JANUARY 16, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1942 - Bill Francis, keyboardist with the Capitol Records group Dr. Hook, is born William Francis in Mobile, Alabama
65 Years Ago Today In 1946 - Ronnie Milsap, singer and Capitol Records artist (1996), is born Ronnie Lee Milsap in Robbinsville, North Carolina

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1960 - Capitol Records artist Gene Vincent and Liberty Records artist Eddie Cochran appear together on ITV's pop show "Boy Meet Girl" in England
50 Years Ago Today In 1961 - Buck Owens and Rose Maddox record the tracks "Loose Talk" and "Mental Cruelty" which will be released as both sides of the same single by Capitol Records
1973 - Merle Haggard records the track "If We Make It Through December" for Capitol Records
1975 - Paul McCartney and Wings arrive in New Orleans to begin sessions on their Capitol Records album "Venus and Mars" at Allen Toussaint's Sea Saint studios
35 Years Ago Today In 1976 - Final overdubs are recorded for Natalie Cole's tracks "Can We Get Together Again?", "No Plans For The Future", "Mr. Melody", "Hard To Get Along (Without You)", "Good Morning Heartache", "Keep Smiling", "Touch Me", "Not Like Mine", "Sophisticated Lady (She's A Different Lady)", and "Heaven Is With Me" at an unlisted location. Capitol Records will issue the final versions of all tracks on Cole's album "Natalie" (ST-11517).
1980 - Kenny Rogers' Capitol Records album "Kenny" is certified Gold and Platinum by the R.I.A.A.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1937 - Bob Bogle, bass guitarist and lead guitarist with the Dolton Records (a subsidiary of Liberty Records, whose catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records' parent company EMI Music) group The Ventures, is born Robert Lenard Bogle at his family's home near Wagoner, Oklahoma
1938 - Future Capitol Records artist Benny Goodman, his orchestra, and his quartet, with future Capitol Records artist Martha Tilton supplying vocals, play Carnegie Hall for the first time at the venue's first Jazz and Swing concert. The performance is broadcasted by CBS Radio, transcribed, and later released on album and CD by Columbia Records. Anyone for a 12 plus minute version of "Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing")? Wow! It's my favorite Big Band track.
1957 - The Cavern Club opens under Matthew Street in Liverpool, England.
1972 - Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville), actor, songwriter, singer, record producer, creator (and voices) of the Liberty Records group The Chipmunks, dies at age 52 of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California and is later cremated at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California
35 Years Ago Today In 1976 - The television variety show "Donny and Marie", starring future Capitol Records artists (as solo performers) Donny and Marie Osmond, debuts on ABC-TV
1980 - Paul McCartney is jailed in Tokyo, Japan, for possession of a half-pound of marijuana found in his luggage. He will spend ten days in jail before being thrown out of the country by the Japanese authorities, forcing the cancellation of his Japanese tour.
1988 - George Harrison's Dark Horse Records single "I Got My Mind Set On You", with "Lay His Head" on the flip side and distributed by Warner Bros. Records in the United States, hits #1 on Billboard's Top 100 Singles chart setting a record for longest span between #1s (23 years and 11 months after The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" hit #1 in February 1964). Harrison's record will be broken the same year by Capitol Records artists The Beach Boys when their Elektra Records single "Kokomo" (from the soundtrack to the motion picture "Cocktail"), with Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" on the flip side, hits #1 on November 5, 1988 (24 years and 6 months after their Capitol Records single "I Get Around" hit #1 in May 1964).
1996 - Former Capitol Records artist Wayne Newton performs his 25,000th show in Las Vegas

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1884 - Irving Mills, agent and music publisher (including "Straighten Up And Fly Right", is born in New York City, New York
1909 - Ethel Merman, Broadway, motion picture, and television actress and singer, is born Ethel Agnes Zimmerman in Astoria, New York
90 Years Ago Today In 1921 - Charlie Chaplin's motion picture "The Kid" co-starring Jackie Coogan (later known for his role of Uncle Fester on the ABC-TV series "The Addams Family") opens