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