APRIL 19, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
85 Years Ago Today In 1927 - Don Barbour, singer in the Capitol Records group The Four Freshmen, is born in Greencastle, Indiana

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1954 - Frank Sinatra, with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting the orchestra, records the tracks "All Of Me", "Jeepers Creepers", "Get Happy", and "Taking A Chance On Love" for his Capitol Records album "Swing Easy" at Capitol Records' Melrose Studios in Hollywood, California
1956 - Actress Grace Kelly, actress and Capitol Records artist (on the motion picture soundtrack to "High Society", and whose duet with Bing Crosby on the single "True Love" earned a Gold record [the last in Crosby's career]), marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco
1956 - Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera and The Witnesses record their live performance at the lounge of The Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Capitol Records issues the recording on the group's album "The Wildest".
55 Years Ago Today In 1957 - Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records single "Gone", with "Missing Persons" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
50 Years Ago Today In 1962 - The Beach Boys (David Marks on guitar, Carl Wilson on guitar and vocals, Brian Wilson on bass guitar and vocals, Mike Love on vocals, and Dennis Wilson on drums and vocals) record the tracks "Surfin' Safari", "409", "Lonely Sea", and "Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring" at Western Recorders in Los Angeles, California with Brian Wilson producing the session. Capitol Records will issue "Surfin' Safari" and "409" as the band's first single for the label (Capitol 4777).
1964 - The Beatles pre-record the tracks "Can't Buy Me Love"; "I Wanna Be Your Man"; "Long Tall Sally"; a medley that used "Love Me Do", "Please Please Me", "From Me To You", "She Loves You", and "I Want to Hold Your Hand"; "Roll Over Beethoven"; "Shout"; and "Twist and Shout" for an Associated Rediffusion UK TV special "Around The Beatles that will air on May 9, 1964
1965 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' single "Ticket To Ride" with "Yes It Is" on the flip side
1975 - Grand Funk Railroad's Capitol Records single "Bad Time", with "Good And Evil" on the flip side, enters the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1990 - Dave Dexter, author, Kansas City reporter for Down Beat magazine (his reviews for Count Basie and His Orchestra got the band noticed), Capitol Records publicity and A&R man (got Peggy Lee to come out of retirement, signed Nellie Lutcher and Julia Lee) and record producer (The History Of Jazz series, New American Jazz all star album, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others), VP of A&R for Capitol Records' International division (created over 500 albums for "The Capitol Of The World" series of world music), remixed the early albums by The Beatles (until Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) for U.S. release, editor and writer for Billboard Magazine, dies in Sherman Oaks, California at age 74. His papers have been donated to the University of Missouri Kansas City and they have a great biography of Dave as part of their Club Kaycee website.
2001 - Billy Idol and his band travel to New York City to tape his edition of "VH1 Storytellers." Ten months after the taping, on February 26, 2002, Capitol Records will release "Billy Idol's VH1 Storytellers" featuring 14 songs from the session including three tracks from his days fronting the band Generation X ("Dancing With Myself," "Kiss Me Deadly," "Ready Steady Go") to his 1983 solo hit, "White Wedding" and Idol's covers of Tommy James & the Shondell's "Mony, Mony" and the Doors' "L.A. Woman".
2011 - Roy Edward "Eddie" Burris, a drummer for Capitol Records artist Merle Haggard's band The Strangers who co-wrote the 1969 song "Okie From Muskogee" with Haggard, dies at age 79 of heart-related problems at a Tulsa, Oklahoma hospital.
2011 - Vanguard/Capitol Records releases Kimberly Caldwell's debut album "Without Regret"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1981 - Sheena Easton's EMI America single "Morning Train (Nine to Five)", with "Calm Before The Storm" on the flip side, is #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. EMI America's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Music Group's parent company, EMI Music Group.
1995 - The Georgia legislature declares April 19, 1995 to be Johnny Mercer Day in the state for Mercer's "outstanding contributions to the field of music". Johnny Mercer is a co-founder of Capitol Records.