JULY 28, 2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
115 Years Ago Today In 1901 - Rudy Vallee, singer, radio, motion picture, and television actor, leader of the Coast Guard band during the second World War, and a Capitol Records artist, was born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont.
1945 - Rick Wright, with the Capitol Records group Pink Floyd, is born

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Johnny Mercer and The Pied Pipers (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "On The Atchison, Topeka And The Sante Fe", with "Conversations While Dancing" (with Jo Stafford sharing vocals) on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart
60 Years Ago Today In 1956 - Capitol Records group Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps appears on "The Perry Como Show"
45 Years Ago Today In 1971 - Capitol Records releases George Harrison's Apple Records single "Bangla Desh" with "Deep Blue" on the flipside in the United States
2003 - Capitol Records releases The Dandy Warhols' two disc CD single. On the first disc are the tracks "You Were The Last High" with a remix of "We Used To Be Friends" by Brian Coates and Clark Stiles, and Tony Lash's remix of "Every Day Should Be A Holiday". The second disc contains another version of "We Used To Be Friends", along with the tracks "Jim" and a live version of "Good Morning" recorded at the KCRW studios in Santa Monica, California. Capitol also releases a 7" vinyl single of "You Were The Last High" with a version of "We Used To Be Friends", remixed by Kenn Richards, on the flip side.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
80 Years Ago Today In 1936 - Future Capitol Records artist Nat "King" Cole makes his recording debut at age 17 playing piano as part of his older brother's band, Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers (Kenneth Roane on trumpet, Tommy Thompson on alto and tenor saxophone, Bill Wright on tenor saxophone, Eddie Cole on bass, and Jimmy Adams on drums), recording "Honey Hush" with vocals by Eddie Cole, "Stompin' At The Panama (Skoller's Shuffle)", "Bedtime (Sleepy Moan)" and "Thunder" for Decca Records in Chicago, Illinois using Nat's arrangements. Decca will release "Thunder" and "Honey Hush" together as a single (Decca 7210) and "Bedtime (Sleepy Moan)" and "Stompin' At The Panama (Skoller's Shuffle)" together as a single (Decca 7215).
1938 - George Cummings, composer, lead guitarist and steel guitarist as a solo artist and for the bands Chocolate Papers and future Capitol Records artists Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show (whom he named and co-founded in Union City, New Jersey in 1968 but left in 1975 right before the band signed with Capitol with the shortened name Dr. Hook), is born in Meridian, Mississippi. If anyone knows his middle name, please leave a comment or contact me.
75 Years Ago Today In 1941 - At age 19, future Capitol Records artist Judy Garland marries her first husband, composer and orchestra leader David Rose, whom she would divorce three years later in 1944
1967 - The motion picture "The Family Way", with music by Paul McCartney (at the time part of the Capitol Records band The Beatles) and arranged by George Martin, premieres in New York City, New York
1999 - Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde, singer and Earthworks Records recording artist dies. Earthworks was distributed by Virgin Records America in the United States. Virgin is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company. My wife and I went to one of his concerts when he and his band appeared at UCLA's Royce Hall and had the nicest, and most fun, time. Everyone in the audience got along and by the end were all up and dancing to the mighty roar of the Lion of Sowetto.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - Jerry Lee Lewis appears on national television for the first time when he appears on "The Steve Allen Show" on NBC-TV.