APRIL 28, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
85 Years Ago Today In 1926 - Blossom Dearie, singer, pianist, songwriter and Capitol Records artist (1964 for one album, "May I Come In?", currently available on Blue Note Records, also on the original soundtrack to the television show "Multiplication Rock!"), is born in East Durham, New York
1945 - John Wolters, record producer, singer, and drummer with the Capitol Records group Dr. Hook, is born John Christian Wolters in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. Sadly, he'll die of liver cancer in San Francisco, California on June 16, 1997.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL HISTORY
1945 - Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Candy" is at #3 on Billboard's Best Selling Singles chart,
1949 - Smiley Burnette signs with Capitol
60 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Les Paul and Mary Ford's Capitol Records single "How High The Moon" is still #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Popular Retail Records chart, they are also at #3 with their Capitol Records single "Mockin' Bird Hill", Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Too Young" with Les Baxter conducting the orchestra using Nelson Riddle's arrangement, is at #5, and Stan Kenton and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "September Song" enters the chart at #20
55 Years Ago Today In 1956 - Les Baxter and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Poor People Of Paris" is still #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Popular Retail Records chart, Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Lisbon Antigua" is #4, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Too Young To Go Steady" is at #35 (in a three way tie with Bill Haley and The Comets' single "See You Later, Alligator" and George Cates and His Orchestra's single "Moonglow And Theme From 'Picnic'"), and Dean Martin (with Dick Stabile and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Innamorata (Sweetheart)", is at #39 (in a tie with The Four Lads (with Ray Ellis and His Orchestra)'s single "Standing On The Corner")
1957 - Gene Vincent receives a gold record from Capitol during a show in Chicago for sales of over 2 million copies of the single "Be-Bop-A-Lula", which would go on to sell over 9 million copies
1958 - Twelve year-old Laurie London's Capitol Records single "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands" is #3 on Billboard's Top 100 Singles chart, Dean Martin (with Gus Levine, His Orchestra, and Chorus)'s Capitol Records single "Return To Me" is #16, The Four Prep's Capitol Records single "Twenty-Six Miles" is #25, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Looking Back" is #28, and Ed Townsend's Capitol Records single "For Your Love" is #29 (in a tie with Betty Johnson's single "Little Blue Man")
1958 - Gil Evans signs with Capitol
1965 - The Beatles receive the Grammy for "Best Vocal Performance by a Group" for "A Hard Day's Night
1973 - Pink Floyd's Capitol Records album "Dark Side Of The Moon" hits #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. It'll be #1 for only 1 week, but it will stay on Billboard's charts for 741 weeks.
1974 - Merle Haggard's Capitol Records single "Things Aren't Funny Anymore", with "Honky Tonk Night Time Man" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1974 - Grand Funk Railroad's Capitol Records single "The Loco-motion" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1985 - Sleepy Willis, who worked with Dick Curless on the Capitol Records album "The Soul of Dick Curless" and later would become Curless' lead guitarist, agent and manager, is inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame
20 Years Ago Today In 1991 - NBC-TV airs Liberty Records (later to become Capitol Records Nashville) artist Garth Brooks' network special "This Is Garth Brooks"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
115 Years Ago Today In 1896 - George Ewing Lee, baritone saxophone player, singer, bandleader (George E. Lee and His Novelty Singing Orchestra, which featured his sister, future Capitol Records artist Julia Lee, on vocals and piano), is born in Boonville, Missouri
1958 - David Seville's Liberty Records single "Witch Doctor" is #1 on Billboard's Top 100 Singles chart, and Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "Believe What You Say" is #13 with the flip side "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" at #20. Liberty and Imperial Records' catalogs are currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1979 - Blondie's Chrysalis Records single "Heart Of Glass" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
5 Years Ago Today In 2006 - Wanda Jackson, Capitol Records artist from 1956 to 1973, is on stage at 7:00 pm in the Jensen Concert Hall at the Stephens Performing Arts Center at the Idaho State University in Pocatello. Any first hand accounts would be appreciated!

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
2005 - The U.S. Postal Service has a ceremony in New York City, New York to celebrate the release of a postage stamp featuring E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, writer of such well known songs as "Over the Rainbow" (with Capitol Records artist Harold Arlen) from "The Wizard of Oz" and (with Jay Gorney) "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"