MAY 8, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1905 - "Red" Nichols, cornet player, bandleader (Red Nichols and His Five Pennies), and Capitol Records recording artist in the '50s and '60s, is born Ernest Loring Nichols in Ogden, Utah. The film "The Five Pennies" is based loosely on Nichols life with actor and Capitol Records artist Danny Kaye playing Nichols.
1940 - Rick Nelson, singer, radio, television, and motion picture actor, and Imperial and Capitol Records artist, is born Eric Hilliard Nelson in Teaneck, New Jersey

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL HISTORY
1947 - Jean Stewart signs with Capitol Records
1947 - Wingy Malone and His Orchestra (Charlie Griffard, Zeke Zarchy, and Ray Linn on trumpet; Bill Schaefer, Allan Thompson, and Carl Loeffler on trombone; Heinie Beau on clarinet; Fred Stulce and Leonard Hartman on alto saxophone; Herbie Haymer and Ted Nash on tenor saxophone; Moe Weschsler on piano; George Van Eps on guitar; Jack Ryan on bass; and Nick Fatool on drums) record an early version of the track "Box Car Blues" in Los Angeles, California. Wingy plays trumpet and shares vocals with Capitol Records co-founder Johnny Mercer. Another version will be recorded on May 23, 1947 with the same lineup and that version will be the one released as a single by Capitol Records (Capitol 442).
1947 - At the same session with Wingy, Johnny Mercer, The Pied Pipers and the Paul Weston Orchestra record the tracks "Tallahassee" and "Cecilia"
1948 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Nature Boy" (with orchestra conducted by Frank DeVol) hits #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart for the first of an 8 week stay, and Peggy Lee with then husband Dave Barbour and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Mañana" ends its nine week stay at #1 and is now #3
55 Years Ago Today In 1954 - Frank Sinatra (with Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Young At Heart" is #2 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Nat"King" Cole (with Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Answer Me, My Love" is #8, Kay Starr's double sided hit Capitol Records single has "If You Love Me (Really Love Me) at #9 and its flip side, "The Man Upstairs" at #10, and Les Paul and Mary Ford's Capitol Records single "I Really Don't Want To Know" at #19
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "High Hopes" and "Love Looks So Well On You" with Nelson Riddle, who arranged both tracks, conducting the studio orchestra at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. "High Hopes" would later be adapted to become John F. Kennedy's campaign song with Sinatra supplying the vocals to new lyrics.
1961 - Faron Young's Capitol Records single "Hello Walls" is #29 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1961 - Jean Shepard records the track "Two Voices Two Shadows Two Faces" at the Bradley Film & Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee which will be released by Capitol Records
1967 - LaVern Andrews singer, motion picture actress and Capitol Records artist as part of The Andrews Sisters from 1956 to 1959, dies at age 55 of cancer in Brentwood, California and is later buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
1970 - Capitol Records releases The Beates' "Let It Be" soundtrack album in the United States
1988 - Nappy Lamare, guitarist, banjo player, bandleader and Capitol Records artist, dies in Newhall, California at age 81
2001 - Capitol Records releases Paul McCartney's album "Wingspan". I did the design and Photoshop work for the DVD packaging of the "Wingspan" documentary.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1912 - The Paramount company was founded by W. W. Hodkinson as a merger of 11 film rental bureaus. In 1917, Adolph Zukor bought Paramount and merged it with Famous Players to form the new firm called Paramount Pictures Corporation. Zukor also fired W. W. Hodkinson, who went on to found First National to challenge Paramount's distribution power. In 1919, First National and Paramount planned to merge, to gain full control of the market and to cut production cost, but the plan was uncovered by a private eye hired by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and D.W. Griffith. In reaction to the plan, they decided to found their own distribution company, United Artists Pictures (which would later found United Artists Records), which effectively ended Paramount and First National's efforts to found a monopoly. Future Capitol Records co-founder Buddy DeSylva would become production chief of Paramount and during his reign music from it's films (with "Mona Lisa" from "Captain Carey, U.S.A." being the best know song from the least known movie) would be released by Capitol Records as would recordings by many of its stars including Betty Hutton and Bob Hope.
1942 - Jack Blanchard, singer, songwriter, saxophone and keyboard player, and member of the United Artists duo Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan, is born in Buffalo, New York
1943 - Toni Tennille, singer and wife of former keyboardist for The Beach Boys "Captain" Daryl Dragon (who also was a Capitol artist with his band The Dragons), was born Cathryn Antoinette Tennille in Montgomery, Alabama
1947 - Phil Sawyer, bass guitarist and guitarist for the United Artists band The Spencer Davis Group, is born in Birmingham, England
1953 - Billy Burnette, singer, songwriter, guitarist, son of Liberty Records artist Dorsey Burnette and Alberta Burnette, member of Fleetwood Mac (1987-1995), and a solo artist, is born William Beau Burnette III in Memphis, Tennessee
1961 - Ernie K-Doe's Minit Records single "Mother-In-Law" is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart, Gene McDaniels' Liberty Records single "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" is #3, Steve Lawrence's United Artists Records single "Portrait Of My Love" is #9, Rick Nelson's Imperial Records single "Travelin' Man" is #18, Al Caiola and His Orchestra's United Artists Records single "Bonanza" is #23, Rick Nelson's Imperial Records single "Hello Mary Lou" is #27, and The Fleetwoods' Dolton Records (distributed by Liberty Records) single "Tragedy" is #31
1962 - The Broadway production of "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" opens at The Alvin Theatre in New York City, New York, starring Zero Mostel. The show will run for a total of 964 performances and Capitol Records will release the show's original Broadway cast album. The motion picture version, which also stars Mostel, will be directed by Richard Lester, who directed The Beatles' first two films.
1963 - United Artists Pictures releases "Dr. No", the first James Bond film, and United Artists Records will release the soundtrack album. Capitol Music Group's parent company, EMI Music Group, currently owns the United Artists catalog.
1977 - Leo Sayer's Chrysalis Records single "When I Need You" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. Capitol Music Group's parent company, EMI Music Group, currently owns the Chrysalis catalog.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL HISTORY
1911 - Robert Johnson, singer, guitarist, and songwriter, is born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. His 29 Blues recordings are amongst the most influential especially with English musicians including Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones, who have both covered Johnson's tunes. This date has not been verified and if anyone knows for sure when Johnson's birthdate is, please leave a comment.
1945 - Victory in Europe (aka V.E. Day) during World War II is announced and there is a massive celebration in Times Square in New York City, New York and around the world in the allied nations.