MAY 13, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1953 - Tom Cochrane, lead singer of the Canadian band Red Rider and solo artist on Capitol Records and EMI Records, is born in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1944 - Jo Stafford (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Long Ago (And Far Away) is #6 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
1950 - Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Dearie" is #15 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart and Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely's Capitol Records single "Let's Go To Church (Next Sunday Morning) is #20
1954 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "It Worries Me" and "Half As Lovely (Twice As Nice)" (which will be released together as a single by Capitol Records), as well as "The Gal That Got Away" (which will be released by Capitol with "When I Stop Loving You" on the flip side which will be recorded on August 23, 1954), with arranger Nelson Riddle conducting the studio orchestra (Mahlon Clark, Chuck Gentry, Arthur "Skeets" Herfert, Arthur Kafton, Theodore Nash, and Warren Webb on reeds; Conrad Gozzo and Rubin "Zeke" Zarchy on trumpet; Dick Noel and Tommy Pederson on trombone;, George Roberts on bass trombone; Bobby Gibbons on guitar; Joe Comfort on bass; Bill Miller on piano; Kathryn Julye on harp; Alvin Stoller on drums; Victor Bay, Harry Bluestone, Walter Edelstein, George Kast, Nick Pisani, Mischa Russell, Eudice Shapiro, Paul Shure, and Felix Slatkin on violn; Maxine Johnson and Paul Robyn on viola; and Cy Bernard and Eleanor Slatkin on cello) at Capitol Records' Melrose Studios in Hollywood, California
1966 - Time Magazine runs an article about Capitol Records artist Mrs. Elva Miller and her upcoming appearance on the Ed Sullivan show (May 14, 1966)
45 Years Ago Today In 1967 - Capitol Records artist Merle Haggard debuts on the Grand Ole Opry
1970 - The Beatles' film "Let It Be" is released
1975 - Bob Willis (born ames Robert Wills), fiddle and mandolin player, songwriter, bandleader (Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys), motion picture actor, 1968 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, 1970 Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame inductee, 2000 Texas Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, and Capitol Records artist, dies of pneumonia at age 70 in his Fort Worth, Texas home
1988 - Chet Baker (born Chesney Henry Baker Jr.), singer, trumpet player, Capitol Records, Pacific Jazz and Blue Note Records artist, and whose face is part of the mural on the side of The Capitol Tower, dies at age 59 after falling (or being pushed) from his second story hotel window in Amsterdam, Holland. His body is later brought home for internment in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
1989 - Donny Osmond scores his first US Top 5 hit since 1972 when his Capitol Records single "Soldier of Love" moves to #5 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart
1996 - Liz Phair shoots a video for her Capitol Records single "Rocket Boy" on a soundstage in Hollywood, California

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
105 Years Ago Today In 1907 - Madame (later Dame) Nellie Melba lays the foundation stone for the Power House at the Hayes factory site of The Gramaphone and Typewriter Ltd., a company that would later become EMI
1913 - Pianist, arranger and composer Gil Evans, is born Ian Ernest Gilmore Green (or Gilmore Ian Rodrigo Green) in Toronto, Canada. He would later take his stepfather's last name. Along with his own recordings and arranging for other bands (including Capitol and Pacific Jazz Records artists Billy Butterfield, Peggy Lee, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan and others), Evans would provide the arrangements to the Miles Davis Nonet for the tracks "Moondreams" and "Boplicity" that were part of the "Birth Of The Cool" sessions for Capitol Records.
1924 - Future Capitol Records Marlene Dietrich marries Rudolf Sieber, and they will remain married for over 50 years
1945 - Magic Dick, musician with the EMI America Records group The J. Geils Band is born Dick Salwitz in New London, Connecticut
1946 - Danny Klein, bassist with the EMI America Records group The J. Geils Band, is born in New York City, New York
65 Years Ago Today In 1947 - Liza Luise Rey, harpist, songwriter, and daughter of Capitol Records artist Alvino Rey and future Capitol Records artist Luise King (of The King Sisters), is born in Burbank, California, would later marry geologist Ned Butler, and now lives in South Harbor, Maine
1954 - "The Pajama Game" makes its debut on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in New York City, New York. It is producer Harold Prince's first Broadway endeavor. Capitol Records artist John Raitt and Janis Paige star in the leading roles. The show will run for 1,063 performances. Raitt will also star in the movie version long with Doris Day.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1941 - Ritchie Valens, singer, songwriter, and guitarist and motion picture performer, is born Richard Steven Valenzuela in Pacoima, California
1943 - Motown singer Mary Wells is born Mary Esther Wells in Detroit, Michigan