MARCH 31, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1908 - "Red" Norvo, bandleader, xylophone and vibraphone player, session player and Capitol Records artist, is born Kenneth Norville in Beardstown, Illinois
1934 - Shirley Jones, singer, motion picture and television actress and Capitol Records artist (soundtracks to the motion pictures "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", and "The Music Man") is born Shirley Mae Jones in Charleroi, Pennsylvania

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford's Capitol Records single "Candy", the flip side of Mercer's "I'm Gonna See My Baby", is still #1 on the U.S. Pop singles charts
1957 - Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records single "Gone", with "Missing Persons" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1964 - The Beatles become the first musical act to hold the top 5 positions (March 31, 1964 - The Beatles hold the top five slots on Billboard's chart: ("Can't Buy Me Love" at #1, "Twist and Shout" at #2, "She Loves You" at #3, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" at #4, and "Please Please Me" at #5) on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1968 - Skeets McDonald (born Enos William McDonald), singer, songwriter, guitarist, and Capitol Records artist, dies in California at age 52 after suffering a massive heart attack
1968 - Buck Owens' Capitol Records single "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone", with "Everybody Needs Somebody" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1974 - Blue Swede's Capitol Records single "Hooked On A Feeling", with "Gotta Have Your Love" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
20 Years Ago Today In 1991 - Garth Brooks' Liberty Records (later renamed Capitol Records Nashville) single "Two Of A Kind Workin' On A Full House", with "Unanswered Prayers" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1943 - "Oklahoma!" (originally titled "Away We Go") opens on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in New York City, New York with stars Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts and Howard DeSilva. Later made into a motion picture, Capitol Records will release it's soundtrack which will become the first album to be certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1962 - EMI withdraws all 78rpm records in their catalogue
1980 - EMI Records, Capitol Records parent company, reports a twelve months trading loss of £2,800,000
1995 - Selena (born Selena Quintanilla Perez), singer and EMI Latin artist, is shot by the president of her fan club and dies at age 24.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1949 - To compete with Columbia's new 33rpm LP, RCA Victor debuts it 45rpm (78-33=45) system when it releases 76 albums (3 or 4 discs in a boxed set) and 104 singles on 7-inch large-hole 45-rpm records. The first 45 rpm disc,"Texarkana Baby" by Eddy Arnold, was issued by RCA in the US on March 31, 1949. It was made of green vinyl, as part of an early attempt to color-code singles according to the genre of music they featured. Others included red for classical music and yellow for children's songs. Capitol Records will be the first label to release its product in all three formats.