MAY 10, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1907 - "Pee Wee" Hunt, trombone player, bandleader and Capitol Records artist (whose single "Twelfth Street Rag" was Capitol's biggest seller in the label's first decade and almost didn't happen. Its master had been accidentally tossed and it had to be remastered from a 16" transcription disc that had been created for radio use to make the commercial discs after the Dixieland single became a surprize radio hit), is born Walter Hunt in Mount Healthy, Ohio
80 Years Ago Today In 1929 - Mel Lewis, drummer, with the Capitol Records bands of Alvino Rey, Ray Anthony and Stan Kenton, and bandleader, arranger, composer and music director of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra which performed every Monday night at the Village Vanguard club, is born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York
1947 - Jay Ferguson, Capitol Records solo artist (albums "Terms and Conditions" and "White Noise"), and former lead vocalist of the bands Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, is born John Ferguson in the San Fernando Valley in southern California
1967 - Young MC, singer, songwriter and Delicious Vinyl and Capitol Records artist (albums "Brainstorm" and "What's The Flavor"), is born Marvin Young in London, England

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - The Pied Pipers (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Mam'selle", with "It's The Same Old Dream" on the flip side, is #9 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
1952 - Hank Thompson's Capitol Records single "Wild Side of Life", with "Crying In The Deep Blue Sea" on the flip side, hits #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1963 - Buck Owens' Capitol Records single "My Heart Skips A Beat", with "Together Again" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1965 - After spending the day shooting the Buckingham Palace scenes indoors at Cliveden House in Berkshire and in Bluebell Wood at Cliveden for their movie "Help", The Beatles return to Studio 2 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, England to record the tracks "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Bad Boy" in sessions that go late into the night
1970 - Sonny James' Capitol Records single "My Love", with "Blue For You" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1982 - Duran Duran's debut album "Rio" is released worldwide. In the U.S., the album is released on Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records.
20 Years Ago Today In 1989 - Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band's Capitol Records album "Beautiful Loser" is certified Platinum

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
110 Years Ago Today In 1899 - Fred Astaire, Broadway, motion picture and televison actor, dancer, singer, and EMI recording artist, is born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska
1957 - Sid Vicious, singer and bass guitarist with the EMI, Virgin, and Warner Bros. Records group The Sex Pistols, is born John Simon Ritchie
1963 - Future Virgin Records band The Rolling Stones, at their first recording session, cut the tracks "Come On" and "I Want To Be Loved" at Olympic Studios in London, England
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - The Beatles performance at the New Musical Express 1963-64 Annual Poll Winner's Concert at Empire Pool, Wembley, England was aired in the UK by ABC-TV on the special "Big Beat '64". They sang "She Loves You," "You Can't Do That," "Twist and Shout," "Long Tall Sally," and "Can't Buy Me Love." at a taping held on April 26, 1964
1981 - Kim Carnes' EMI America Records single "Bette Davis Eyes", with "Miss You Tonight" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. EMI America's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
100 Years Ago Today In 1909 - Mother Maybelle Carter, singer, guitarist, founding member of the singing group The Carter Family, and grandmother of future Capitol Records artist Roseanne Cash, is born Maybelle Addington in Nicklesville, Virginia