JANUARY 18, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1913 - Danny Kaye, motion picture and television actor (who, among many other roles, played the role of Capitol Records artist Red Nichols in the biopic "The Five Pennies"), comedian, singer, dancer, UNICEF ambassador, and Capitol Records artist, is born David Daniel Kaminski in Brooklyn, New York

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Tex Ritter's Capitol Records single "You Will Have To Pay", with "Christmas Carols By The Old Corral" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
1956 - The Hollywood String Quartet sign with Capitol Records
1960 - Capitol Records releases The Louvin Brothers single "Nellie Moved To Town" with "The Stagger" on the flip side
1964 - The Beatles appear on Billboard's Pop singles chart for the first time with their Capitol Records single "I Want To Hold Your Hand"
1969 - The Capitol Records soundtrack to United Artists' animated feature film "Yellow Submarine" debuts on Billboard's Pop albums chart
1973 - Pink Floyd begin the last 11 of 38 days of recording tracks at EMI's Abbey Road studios in London, England for their album "Dark Side Of The Moon", after taking a break on October 27, 1972 for touring. Sessions will end on February 1 and the completed album will be distributed by Capitol Records in the United States.
1993 - Capitol Records releases Hoyt Axton's album "American Originals"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
80 Years Ago Today In 1932 - Irene Kral, singer, and a United Artists Records artist (whose UA album "The Band And I" has been reissued on the Capitol Jazz label by Blue Note Records), is born in Chicago, Illinois
50 Years Ago Today In 1962 - The duo Shirley & Lee (vocalists Shirley Goodman & Leonard Lee) sign with Imperial Records whose catalog is currently owned by Capitol Music Group's parent company EMI Music Group. Their first recording session for the label will be held in New Orleans on February 1, 1962 where the will record the tracks "The Joker", "Together We Stand", "My Last Letter" and "I'm Old Enough" with Dave Bartholomew and Wardell Quezergue on trumpets, Waldron 'Frog' Joseph on trombone, Warren Bell and Clarence Ford on tenor saxophones, Carl Bluin on baritone saxophone, James Booker on piano, Justin Adams on guitar, George French on bass, and either Robert French or Joe 'Smokey' Johnson on drums. Imperial will release the first two tracks together as a single (Imperial 5818) and the last two tracks together as a single (Imperial 5854).
1944 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts it's first jazz concert which features performances by future Capitol Records artists Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Lionel Hampton (who recorded for Capitol as part of Goodman's bands), as well as Louis Armstrong (who would record tracks for Verve Records at The Capitol Tower Studios as well as perform on the soundtrack for the motion picture "High Society" which was released by Capitol), Artie Shaw, and Roy Eldridge
1969 - The Foundations' UNI single "Build Me Up Buttercup", with "New Direction" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. Capitol will later release the track as part of its soundtrack to the movie "There's Something About Mary" in 1998
1975 - Epic Records releases future Capitol Records artist Minnie Ripperton's single "Lovin' You" with "Edge Of A Dream" on the flip side. Capitol Records currently distributes Ripperton's catalog.
20 Years Ago Today In 1992 - Right Said Fred's Charisma Records (a division of Virgin Records America, whose catalog is now owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company) single "I'm Too Sexy", with a 7" version on one side and a Spanish version on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1996 - Future Capitol Records artist Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
120 Years Ago Today In 1892 - Oliver Hardy, comedian and motion picture actor, best known as part of the team Laurel and Hardy, is born Oliver Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia
60 Years Ago Today In 1952 - Curly Howard (born Jerome Lester Horwitz), vaudeville and motion picture actor, comedian, brother of Moe and Shemp Howard, and member of The Three Stooges dies at age 48 in San Gabriel, California. He would later be buried at Home of Peace Memorial Park in East Los Angeles in the Western Jewish Institute Section, Row 5, Grave 1.
1954 - Sydney Greenstreet, stage and motion picture actor, dies at age 74 and is later interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California
25 Years Ago Today In 1987 - Billy Vera & The Beaters' single "At This Moment" peaks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. The single, reissued by Rhino Records after being featured on the television series "Family Ties", was originally issued in 1981 by Alfa Records, which was shuttered by its Japanese owners, and Rhino licensed the track from ATCO. The single was originally released by Rhino with Vera's own composition "I Can Take Care Of Myself" on the flip side but later, according to Billy, "Rhino got word that 'Peanut Butter' was popular within the Carolinas Beach Music scene, so they repressed with that song on the flip...". Billy's still busy performing, writing and producing, and doing some really fun voiceover work.