JULY 6, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
95 Years Ago Today In 1915 - LaVerne Andrews, singer, Capitol Records solo artist (1956-1959) and with the Capitol Records group The Andrews Sisters, is born Laverne Sophie Andrews in Minneapolis, Minnesota

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - Johnny Mercer, Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll, with arranger Billy May conducting the studio orchestra, start the first of two days of sessions for the record "Mickey Mouse And The Beanstalk" which will be released as a children's album by Capitol Records. The next session is held on July 7, 1947.
1956 - The Four Freshmen (Bob Flanigan on vocals, trombone and base; Don Barbour on vocals and guitar; Ross Barbour on vocals and drums; and Ken Albers on vocals, trumpet, mellophone and bass), with arranger Dick Reynolds conducting the studio orchestra (Uan Rasey, Ray Triscari, Joe Triscari, Buddy Childers, and Mannie Klein on trumpet; Jack Marshall on guitar; Milt Raskin on piano; Don Simpson on bass: and Frank Carlson on drums), during two sessions held the same day for their Capitol Records album "The Four Freshman And Five Trumpets", record the tracks "The Night We Called It A Day", "Something In The Wind" and the first rejected take of "There Will Never Be Another You" at the first session and, with Pete Condoli on trumpet joining the orchestra for the second session, record "After You've Gone" and the final and accepted take of "There Will Never Be Another You". Both sessions were held in Los Angeles, Calfornia.
1959 - The Kingston Trio's Capitol Records single "M.T.A." is #18 up from #28 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and Franck Pourcel and His French Fiddler's Capitol Records single "Only You (Loin De Vous)" is #35 down from #23
1963 - Kyu Sakamoto's Capitol Records single "Sukiyaki" is #2 down from #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer" is #12 down from #6, Bobby Darin's Capitol Records single "Yellow Roses" is #26 down from #16, Al Martino's Capitol Records single "I Love You Because" is #30 down from #19, The Beach Boy's Capitol Records single "Shut Down" is #31 down from #29 and its flip side, "Surfin' U.S.A.", is #36 down from #17
1964 - Peggy Lee, with arranger Lalo Schifrin conducting the studio orchestra (Justin Gordon and Paul Horn on reeds; Robert Bain, John Pisano, and Howard Roberts on guitar; Chuck Berghofer on bass; Lou Levy on piano; Stan Levey on drums; and Francisco Aguabella on bongos and congas) and producer Dave Cavanaugh, records the tracks, "There'll Be Some Changes Made", "Just Call Me Love Bird (Theme From 'Joy House')", and "Senza Fine" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. All the tracks will be released on Lee's Capitol Records album "In The Name Of Love"
40 Years Ago Today In 1970 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "The Kansas City Song"
1971 - Louis Armstrong, trumpet player, singer, band leader, motion picture actor, and Capitol Records artist (on the original soundtrack albums for "A Song Is Born" and "High Society"), dies of a heart attack in Corona, Queens, New York at age 69
1974 - Anne Murray's Capitol Records single "He Thinks I Still Care", with a cover version of The Beatles' "You Won't See Me" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
35 Years Ago Today In 1975 - Merle Haggard's Capitol Records single "Movin' On", with "Here In 'Frisco" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1976 - Grand Funk Railroad's Capitol Records album "Grand Funk" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1997 - Greg Scott Eklund, songwriter and drummer for the Capitol Records group Everclear, marries his girlfriend Ellina, whom he met in 1990 at the University of Oregon and who convinced him to take up the drums again after a two year hiatus
1998 - Roy Rogers, singer, actor and Capitol Records recording artist, dies in his Apple Valley home in Victorville, California of congestive heart failure at age 86
5 Years Ago Today In 2005 - Carrie V. Arnold (born Carrie Virginia Morgan), who worked for AES of Winchester and Capitol Records for 15 years, dies at her home in Winchester, Virginia at age 72

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - In between sets at a show that 16 year old John Lennon was doing with his band, The Quarry Men, at the St. Peter's Church Fete in Woolton Parish, Liverpool, England, a mutual friend, Ivan Vaughan, introduces him to 15 year old Paul McCartney. After showing John how he tunes his guitar along with a few new guitar chords, and singing all the lyrics of Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock", Lennon invites McCartney to join his band.
1959 - Martin Denny's Liberty Records single "Quiet Village" is #14 down from #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, Dion and The Belmonts' Laurie Records single "A Teenager In Love" is #19 down from #10, and Fats Domino's Imperial Records single "I'm Ready" is #39 down from #29. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the Liberty, Laurie and Imperial Records catalogs.
1961 - The first issue of "Mersey Beat" magazine is released and features The Beatles on its cover
1963 - The Essex's Roulette Records single "Easier Said Than Done" is #1 up from #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, The Chiffons' Laurie Records single "One Fine Day" is #6 up from #7, and Jan and Dean's Liberty Records single "Surf City" is #7 up from #10. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the Roulette, Laurie, and Liberty Records catalogs.
1964 - Trombonist Grachan Moncur III, with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Cecil McBee on bass and Tony Williams on drums, records the tracks "Gnostic", "Thandiwa", "The Twins", and "Nomadic" for his Blue Note album "Some Other Stuff" with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
1964 - United Artists releases The Beatles' first movie "A Hard Day's Night" worldwide and it premieres at 9.00 p.m. at the London Pavilion Theatre
1964 - ATCO Records releases The Beatles' single "My Bonnie" with "Nobody's Child" on the flip side
45 Years Ago Today In 1965 - Future Virgin Records group The Rolling Stones' London Records single "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", with "Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" on the flip side, becomes their first #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart
1973 - Otto Klemperer, conductor, father of actor Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink in "Hogan's Heroes"), and EMI Classics artist, dies in Zürich, Switzerland at age 88 and is buried in the Israelitischer Friedhof — Oberer Friesenberg, also in Zürich
1979 - Capitol Records artist (1976-1979) Minnie Ripperton makes her last televised appearance on an episode of "The Merv Griffin Show" that airs on this date. She performs the song "Memory Lane", featuring her enunciating the phrase "Oh Why", high in the seventh octave. She will die six days later on July 12, 1969 of breast cancer at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
1986 - Pink Floyd's compilation album "A Collection Of Great Dance Songs", originally released by Columbia in the U.S., but re-released by Capitol Records in 2000 (I replaced the legal lines and stock numbers and reformated the artwork to fit into Capitol's packaging templates), is certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
155 Years Ago Today In 1854 - John Phillip Sousa, composer and leader of the Marine Corps. band, is born in Washington, DC, USA
1925 - Bill Haley, singer, guitarist, and bandleader, is born William John Clifton Haley in Highland Park, Michigan
1925 Merv Griffin, singer, composer, talk show host, television game show producer, and real estate magnate, is born Mervyn Edward Griffin, Jr. in San Mateo, California
1976 - 50 Cent, rapper, is born Curtis James Jackson III in South Jamaica, Queens, New York