OCTOBER 1, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1915 - Skeets McDonald, songwriter, singer, and Capitol Records artist (1951-1958), is born Enos William McDonald in Greenway, Arkansas
85 Years Ago Today In 1929 - Bonnie Owens, singer, Capitol Records artist with The Strangers, and former wife of Capitol Records artists Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, is born Bonnie Campbell in in Blanchard, Oklahoma. Thanks to Eileen for the update!
1935 - Ann Richards, singer, wife of Capitol Records artist Stan Kenton, vocalist with Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra, George Redman and His Orchestra, and the Capitol Records group Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (1955), and a solo Capitol Records artist, is born in San Diego, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - Jerry Colonna and His San Fernando Valley Pals (aka Frank de Vol and His Orchestra [lineup unlisted]) record the tracks "Honkey Little Donkey" and "Riding The Old Donner Trail" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will later release the two tracks together as a Capitol Americana single (Capitol 40060).
1948 - Margaret Whiting (on vocals) and The Crew Chiefs (an unlisted vocal chorus) record vocals for "Far Away Places" in Los Angeles, California that will be overdubbed on a band track by Frank De Vol and his Orchestra that was recorded somewhere in Mexico sometime in September 1948. Capitol Records will release the final track as a single (Capitol 15278) with "My Own True Love" (recorded December 9, 1947) on the flipside.
1948 - Jack Smith and The Clark Sisters (on vocals overdubbed on band tracks by an unidentified orchestra) record the tracks "Cuanto La Gusta" and "The Corn Belt Symphony" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue both tracks together as a single (Capitol 15280).
1948 - The Striders (aka The 4 Striders, actually three brothers: tenor Eugene Strider, baritone Charles Strider, and bass James Strider, along with tenor Ernest Griffin) record the as yet unissued track "Feather Your Nest", the tracks "Pleasin' You (As Long As I Live)", "Somebody Stole My Rose Colored Glasses", and the as yet unissued tracks "I'm A Hesitatin' Fool", "Die From A Broken Heart" and "Drop That Other Shoe" at their second (and last) Capitol Records recording session. The second and third tracks will be released by Capitol as a single (Capitol 15306) in November 1948. Marv Goldberg has a great article on the history of this group on his website.
65 Years Ago Today In 1949 - Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely's Capitol Records single "Slippin' Around" is #5 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, up from #9 the week before, and Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae with Paul Weston and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Whispering Hope" is #7 down from #6
1951 - Renzo Cesana (as "The Continental") records vocals and narration with Eddie Baxter directing the orchestra (lineup unlisted) for the tracks "You Go To My Head" and "A Handful Of Stars", the as yet unissued track "Take Me In Your Arms", and the tracks "It Can't Be Wrong", "(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings", and "Roses And Champagne" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "You Go To My Head" and "(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings" together as a single (Capitol 1844), "A Handful Of Stars" and "It Can't Be Wrong" together as a single (Capitol 1877) and "Roses And Champagne" on Ruth Welcome's album "Continental Zither" (Capitol T 2472).
1951 - Ray Anthony and His Orchestra (Ray Anthony, Woody Fansler, Jack Laubach, Conrad Gozzo, and Marty White on trumpet, Keith Butterfield, Tom Oblak, Ken Trimble, and Dick Reynolds on trombone, Earl Bergman and Jim Schneider on clarinet and alto saxophone, Ted Nash and Robert "Buddy" Wise on tenor saxophone, Leo Anthony on alto and baritone saxophone, Fred Savarise on piano, Al Hendrickson on guitar, Billy Cronk on bass, and Archie Freeman on drums), using arrangements by George Williams, record the tracks "At Last" and "I Hear A Rhapsody" with vocals by Tommy Mercer and The Anthony Choir (lineup unlisted), "My Concerto" with vocals by Tommy Mercer, and "Brother Fats" with vocals by Georgia Craig in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first track as a single (Capitol 1678) with "As Time Goes By" (recorded on April 15, 1952) on the flip side, the second track as a single (Capitol 1973) with "For Dancers Only" (recorded January 3, 1952) on the flip side, the third track as a single (Capitol 1835) with "I'll Remember April" (recorded June 30, 1951) on the flip side, and the last track as a single (Capitol 1857) with "I Remember Harlem" (recorded September 27, 1957) on the flip side.
1955 - Les Baxter and His Orchestra with vocals by The Notables' Capitol Records single "Wake The Town And Tell All The People" with "I'll Never Stop Loving You" on the flip side, is #14 on Billboard's Best Selling Popular Retail Records chart, down from #13 the previous week and The Cheers with Les Baxter and His Orchestra and Chorus' Capitol Records' single "Black Denim Trousers" with "Some Night In Alaska" on the flip side is #18 up from #23 the previous week
1956 - Capitol Records releases Tennessee Ernie Ford's single "First Born", which was recorded June 4, 1956, with "Have You Seen Her?" on the flip side
1957 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "On The Road To Mandalay" "Let’s Get Away From It All", and "Isle of Capri" with arranger and conductor Billy May for his Capitol Records album "Come Fly With Me" in Studio A at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1957 - Lyle Ritz finishes recording tracks for his album "How About Uke?" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
55 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Dakota Staton, with producer Dave Cavanaugh and an orchestra conducted by Sid Feller, records the track "September in the Rain" for her 1960 Capitol Records album "More Than Most"
1962 - Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' first album "Surfin' Safari"
1962 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "Your For Me"
45 Years Ago Today In 1969 - The Beatles' Apple Records album "Abbey Road" is released and distributed in the United States by Capitol Records
1971 - John Lennon's third solo Apple Records album "Imagine", distributed in the United States by Capitol Records, is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
1973 - "Texas" Bill Strength, singer, guitarist, inductee to the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame, and a Capitol Records artist (1953-1956) dies of injuries after an auto accident in August 1973 left him paralyzed from the waist down and later sent him into a coma at age 45
2005 - Capitol Records Nashville artist Dierks Bentley becomes the youngest current member of The Grand Ole Opry
2005 - Paul Pena, singer and Capitol Records artist (1972), dies at age 55 in his San Francisco, California apartment of complications from diabetes and pancreatitis
2008 - Nick Reynolds (born Nicholas Wells Reynolds), singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Capitol Records group The Kingston Trio, dies at age 75 in San Diego, California when his family chooses to have his life support turned off after his being hospitalized for weeks with acute respiratory disease and a variety of other illnesses.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1936 - "Dr." George Butler, drummer in the bands Eggs Over Easy and Kilburn & The High Roads, producer for Blue Note (for artists Noel Pointer, Bobbi Humphrey, Donald Byrd, Ronnie Laws and others) and Columbia Records (for artists Harry Connick, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and Marlon Jordan), is born in Autaugaville, Alabama
1955 - Future Capitol Records artist Jackie Gleason's CBS-TV series "The Honeymooners" premieres
1955 - Fats Dominio's Imperial Records single "Ain't That A Shame" is still #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
1958 - Martin Cooper, saxophonist with the Virgin Records group Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, is born in Liverpool, England. I adapted the original U.K packaging of the group's albums for release in the United States by Virgin Records America.
55 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Youssou N'dour, singer and Earthworks Records artist, is born in Dakar, Senegal, Africa. I adapted the original U.K packaging of N'dour's "Immigrés" and "The Lion" albums for release in the United States by Virgin Records America and designed promotional materials for the single "The Truth".
50 Years Ago Today In 1964 - The Beatles' United Artists motion picture "A Hard Day's Night" premieres in Prague, Czechoslovakia becoming the first Western pop culture film to be seen behind the Iron Curtain
50 Years Ago Today In 1964 - Vee-Jay Records releases the compilation album "The Beatles vs THE FOUR SEASONS"
50 Years Ago Today In 1964 - Souvenir Press releases Brian Epstein (manager of The Beatles)' book "A Cellar Full of Noise"
1971 - Former Capitol Records artist Gene Vincent records an interview and the tracks "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Distant Drums" at BBC's Maida Vale studios in London, England for Radio One with Richard Cole and The Kansas Hook Band. This will be his last recording session before his death on October 12, 1971.
1988 - Bobby McFerrin's EMI Manhattan single "Don't Worry Be Happy" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1928 - According to Walt Disney in a 1933 article in Film Pictorial, today is Mickey Mouse's birthday and the anniversary of the first public showing of his first cartoon – the silent short "Plane Crazy". The entire cartoon was animated by Ub Iwerks and inked in Walt's garage on Lyric Avenue in a makeshift studio where Walt and Roy Disney's wives (Lillian and Edna) along with Walt's sister-in-law (Hazel Sewell) inked and painted Ub's artwork onto cels.
1935 - Future Capitol Records artist Judy Garland's first M-G-M contract officially starts at $100.00 per week (equal to about $1300 today)