DECEMBER 12, 2009

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
60 Years Ago Today In 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
45 Years Ago Today In 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.
40 Years Ago Today In 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
20 Years Ago Today In 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
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.
40 Years Ago Today In 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