FEBRUARY 12, 2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1923 - Mel Powell, pianist, songwriter, dean of music at the California Institute Of The Arts, and Capitol Records artist, is born Melvin Epstein in New York City, New York

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1946 - Ella Mae Morse (on vocals) and Freddie Slack (on piano, with George Van Eps on guitar, John "Jack" Ryan on bass, and Nick Fatool on drums) record the tracks "The House Of Blue Lights" (additional vocals by Don Raye) and "Hey, Mr. Postman" (with Slack on celeste) at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue both tracks together as a single (Capitol 251).
1947 - Merle Travis' Capitol Records single "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed", with "Sweet Temptation" on the flip side, hits #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
65 Years Ago Today In 1951 - Vocalist Nat "King" Cole, with Pete Rugolo conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra (Marion "Buddy" Childers on trumpet,  Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt and Jules Kinsler on alto saxophones and flutes, Babe Russin and Jimmy Giuffre on tenor saxphones, alto saxophones, and flutes, Chuck Gentry on baritone saxophone and bass flute, Edwin "Buddy" Cole on piano and celeste, Irving Ashby on guitar, Joe Comfort on bass, and Louis Bellson on drums) and The King Sisters (Alyce, Donna, Yvonne and Luise) on harmony vocals, records the titles "I Wish I Were Somebody Else", "You Can't Make Me Love You", "Red Sails In The Sunset", "I'll Always Remember You", and (without The King Sisters and with Jack Costanzo on bongos) "Poor Jenny Is A Weeping" at Capitol Records' studios at 5515 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California between 2:30 PM and 6:30 PM. Capitol Records will issue "I Wish I Were Somebody Else" on Cole's album "King Cole Tenth Anniversary" (W 514), "Red Sails In The Sunset" as a single (Capitol 1468) with "Little Child" (recorded March 6, 1951) on the flipside, "I'll Always Remember You" as a single (Capitol 1747) with "Make Believe Land" (recorded August 25, 1950) on the flipside, and all the titles on Nat "King" Cole and The Pete Rugulo Orchestra's CD "Lush Life" (7-80595-2).

1953 - The Pud Brown Trio (Albert "Pud" Brown on tenor saxophone, Pete Urquidi on piano, and Hank Castro on drums) record the tracks "Take The A Train" and "Memories Of You" in New Orleans, Louisiana with producer Dave Dexter, Jr. Capitol Records will purchase the masters and issue both tracks together as a single (Capitol 2433).

1957 - Skeets McDonald (on vocals, with J. R. "Jelly" Sanders on fiddle; Joe Maphis and Alvis "Buck" Owens on guitar; Ralph Eugene Mooney on steel guitar; Clarence "Bud" Dooley on bass; and Marion "Pee Wee" Adams on drums) records the tracks "I Am Music", "Welcome Home", "I Can't Hold A Memory In My Arms", and "Keep Her Off Your Mind" with producer Ken Nelson at the Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue the first and last track together as a single (Capitol F3679) and the second track as a single (Capitol F3741) with "Your Sweet Love Is Gone" on the flip side. Bear Family Records will issue all the tracks on McDonald's 5 CD set "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" (BCD 15937) in Germany.
1959 - Jack Marshall (on guitar and zither) and His Music (Don Fagerquist, Mannie Klein, Uan Rasey on trumpet; Milt Bernhart on trombone; Bob Enevoldsen on valve trombone; Justin Gordon and George Smith on saxophones; Milt Raskin on piano; Barney Kessel on guitar; Joe Mondragon and Mike Rubin on bass; Shelly Manne on drums; Larry Bunker, Milt Holland, and Lou Singer on percussion), using Marshall's arrangements, record the tracks "Sonate", "The Third Man Theme", "Clouds" and "Baby It's Cold Outside" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the tracks on Marshall's album "Soundsville! - Swinging Sketches By Jack Marshall And His Music" (T 1194).
1963 - Buck Owens (on vocals, with unlisted musicians) records the tracks "Act Naturally", "Over And Over Again", and the (as of 2005) unissued track "My Heart Skips A Beat" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first two tracks together as a single (Capitol 4937).
1964 - The Beatles end their first American visit with two 25-minute shows at Carnegie Hall and then go to the White House with British PM Sir Alec Douglas-Home where they meet U.S. President Lyndon Johnson.
1967 - Buck Owens' Capitol Records single "Where Does The Good Times Go", with "The Way That I Love You" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart
1969 - Pollution (led by Otis Hale; with Richard Lewis in keyboards and vocals; James Quill Smith on guitar and vocals; John Kenneth Lambert on bass and vocals; and Duane Bryant and Barbara Busa on vocals and unlisted instruments) records the track "Getting Together" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the track as a single (Capitol 2458) with "Angela Jerome" on the flip side.
1969 - Peggy Lee (on vocals, with on orchestra and choir with an unlisted lineup but listed as possibly including Bobby Bryant on trumpet), using arrangements by Bobby Bryant, records the track "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", "I Think It's Going To Rain Today", and the (as of 2005) unissued track "No More" in The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. Capitol Records will issue the first two tracks on Lee's album "A Natural Woman" (ST-183).
1969 - Merryweather (lineup unlisted but listed on some sources as Neil Merryweather [aka Robert Neilson Lillie and Neil Lillie] leading the band, on bass, and lead vocals; David Colin Burt on guitar; Ed Roth on organ; and Gary "Cofi" Hall on drums) records the track "Feeling Of Freedom" and "Hooker Blues" in Los Angeles, California (possibly at Independent Recorders in the San Fernando Valley with in the Valley with producer John Gross, engineer Jim Lockert, and assistant engineer Tim Weston, son of Paul Weston and Jo Stafford. Capitol Records will issue the first track as a single (Capitol 2537) and the second track on the group's eponymous album "Merryweather" (STBB-278).
1969 - Matt Monro (on vocals, with unlisted musicians) records the track "Love Song (From 'Celebration')" at EMI's studios on Abbey Road in London, England. Capitol Records will issue the track as a single (Capitol 2455) with "Try To Remember" on the flip side.
1974 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' compilation album "Best Of Buck Owens, Vol. 5"
1989 - Dan Seals' Capitol Records single "Big Wheels In The Moonlight", with "Factory Town" on the flipside, is #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1968 - Chynna Phillips, singer, daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, and member of the SBK Records (distributed by Capitol Records) group Wilson Phillips, is born in Los Angeles, California

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1924 - The first public performance of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" is given by future Capitol Records artist Paul Whiteman at his Symphonic Jazz program at New York City's Aeolian Hall. Gershwin himself is at the piano and guests John Philip Sousa and Jascha Heifetz are in the audience. Whiteman would later record "Rhapsody in Blue" for Capitol Records.