DECEMBER 19, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1915 - Edith Piaf, singer and Capitol Records artist, is born Edith Giovanna Gassion near Paris in Ménilmontant, France
1945 - John McEuen (aka "The String Wizard"), singer; songwriter; as well as banjo, fiddle, guitar, accordian, mandolin, dulcimar, piano and lap steel guitar player with the Capitol Records group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, is born in Garden Grove, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
65 Years Ago Today In 1946 - Joe Alexander (on vocals), with Dave Cavanaugh's Music (lineup unlisted), records the tracks "I Keep Telling Myself", "At Your Command" and "Lost" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first two tracks together as a single (Capitol 359) and the last track as a single (57-70054) with "If I Could Make The World Stand Still" on the flip side.
1948 - Jimmy Wakely's Capitol Records single "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)", with "You’re The Sweetest Rose In Texas" on the flip side, is still #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1949 - Capitol Records artists Les Paul and Mary Ford are married and future Capitol Records artist Steve Miller's father is their best man
60 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Wesley Tuttle overdubbed vocals on the tracks "Hoppy's Happy Birthday, Part 1", "Hoppy's Happy Birthday, Part 2", "Hopalong Cassidy And The Story Of Topper, Part 1", and "Hopalong Cassidy And The Story Of Topper, Part 2" at Capitol Records' Melrose Avenue studios in Hollywood, California. After two more overdub sessions, Capitol Records will issue the first two tracks together as the children's records album "Hoppy's Happy Birthday" (CAS-3114) and the last two tracks together as the children's records album "Hopalong Cassidy And The Story Of Topper" (CAS-3110).
60 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Lou Dinning (on vocals), with Don Robertson's Music (lineup unlisted), records the tracks "Sad", "Just Friends", and "Sick, Sad, Sorry And Blue" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first track as a single (Capitol 1940) with "Give Me Time" on the flip side and the last two tracks together as a single (Capitol 2013).
60 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Clyde McCoy and His Orchestra (Clyde McCoy, Mannie Klein, Clayton Cash, and Uan Rasey on trumpet, Si Zentner, Ed Kusby, and Tommy Pederson on trombone, Wilbur Schwartz on clarinet and alto saxophone, Ted Romersa on alto saxophone, Skeets Herfurt and Ted Nash on tenor saxophone, Chuck Gentry on baritone saxophone, Edwin "Buddy" Cole on piano, Vincent Terri on guitar, Phil Stephens on bass, and Alvin Stoller on drums) record the tracks "I Just Love Affection" (with vocals by Jeanne Gayle), "Blues In The Night", "Wabash Blues", and "Sugar Blues Boogie" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first and last tracks together as a single (Capitol 1937) and the last three tracks on the group's album "Sugar Blues" (CCN-311).
60 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Norman Kaye (on vocals), with Sid Feller and his Orchestra (unlisted lineup), records the tracks "I Hear A Rhapsody", "I Was Lucky", and "I Wanted Love" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue the first track as a single (Capitol 1979) with "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" on the flip side, the second track as a single (Capitol 1945) with "Call Me A Dreamer" on the flip side, and the last track as a single (Capitol 2056) with "Why Did You Leave Me?" on the flip side.
60 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Mary Mayo (on vocals), with Al Ham and his Orchestra (lineup unlisted), records the track "What's The Reason" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue the track as a single (Capitol 1950) with "Oh To Be Young Again" on the flip side.
55 Years Ago Today In 1956 - Les Baxter and His Orchestra (with Baxter conducting his own arrangements to an orchestra with a unlisted lineup) record the tracks "Ruby Lips", an unissued take of "I Need Your Love", "A Woman's Devotion", and a vocal overdub with a chorus with an unlisted lineup for "A Woman's Devotion" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first track as a single (Capitol F3728) with "The Lonely Whistler" on the flip side and the last track with the overdub as a single (Capitol F3624) with "The Clown On The Eiffel Tower" on the flip side.
55 Years Ago Today In 1956 - Nat "King" Cole (on vocals), with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra (Charles LaVere on piano, Allan Reuss on guitar, Jack Ryan on bass, and Lee Young on drums, with the string section of Israel Baker, Alex Beller, Joe Chassman, Sam Cytron, Kurt Dieterle, Sol Kindler, Murray Kellner, Joseph Livoti, Dan Lube, Rickey Marino, Erno Neufeld, Joseph Quadri, Mischa Russell, Ralph Schaefer, Paul Shure, and Marshall Sosson on violins, Bill Baffa, Paul Robyn, and David Sterkin on viola, Armand Kaproff on cello, and Kathryn Thompson on harp), records the tracks "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much", "Love Letters", "I Thought About Marie", "Where Can I Go Without You?", "Stardust", "Love Is The Thing", and "It's All In The Game" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California between 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM. Capitol Records will issue all the tracks on Cole's album "Love Is The Thing" (W 824).
55 Years Ago Today In 1956 - The George Shearing Quintet (Emil Richards on vibraphone, George Shearing on piano, Jean "Toots" Thielemans on guitar and harmonica, Al McKibbon on bass, and Percy Brice on drums), with Billy May conducting his own arrangements to an orchestra (Vince De Rosa on French horn, Jules Kinsler, Jules Jacob, Pete Terry, and Joe Krechter on saxophones and a string section with Jacques Gasselin, Felix Slatkin, Paul Shure, Marshall Sosson, Erno Neufeld, Eudice Shapiro, William Weiss, and Nathan Ross on violin, Alvin Dinkin and David Sterkin on viola, Eleanor Slatkin, Edgar Lustgarten, and Victor Gottlieb on cello, and Meyer Rubin on bass) records the tracks "The Folks Who Live On The Hill", "One Morning In May", You Don't Know What Love Is" and the medley of "As Long As I Live/Let's Live Again" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California between 8:00 PM and 11:30PM. Capitol Records will issue all the tracks on the quintet's album "Black Satin" (T 858).
55 Years Ago Today In 1956 - Leonard Pennario (on piano) records Prokofiev's "Sonata N°3 In A Minor For Piano, Opus 28" and parts of Bartok's "Sonata For Piano" in New York City, New York. Capitol Recors will issue both tracks on Pennario's album "BARTOK - Sonata For Piano/PROKOFIEV - Sonata N°3 In A Minor/ROZSA - Sonata For Piano,Opus 21" (P-8376).
1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "I Feel Fine", with "She's A Woman" on the flip side, is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1969 - The Scott Richard Case (aka SRC) finishes recording tracks for their Capitol Records album "Traveler's Tale"
1988 - Poison's Capitol Records single "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", with "Look But You Can't Touch" on the flip side is now #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
10 Years Ago Today In 2001 - Capitol and Nettwerk Records artist Tara MacLean gives birth to her daughter Sophia Madrien Soleil Bell at 4:24 PM in Oakville, Ontario, Canada
2002 - Dorothy Wallichs, wife of Capitol Records co-founder Glenn Wallichs, dies at age 89 in Incline Village, Washow, Nevada

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1955 - An article called "Angel At Two" in Time Magazine with today's street date talks with the label's managers about the company
1957 - Meredith Willson’s "The Music Man" opens at the Majestic Theatre in New York City starring Robert Preston, and will run for 1,375 shows. Capitol Records will later release the originial Broadway cast album for the show.
50 Years Ago Today In 1961 - "Judgment At Nuremberg" opens in New York City with a cast that includes Capitol Records artists Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich, as well as Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Montgomery Clift, and Maximillian Schell
1980 - Kenny Rogers' Liberty Records single "Lady" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1980 - John Lennon's Geffen/Lenono Records single "(Just Like) Starting Over" is #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1960 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "Ring-A-Ding-Ding", "Let’s Fall in Love", "In The Still Of The Night", and "A Foggy Day (In London Town)" for his very own record company, Reprise Records, during his first of three straight days of sessions with arranger Johnny Mandel conducting the studio orchestra
2000 - Milt Hinton (aka "The Judge"), bass player and photographer of almost every well known Jazz artist, dies at age 90