MAY 1, 2018

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1909 - Kate Smith, a singer, radio, television and motion picture performer, and a Capitol Records artist (1954) is born Kathryn Elizabeth Smith in Greenville, Virginia

1929 - Sonny James (aka "The Southern Gentleman"), singer, guitarist, and Capitol Records artist, is born James Loden in Hackleburg, Alabama

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1948 - Capitol Records holds the #1 and #2 spots on Billboard's Best Selling Singles Chart with Peggy Lee's "Mañana" at # 1 for the 9th straight week and Nat "King" Cole's first solo recording, "Nature Boy", at # 2 (it would hit #1 the following week and stay for 7 weeks)
1954 - Capitol Records releases its first ever 12" LP, Nat "King" Cole's "10th Anniversary Album", at a consumer list price of $4.75 (with inflation that's $41.72 in 2014) plus excise tax. It is Cole's 11th album for the label and a collection of previously unreleased masters and features sides by the original King Cole Trio and the orchestras of Pete Rugulo, Les Baxter, Dave Cavanaugh, and Nelson Riddle. All promotional materials for the album have been given deluxe treatment, with streamers, browser -box cards, etc., printed in gold metallic inks.
1954 - Frank Sinatra with Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Young At Heart" is #5 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Answer Me, My Love" is #6, Kay Starr's Capitol Records single "If You Love Me (Really Love Me) is #11, and it's flipside, "The Man Upstairs", is at #12. Cole's "Answer Me, My Love" is also #10 on Cash Box magazine's Best Selling Singles chart. Cole's single "It Happens To Be Me" is #20 and its flipside, "Alone Too Long", is #24 also on Cash Box magazine's Best Selling Singles chart.
1954 - Capitol Records artist Andy Griffith debuts at The Grand Ole Opry
1957 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "Maybe You'll Be There" and "Where Are You?" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
60 Years Ago Today In 1958 - The Kingston Trio make their TV debut when appearing on the Playhouse 90 episode "Rumors Of Evening" when they play WW2 pilots as well as perform "Three Jolly Coachmen" and "Scarlet Ribbons".
60 Years Ago Today In 1958 - Ray Budzilek directs His Boys (lineup unlisted) as they record the titles "Speedline Polka", "Suppertime Polka", "Whoo-Pie Shoo-Pie", and "Melnyk Polka" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the album "Polka Night! with Ray Budzilek And The Boys In The Band" (T 1104).
1961 - Faron Young's Capitol Records single "Hello Walls" is at #39 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
55 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Pianist Earl Hines, with Ralph Carmichael conducting his own arrangements to His Orchestra (Al Porcino, Cappy Lewis, John Audino, Ray Triscari, and Bud Brisbois on trumpets, Gil Falco, Tommy Shepard, Dick Nash, and Lloyd Ulyate on trombones, George Roberts on bass trombone, Ted Nash and Ronnie Lang on flutes, clarinets, and alto saxophones, Justin Gordon and Buddy Collette on tenor saxohones, clarinets, and flutes, Jack Nimitz on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet, Al Hendrickson on guitar, Joe Comfort on bass, and Leon Petties on drums) records the titles "Ann", "As Long As I Live", "Deep Forest", and "Cavernism" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the album "Earl "Fatha" Hines" (T/ST 1971).
55 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Capitol Records purchases the masters for Jack Marshall's titles "Dingston Trio: I Left My Love At Rincon", "Frank N. Stein And The Abominable Surf Men: The Monster Surfer", "Daddie Ho And the Hoodies: Surfing Is My Life", "Sudsy Shots And The Pier-Shooters: Laura, Teen Age Laura", "Knotknees McGurdy And The Drop Outs: Some Gremmie Stole My Hair Bleach", and "Hangten Horowitz: Sax Now, Surf Later" in Los Angeles, California and will issue all the titles on the album ""My Son The Surf Nut (Interviews On The Beach - Jack Marshall)" (T/ST 1939).
1966 - The Beatles' last scheduled concert in the UK is held at the New Musical Express Poll Winner's Show at Empire Pool, Wembley. The Beatles played a fifteen-minute set performing the songs, "I Feel Fine," "Nowhere Man," "Day Tripper," "If I Needed Someone," and "I'm Down".
50 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Vocalist Tony Bruno, with unlisted others, records the titles "We'll Be Together Again", "Didn't We", and "You Don't Know What Love Is" in Los Angeles, California. After overdubs are recorded on May 3, 4, 6, and 18, 1968, Capitol Records will issue the final mixes of all the titles on Bruno's album "I'm Feeling It Now" (ST 2930) and "Didn't We" also as a single (Capitol 2342) with "Little Men & Women" (recorded March 4, 1968 with overdubs recorded on March 18 and April 26, 1968) on the flipside.

50 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Vocalist John Anderson, with Shorty Rogers conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra (lineup unlisted), records the titles "Just Look In My Face" and "Someday Good" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Just Look In My Face" on Anderson's album "Kasandra" (ST 2957) and also as a single (Capitol 2342) with "Don't Pack Me On The Back And Call Me Brother" (recorded April 30, 1968) on the flipside. No issuing information is listed for "Someday Good".

50 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Norma Tanega, with unlisted others, records the title "Love Is Wonderful" in (listed as possibly) Los Angeles, California for Capitol Records. No issuing information is listed.

50 Years Ago Today In 1968 - Capitol Records registers in Los Angeles, California the masters it purchased for Buddy Di Vito's titles "Sempre Tu" and "Porque No" for its Tower Records subsidiary but neither label has yet to issue either title.

1969 - Peggy Lee's Capitol Records album "Natural Woman" is released.

45 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Vocalist Anne Murray, with unlisted others, records the title "Send A Little Love My Way" in (listed as possibly) Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the title on Murray's album "Love Song" (ST-11266).

45 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Capitol Records registers in Los Angeles, California the masters for Freddie Hart and The Heartbeats' titles "Easy Loving", "Indian Joe", "Music Box", and "Heart Beat" recorded in (according to the artist file) Nashville, Tennessee (though it's listed that they might have been actually recorded in Bakersfield, California) which were produced by Buck Owens Enterprises. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the group's album "Freddie Hart Presents The Heartbeats" (ST-11431).

45 Years Ago Today In 1973 - Vocailst Kathi McDonald, with unlisted others, records the titles "Heartbreak Hotel", "If You Need Me", "Somethin' Else", "All I Want To Be", "Bogart To Bowie", "To Love Somebody", "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave", "Threw My Love Away", "Madly In Love With" (aka "Freak Lover"), "Down To The Wire", and "Insane Asylum", all of which are produced by David Briggs Productions, in (listed as possibly) Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on McDonald's album  "Insane Asylum" (ST-11224) and also "Bogart To Bowie" and "Madly In Love With" as "Freak Lover" together as a single (Capitol 3835).

1984 - Gordon Jenkins, an arranger, composer and pianist, who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements for the Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald among others, dies at age 73 of Lou Gehrig's Disease in Malibu, California.
30 Years Ago Today In 1988 - Pink Floyd's Capitol Records album "Dark Side Of The Moon" finally leaves Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart after 725 weeks
1999 - Matador Records ends its distribution relationship with Capitol Records and goes independent
2001 - After a transition period, Andy Slater starts full time as president of Capitol Records

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL HISTORY
150 Years Ago Today In 1868 - Tom Dula, the basis for the Kingston Trio's first million-selling single "Tom Dooley", is hung in Statesville, North Carolina.
100 Years Ago Today In 1918 - Jack Paar, a television host who, via a short clip, introduced The Beatles to the U.S. television audience on "The Jack Paar Show" on NBC-TV, is born in Canton, Ohio
1951 - Bud Powell (on piano, with Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums) records three versions of his "Un Poco Loco", a pair of takes on "A Night in Tunisia", and unaccompanied piano work on "Over the Rainbow" and "It Could Happen to You" at a session for Blue Note Records
1961 - Ernie K-Doe's Minit Records single "Mother-In-Law" is #2 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records Chart, Gene McDaniel's Liberty Records single "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay" is #4, Steve Lawrence's United Artists Records single "Portrait Of My Love" is #11, Al Caiola and His Orchestra's United Artists Records single "Bonanza" is #33, and Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "Travelin' Man" is #34
55 Years Ago Today In 1963 - Future Virgin Records band The Rollin' Stones sign Andrew Loog Oldham as manager
1967 - Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas by District Court Judge David Zenoff. They will become the parents of future Capitol Records artist Lisa Marie Presley.
50 Years Ago Today In 1968 - D'Arcy Wretsky-Brown, with the Virgin Records America group Smashing Pumpkins, is born
30 Years Ago Today In 1988 - During two sessions held this day at Skyline Studios in New York City, New York, alto saxophonist Bobby Watson and Horizon (Roy Hargrove on trumpet, John Hicks on piano, Curtis Lundy on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums) record the titles "Country Corn Flakes", "And Then Again", "Forty Acres And A Mule", and "No Question About It" at the afternoon session and the titles "Blood Count", and without Hargrove on trumpet "What Can I Do", "As Quiet As It's Kept", and "Moonrise" at the night session. Blue Note Records will issue "Country Corn Flakes", "And Then Again", "Forty Acres And A Mule", "No Question About It", "Blood Count", "What Can I Do", and "Moonrise" on the album "No Question About It" (B1-90262 on 12" vinyl and 7-90262-2 on CD) and has yet to issue "As Quiet As It's Kept".

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1901 - The Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo, New York
1931 - The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City
1941 - Orson Welles's Citizen Kane premieres in New York City
1965 - Spike Jones (born Lindley Armstrong Jones), a comedian, motion picture and television performer, musician, and bandleader, dies at age 53 and is later interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California