MAY 4, 2011

REST IN PEACE
2011 - Gary West (aka Speedy West, Jr.), guitarist and son of Capitol Records artist Speedy West, dies in Oklahoma City of complications from lung cancer at age 58. A memorial service is set for 3 p.m. May 11 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City under the direction of Buchanan Funeral Service of Oklahoma City.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1928 - Maynard Ferguson, musician (trumpet, trombone, other horns), bandleader, winner of Down Beat Magazine reader's poll for best trumpet in 1950, '51 and '52, and member of the Capitol Records group Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, is born in Verdun, Quebec, Canada
1937 - Dick Dale, "King of the Surf Guitar" and Capitol Records artist (his first full-length album, "Surfer’s Choice", was picked up by Capitol Records in 1962 and distributed nationally), is born Richard Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts.
1942 - Nickolas Ashford, producer, songwriter, and singer in the Capitol Records duo Ashford & Simpson, is born in Fairfield, South Carolina
1952 - Jacob Miller motion picture actor, singer with the Capitol Records group Inner Circle, and a solo artist, is born in Madeville, Jamaica

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, with June Christy on vocals, record the track "Tampico" which will be released as a single by Capitol Records and become the group's first million selling record
65 Years Ago Today In 1946 - Andy Russell with Paul Weston and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Laughing On The Outside" enters Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart at #8
1952 - Hank Thompson's Capitol Records single "The Wild Side Of Life" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
55 Years Ago Today In 1956 - Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps record the single "Be-Bop-A-Lula" at Owen Bradley's Studio in Nashville, Tennessee for Capitol Records. The session was produced by Ken Nelson and take #12 was used for the single. "Be Bop A Lula" was the second tune recorded that day. "Race With The Devil" was recorded first and became the group's second Capitol Records single. Capitol’s first rock ‘n’ roll record was rush-released and would be in stores within 2 weeks. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" would influence a generation of rockers around the world including John Lennon’s first band The Quarrymen.
1957 - Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records single "Gone" is #5 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Tommy Sands' Capitol Records single "Teenage Crush" is #13 in a three way tie with Harry Belafonte (with Bob Corwin and His Orchestra)'s single "Mama Look-A Boo Boo", and Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (with The Arthur Malvin Singers)'s single "So Rare"
1959 - Capitol Records releases Judy Garland's album "The Letter" which has recently been re-released by GRP Records
1959 - The first Grammy Awards are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Capitol Records artists Louis Prima and Keely Smith win Best Group or Chorus Vocal Performance with the single "That Old Black Magic", The Kingston Trio win Best Country and Western Performace with the single "Tom Dooley", Billy May wins Best Orchestra Performance with the album "Billy May's Big Fat Brass", Mereith Wilson wins Best Original Cast Album - Broadway or Television with "The Music Man", Felix Slatkin conducting The Hollywood Bowl Symphony wins Best Classical Performance - Orchestra with "Gaite Parisienne", The Hollywood String Quartet wins Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music with "Beethoven: Quartet No. 13", Roger Wagner Chorale win Best Classical Performance - Operatic or Choral with "Virtuoso", Stan Freberg wins" Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording with "The Best Of The Stan Freberg Show", and Frank Sinatra wins "Best Album Cover" with his art direction of his album "Only The Lonely"
1959 - The Kingston Trio's Capitol Records single "Tijuana Jail" is #21 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
1963 - The Beach Boys' Capitol Records album "Surfin' USA" debuts on the US album charts
1963 - The Beach Boy's Capitol Records single "Surfin' USA" is #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart, The Kingston Trio's Capitol Records single "Reverend Mr. Black" is #14, and Al Martino's Capitol Records single "I Love You Because" is #29
1964 – Capitol Records releases The Beatles' single "Can’t Buy Me Love" and The Kingston Trio's last album for the label, "Back In Town", recorded during a stint at hungry i in San Francisco that started on March 23, 1964
1969 - Merle Haggard's Capitol Records single "Hungry Eyes" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1974 - Grand Funk Railroad's cover single of "Loco-motion" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart for the second of a two week stay
1977 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles live album "The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl"
1979 – A congratulatory ad for “Phantasm” star Angus Scrim (The Tall Man) from Capitol Records appears in the Hollywood Reporter. Angus Scrim is the screen name for Rory Guy, Grammy winning writer of liner notes for Angel and Capitol Records, whose office was on the 5th floor of The Capitol Tower. Ron Waite has a great article online about a visit to Rory/Angus in the Tower with a young fan of the movie.
1982 – Duran Duran's second album, “Rio”, produced by Colin Thurston, was released worldwide with Capitol Records subsidiary Harvest Records initially handling distribution in the United States
1992 - Dudu Zulu, a principal member of the Capitol Records group Johnny Clegg & Savuka, was shot and killed on May 4, 1992 in his native Zululand as he was en route to his home.
1998 - Capitol Records releases Robbie Williams' first U.S. album "The Ego Has Landed", culled from his first 2 UK albums

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 – Capitol Records co-founder and artist Johnny Mercer sings "Huggin' and Chalkin'" on the Armed Forces radio show "Command Performance"
1957 - Fats Domino's Imperial Records single "I'm Walkin'" is #8 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart and Eddie Cochran's Liberty Records single "Sittin' In The Balcony" is #21
1959 - Liberty Records artist David Seville wins Best Comedy Recording and Best Recording for Childern with "The Chipmunk Song" and Ted Keep wins Best Engineered Recording - Novelty with "The Chipmunk Song" at the first Grammy Awards presentation
1959 - The Fleetwoods' Dolton (originally Dolphin) Records single "Come Softly" is #3 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Martin Denny's Liberty Records single "Quiet Village" is #19, Rick Nelson's Imperial Records single "Never Be Anyone Else But You is #26 and its flip side, "It's Late", is #29
1963 - Bobby Vee's Liberty Records single "Charms" is #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart, Lou Christie's Roulette Records single "Two Faces Have I" is #23, and Jan and Dean's Liberty Records single "Linda" is #28
25 Years Ago Today In 1986 - The Pet Shop Boys' EMI America single "West End Girls" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL HISTORY
125 Years Ago Today In 1886 - Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter are granted a patent on the gramophone
1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Academy Award-winning actress, who introduced the Johnny Mercer/Henry Mancini song “Moon River” in the film “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”, is born Edda Kathleen van Heemstra in Brussells, Belgium
1945 - Miles Davis records for the first time in a session with a band led by Herbie Fields
1958 - Keith Haring, artist, is born in Reading, Pennsylvania
1970 – Students Allison Krause, Sandra Lee Scheuer, Jeffrey Glenn Miller and William K. Schroeder were shot down by National Guard members during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration on the Kent State University Campus in Ohio
1975 - Moe Howard, vaudelville, Broadway, motion picture and television actor, comedian and member of The Three Stooges, dies at age 77
1984 - Bob Clampett, cartoonist, director, television host, puppeteer, and creator of Tweety Bird and Beany and Cecil, dies at age 70, four days before his 71st birthday
5 Years Ago Today In 2006 - I saw actor Kent McCord working on his website on a 12" iBook outside a coffee shop next to the Virgin MegaStore on Sunset and Crescent Heights. He appeared on "Ozzie and Harriett" as one of Rick Nelson's friends before going on to co-star on "Adam 12".