases Trace Adkins' track "Songs About Me" to Country radio stations

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1994 - Liberty Records (now Capitol Records Nashville) releases Garth Brooks' compilation album "Garth Brooks: The Hits"
1974 - Apple and Capitol Records artist George Harrison, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, and Harrison's father are invited to the White House for a luncheon visit with President Gerald Ford. Ford gives Harrison a W.I.N. (Whip Inflation Now) button and Harrison gives Ford a OM button (the mantra word for creation).

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - The second American Federation of Musicians strike ends after 11 1/2 months

DECEMBER 12, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1915 - Frank Sinatra, singer, motion picture actor, record label and casino owner, singer with Harry James and His Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, and a solo artist on Columbia, Capitol, and Reprise Records, is born Frank Sinestro (his grandfather's name) in Hoboken, NJ. His mother will later have his birth certificate altered to the "Americanized" name Francis Albert Sinatra.
1951 - LaCosta, singer, sister of Capitol Records artist Tanya Tucker, and a Capitol Records solo artist (1974-1980), is born LaCosta Tucker in Seminole, Texas

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Benny Carter and his Orchestra (Louis Gray, Wallace Jones, Dupree Bolton, and Idrees Sulieman on trumpet; Al Grey, Charley Johnson, Johnny Morris, and Alton Moore on trombone; Carter on alto saxophone and trumpet; Porter Kilbert and Joe Epps on alto saxophone; Bumps Myers and Harold Clark on tenor saxophone; Willard Brown on baritone and alto saxophones; Rufus Webster on piano; James Cannady on guitar; Thomas Moultrie on bass; and Percy Brice on drums) record the tracks "Cuttin' Time", "Forever Blue", "Prelude To A Kiss", and "Just You, Just Me" for Capitol Records at the WMCA studios in New York City, New York. All the tracks, except "Forever Blue", eventually appear on the Capitol Records album "Capitol Jazz Classics Volume II - Big Band Bounce", with tracks by Cootie Williams, and all appear on the 1997 Mosaic Records box set "Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions"
1947 - Red Norvo with Orchestra (Norvo on xylophone; Manny Klein on trumpet; John Cave and Al Berlich on french horn; Don Bonnie, Art Flemming, Jules Kinsler, Bob Lawson, Vic Poscella, and Lloyd Rathburn on reeds; Arnold Ross on piano; Barney Kessel on guitar; Red Callender on bass; Irving Cottler on drums) records the tracks "Twelfth Street Rag" (which will be released by Capitol Records as the flip side of the single "Band In Boston"), "Take The Red Car" (which will be released by Capitol Records as the flip side of the single "Summer Night"), and "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You (which will be released by Capitol Records as the flip side of the single "El Rojo"), all arranged by Johnny Thompson, in Los Angeles, California
1947 - Jo Stafford's Capitol Records single "Serenade Of The Bells", with "The Gentleman Is A Dope" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of the U.S. Pop charts
1949 - Tenessee Ernie Ford's Capitol Records single "Mule Train", with "Anticipation Blues" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1957 - Sue Rainey records the track "My Ideal" for her Capitol Records album "When Your Lover Has Gone" album at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "She's A Woman", with "I Feel Fine" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and Capitol Records' double album "The Beatles' Story" enters Billboard's Top Albums chart at #97 and will peak and stay for four weeks at #7 on January 2, 1965
1966 - Tower Records group The Pink Floyd performs their first concert, for the Oxfam Benefit, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Tower Records is a subsidiary of Capitol Records.
1969 - Apple Records releases The Plastic Ono Band's album "Live Peace In Toronto 1969" and the band (featuring Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman, Alan White, John Lennon and Yoko Ono) perform their first concert, which is held at the Toronto Peace Festival
1970 - Buck Owens records the track "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" for Capitol Records
1989 - Garth Brooks' Liberty Records single "If Tomorrow Never Comes", with "Much Too Young" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart. Liberty Records will be renamed Capitol Records Nashville.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
90 Years Ago Today In 1918 - Joe Williams, singer, Roulette Records artist, is born Joseph Goreed in Cordele, Georgia. Roulette's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company, EMI Music
1946 - Clive Bunker, guitarist, drummer and member of the Chrysalis Records group Jethro Tull, is born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Chrysalis' catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent comany EMI Music.
1969 - The film "The Magic Christian", starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with music written by Paul McCartney and performed by Badfinger, premieres in London, England

DECEMBER 11, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1935 - Tom Brumley, songwriter, steel guitar builder, 1992 Steel Guitarist Hall of Fame inductee, and steel guitarist with the Capitol Records group Buck Owens and the Buckaroos as well as The Stone Canyon Band, is born either in Stella or Powell, Missouri. If anyone knows for sure which city Tom was born in, and/or is his middle name, please leave a comment.
1957 - Mike Mesaros, electric bass player with the Capitol Records band The Smithereens, is born in Trenton, New Jersey

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - "The Chesterfield Supper Club" (a 15-minute show sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes that will air five nights a week), featuring Capitol Records artist Jo Stafford, Perry Como and many other stars, debuts on NBC radio
60 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Jimmy Wakely's Capitol Records single "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
55 Years Ago Today In 1953 - Tenor saxophonist Bud Freeman, with Dick Cary on piano, George Barnes on guitar, Jack Lesberg on bass, and Don Lamond drums, records the tracks "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Three Little Words", "Blue Moon", and "Indian Summer" in New York City, New York for his self-titled Capitol Records album that was part of the labels "Classics In Jazz" series
1957 - Frank Sinatra, with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting the studio orchestra (Joe Cook, William Green, Arthur "Skeets" Herfert, Harry Klee, and Babe Russin on reeds; Walter Candoli, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Conrad Gozzo, and Clarence "Shorty" Sherock on trumpet; Russell Brown, Dick Noel, Jim Priddy, and Juan Tizol on trombone; Bobby Gibbons on guitar; Joe Comfort on bass; Bill Miller on piano; Kathryn Julye on harp; Bill Richmond on drums; Israel Baker, Victor Bay, Alex Beller, David Frisina, Ben Gill, Henry Hill, Murray Kellner, Paul Nero, Paul Shure, and Felix Slatkin on violin; Alvin Dinkin, Stan Harris, and Dave Sterkin on viola; and Kurt Reher and Eleanor Slatkin on cello), records the tracks "You'll Always Be The One I Love" (which will be released as a single by Capitol with "Old MacDonald" on the flip side in 1960), "If You Are But A Dream", and "Put Your Dreams Away" (both of which may still be unreleased) at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Frank Sinatra, with arranger Billy May conducting the studio orchestra, records the track "Day In - Day Out". This version is unreleased and the song will be re-recorded at Sinatra's next session on December 22, 1958
1964 - Capitol Records releases Peter and Gordon's album ""I Don't Want To See You Again" in the United States
1965 - Dave Barbour (born David Michael Barbour), songwriter, guitarist, bandleader, former husband of Capitol Records artist Peggy Lee, and a Capitol Records artist, dies in either Hollywood or Malibu, California at age 53 from a hemorrhaged ulcer. If anyone knows for sure which city, please leave a comment.
1967 - Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' single "Darlin'" with "Here Today" on the flip side
1968 - Capitol Records artist Tex Ritter, and the plane that he was a passenger on, are hijacked to Cuba
1970 - Apple Records releases John Lennon's album "Plastic Ono Band" which is distributed by Capitol Records in the United States

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - Singer Annie Ross, with The Gerry Mulligan Quartet (Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Chet Baker on trumpet, Henry Grimes on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums), begin two days of sessions (the next will be on December 17, 1957) to record tracks that will appear on Mulligan's Pacific Jazz album "The Genius Of Gerry Mulligan" and on the CD version of Ross' World Pacific Records album "Annie Ross Sings A Song Of Mulligan". Pacific Jazz's and World Pacific's catalog are currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company, EMI Music.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1964 - Singer, record producer, and label owner Sam Cooke is shot to death at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California

DECEMBER 10, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1914 - Dorothy Lamour, motion picture actress, singer, and Capitol Records artist (in duets with fellow Capitol Records artist Bob Hope), is born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana
1924 - Ken Albers, arranger, trumpet player, mellophone player, and bass singer with the Capitol Records group The Four Freshmen, is born in Pitman, NJ
1951 - Johnny Rodriguez, singer, songwriter, television actor, and Capitol Records artist (1987) is born in a four room house in Sabinal, Texas, that he will share with his parents and 9 older siblings.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - Pianist Mel Powell records the tracks "Anything Goes" (with Bumps Meyer on tenor saxophone, Red Calendar on bass, and Lee Young on drums), "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" (with Jake Porter on trumpet, Meyer on tenor saxophone, Calendar on bass, and Young on drums), "You Go To My Head" (a piano solo by Powell), "You Better Not Mess With Me" (with Porter on vocals and trumpet, Meyer on tenor saxophone, Calendar on bass, and Young on drums), "If Dreams Come True" (with Jake on trumpet, Meyer on tenor saxophone, Calendar on bass, and Young on drums), "There's A Small Hotel" (with Calendar on bass and Young on drums), and "Hallelujah" (with Meyer on tenor saxophone, Calendar on bass, and Young on drums), in Los Angeles, California. All tracks released as singles by Capitol Records, except "You Better Not Mess With Me" and "If Dreams Come True" which are released as a single by Pausa Records.
1955 - Tennesse Ernie Ford's Capitol Records single "Sixteen Tons" is still #1 on Billboard's Pop singles chart and Dean Martin's Capitol Records single "Memories Are Made Of This" is #2
1959 - The Kingston Trio record the track "The Mountains O' Mourne", with Nick Guard doing lead vocal, for their Capitol Records album "Sold Out"
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Buck Owens' Capitol Records single "Love’s Gonna Live Here" is #1 on the Country singles charts
1966 - The Beach Boys' Capitol Records single "Good Vibrations" peaks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart where it will stay for one week
1967 - The Steve Miller Blues Band signs with Capitol Records for $750,000 (an unheard of amount at the time for an "unknown" band signing their first contract). Capitol will later run a trade ad with a photo of Miller asking who is this man and why did Capitol pay him so much?
1976 - Capitol Records releases Wings' album "Wings Over America"
1996 - Faron Young, singer, guitarist and Capitol Records artist, dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that occured the day before. Later, per his request, Young is cremated and his ashes spread over Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee.
1999 - Rick Danko, bassist and singer for the Capitol Records group The Band, dies at his home in Woodstock, New York at age 56

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
115 Years Ago Today In 1893 - Lew Brown, lyricist and part of the songwriting team of DeSylva, Brown and Henderson with Capitol Records' co-founder Buddy DeSylva, is born Louis Brownstein in Odessa, Russia
1900 - The Gramophone Company Ltd. transfers its business to a newly incorporated company, registered as The Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd. The company would later become EMI, Capitol Records parent company.
1949 - Antoine "Fats" Domino records his first tracks for Imperial Records, including "The Fat Man", one of the earliest rock and roll records. Imperial's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company, EMI Music.
1965 - Parlophone Records releases comedian and actor Peter Sellers' single "A Hard Day's Night" (arranged and conducted by George Martin), with "Help" on the flip side, in the U.K. Sellers and Martin had worked together earlier on recordings by the cast of the BBC Radio series "The Goon Show".
2005 - Patricia Lynn Yearwood and former Capitol Records Nashville artist Troyal Garth Brooks are married at their home near Claremore, Oklahoma. It was Brooks' second marriage and the third for Yearwood.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Frank Sinata, Jr., son of former Capitol Records artist Frank Sinatra, is released unharmed by his kidnappers after his father pays their $240,000 ransom demand. The kidnappers were subsequently apprehended and convicted. Later, a motion picture called "Stealing Sinatra" is made about the events.
1967 - Three days after the release of his Stax Records single "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", singer Otis Redding, age 26, and The Bar-Kays (Redding's backup group who had their own hit, "Soul Finger", in June 1967) members Ronald Caldwell (keyboard player, age 19), Carl Cunningham (drummer, age 18), Phalon Jones (saxophonist, age 18), and James King (guitarist, age 18) are killed in the crash of a private plane in Lake Monona, near Madison, Wisconsin. Ben Cauley, The Bar-Kays' trumpet player, survives the crash and will briefly reform the group with James Alexander, the band's bass player (who had not been on the plane), and replacements for the other members.
1991 - Alan Freed, the disc jockey credited with giving "Rock 'N' Roll" its name, is posthumously (Freed died Jan 20, 1965) awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

DECEMBER 9, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1957 - Donny Osmond, singer, Broadway musical performer, television variety and talk show host, member of the group The Osmonds, duo with his sister, Capitol Records artist Marie Osmond, and a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Donald Clark Osmond in Ogden, Utah
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Nick Seymour, painter, record producer, and electric bass player for the Capitol Records group Crowded House, is born Nicholas More Seymour in Benalla, Victoria, Australia

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Merle Travis' Capitol Records single "Divorce Me C.O.D.", with "Missouri" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1949 - Yogi Yorgesson (aka Harry Stewart)'s Capitol Records single "Yingle Bells", with "I Yust Go Nuts At Christmas" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of U.S. Pop singles charts
55 Years Ago Today In 1953 - Frank Sinatra, with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting the studio orchestra (Arthur "Skeets" Herfert, Harry Klee, and Warren Webb on reeds; Tommy Pederson on trombone; John Cave and John Graas on french horns; George Roberts on bass trombone; Robert Bain on guitar; Joe Comfort on bass; Bill Miller on piano; Kathryn Julye on harp; Alvin Stoller on drums; Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Henry Hill, Anatol Kaminsky, Mischa Russell, Paul Shure, Felix Slatkin, and Gerald Vinci on violin; Paul Robyn and Dave Sterkin on viola; and Cy Bernard and Eleanor Slatkin on cello), records the tracks "Rain (Falling From The Skies)" (which will be released as the flip side of "Three Coins In A Fountain" in 1954), "Young At Heart" (after it had been turned down by Nat "King" Cole and will be released as the flip side of the single "I've Got The World On A String" and as another single with "Take A Chance" on the flip side), and "I Could Have Told You" (which is released as a single with "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" on the flip side and later added as a bonus track to the CD of Sinatra's album "No One Cares") at Capitol Records' Melrose Avenue Studios in Hollywood, California
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Frank Sinatra, with arranger Billy May conducting the studio orchestra and Dave Cavanaugh producing, records the tracks "The Song Is You", "Something's Gotta Give", and "Just In Time" in Studio A at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California, the first for his Capitol Records album "Come Dance With Me"
1964 - Peggy Lee, with producer Dave Cavanaugh, records the tracks "Pass Me By", and "That's What It Takes" for a Capitol Records single and, with arranger and conductor Cy Coleman, "Then Was Then (And Now Is Now)" (which will be used as the title track for her next Capitol Records album on which the other two tracks will also appear) at the The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1967 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Hello Goodbye", with "I Am The Walrus" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1968 - Merle Haggard records the tracks "Silver Wings" and "Hungry Eyes" for Capitol Records
1970 - Sonny James' Capitol Records single "Endlessly", with "Happy Memories" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1972 - Helen Reddy's Capitol Records single "I Am Woman", with "More Than You Could Take" on the flip side, hits US #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1972 - The Raspberries' Capitol Records album "Fresh" enters Billboard's album charts where it will stay for 16 weeks, peaking at #36
1989 - Garth Brooks' Liberty Records single "If Tomorrow Never Comes", with "The Dance" on the flip side, hits #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart becoming the first #1 of his career. Liberty Records was Capitol Records' Country division and reviving the Liberty name after the original's catalog had been sold to Capitol Record's parent company EMI. It would later be renamed Capitol Records Nashville.
1995 - The Beatles’ Apple Records compilation album "Anthology 1", distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, hits #1 on Billboard's album chart becoming their sixteenth number-one album and setting a record for the longest time span for a run of number-one albums (31 years and 10 months) between "Meet the Beatles" and "Anthology 1"
1996 - Former Capitol Records artist Faron Young, depressed over his failing health, shoots himself in the head at his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He will die in a hospital the next day at age 64.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1926 - 17 year old future Capitol Records artist Benny Goodman, at the time a clarinetist with Ben Pollack and His Californians, takes part in his first recording session from which tracks are released when the band waxes the track "When I First Met Mary", as well as "Deed I Do" and "He's the Last Word" for Victor Records. Later that night, before he could hear his son's recordings, Goodman's father dies at the corner of Madison and Kostner streets in Chicago, Illinois after being struck by a speeding auto.
1941 - Future Capitol Records artist Frank Sinatra is declared 4-F at Newark Induction Center in New Jersey due to a perforated ear drum that he suffered at birth during a difficult forceps deliverу

DECEMBER 8, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1925 - Sammy Davis, Jr., singer, dancer, vibraphonist, trumpet player, drummer, impressionist, motion picture actor, member of the the Will Mastin Trio (with his father and uncle), a solo Capitol Records artist (1946-1949), and (posthumously) a member of the Capitol Records group The Rat Pack (2001-), is born in in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York
1956 - Warren Cuccurullo, songwriter, restaurant owner, guitarist who worked with Frank Zappa, founding member of the Capitol Records group Missing Persons (1980-1986), session musician, member of the Capitol Records band Duran Duran, and a solo artist, is born Warren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York
1962 - Marty Friedman, guitarist with the Capitol Records group Megadeth, is born in Baltimore, Maryland

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
55 Years Ago Today In 1953 - Frank Sinatra, with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting the studio orchestra (Arthur "Skeets" Herfert, Harry Klee, and Warren Webb on reeds; Tommy Pederson on trombone; John Cave and John Graas on french horn; George Roberts on bass trombone;, Robert Bain on guitar; Joe Comfort on bass; Bill Miller on piano; Kathryn Julye on harp; Alvin Stoller on drums; Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Henry Hill, Anatol Kaminsky, Mischa Russell, Paul Shure, Felix Slatkin, and Gerald Vinci on violins; Paul Robyn and Dave Sterkin on violas; and Cy Bernard and Eleanor Slatkin on cello), records the tracks "Take A Chance" (released as the flip side of the single "Young At Heart"), "Ya Better Stop" (which may still be unreleased), and "Why Should I Cry Over You" (which would later be released as a single in 1954 with "Don't Change Your Mind About Me" on the flip side, and as bonus track of the CD version Sinatra's album "Come Swing With Me") at Capitol Record's studios on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Julia Lee, pianist, singer and Capitol Records artist, dies in Kansas City, Missouri at age 56
40 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Capitol Records band The Beach Boys perform two shows at The Astoria Theatre in Finsbury Park, London, England that are recorded and tracks from which are later released as a live album called "Live In London" in the U.K.
35 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Paul McCartney and Wings' Apple Records single "Helen Wheels", with "Country Dreamer" on the flip side and distributed in the United States by Capitol Records, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1980 - John Lennon is shot four times at approximately 10:50 p.m. while entering through the gates outside of his family's home at The Dakota Apartments in New York City, New York and is pronounced dead pronounced dead at age 40 on arrival at Roosevelt Hospital at approximately 11:15 p.m.
1986 - Les Brown and His Band of Reknown (Don Smith, Darrel Gardner, Fred Koyen, Don Rader on trumpets and flugelhorns; Mat Utal on alto saxophone; Rusty Higgins and Greg Huckins on alto and soprano saxophones; Lou Ciotti on tenor saxophone; Butch Stone on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet; Jack Redmond, Andy Martin, and Bob Payne on trombone; Stumpy Brown on bass trombone; Mundell Lowe on guitar; Eric Doney on piano; Tom Hill on bass; and Jack Sperling on drums) finish recording sessions in Studio A of The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California, with producer Ralph Jungheim and recording engineer Charlie Paakkari, for their Ryko Distribution album "Digital Swing"
1990 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Something To Believe In", with "Ball And Chain" on the flip side, peaks at #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
2006 - Martha Tilton, singer with Benny Goodman and His Orchestra at their first Carnegie Hall Concert in 1938, and Capitol Records first female artist, dies in her sleep at her home in Brentwood, California at age 91

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1925 - Jimmy Smith, organist, Los Angeles club owner, and Blue Note Records artist, is born James Oscar Smith in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Blue Note's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music.
50 Years Ago Today In 1958 - The Chipmunk's (Alvin, Theodore, and Simon) Liberty Records single "The Chipmunk Song" (later given the subtitle "Christmas Don't Be Late"), with David Seville (aka Ross Bagdasarian) and The Chipmunk's "Alvin's Harmonica" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Pop singles chart where it will peak at #1 on December 22, 1958. Liberty's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music.
1961 - Candix Records releases future Capitol Records band The Beach Boys' first single "Surfin’" with "Luau" on the flip side

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
45 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Frank Sinatra, Jr. is kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada