MARCH 12, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1912 - Paul Weston, arranger, first musical director at Capitol Records, radio, television and record orchestra leader, husband of Capitol Records artist Jo Stafford, founding member and first president of the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.), and a Capitol Records solo artist, is born in Springfield, Massachusettes
1921 - Gordon MacRae, Broadway and motion picture actor, singer, husband of Capitol Records artist Sheila MacRae and a Capitol Records solo artist and duet artist with Jo Stafford and Margaret Whiting, is born in East Orange, New Jersey
1946 - Liza Minelli, singer, Broadway and Motion Picture actress, daughter of M-G-M picture director Vincent Minellia and actress and Captiol Records artist Judy Garland, and a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Liza May Minnelli in Los Angeles, California
1948 - James Taylor, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and Apple Records artist whose self-titled debut album was distributed by Capitol Records in the United States, is born in Boston, Massachusetts
1957 - Steve Harris, bassist, songwriter and founder of the Capitol and EMI America Records group Iron Maiden, is born in Leytonstone, London, England

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1962 - Tennessee Ernie Ford's Capitol Records album "Star Carol" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1967 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "Penny Lane" with "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1967 - Merle Haggard's Capitol Records single "The Fugitive", with "Someone Told My Story" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Parlophone, Capitol and Apple Records artist Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman at the Marylebone Registry Office in London, England
1971 - Capitol Records releases John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band's Apple Records single "Power To The People", with Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band's "Touch Me" on the flip side, in the United States

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1955 - Charlie Parker (aka Yardbird and Bird), tenor saxophonist and Blue Note (1953) and Roulette Records (1954) artist, dies of a bleeding ulcer and pneumonia at the age of 34, after a lifetime of heroin and alcohol abuse, while watching Tommy Dorsey on television in the suite at the Stanhope Hotel of his long time friend, Baroness Nina de Koenigswater. The coroner mistakenly estimated Parker's age to be between 50 and 60. Parker is one of the artists featured on the mural on the side of The Capitol Tower in Hollywood, California
35 Years Ago Today In 1974 - Harry Nilsson and John Lennon are ejected from Doug Weston's Troubador Club in Los Angeles for heckling Tom Smothers' comedy act