HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1922 - Maria Cole, singer, wife of Tuskegee Airman Spurgeon Ellington who was killed in a plane crash in 1945, second wife and widow of Nat "King" Cole, mother of Natalie, Casey and Timolin Cole, and adoptive mother of Carole Cole and Nat Kelly Cole, is born Marie Antoinette Hawkins in Boston, Massachusetts.
ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - Trumpet player Billy Butterfield and His Orchestra (Archie Johnson, Jack Stametz, and Bobby Peck also on trumpets, Keith Butterfield and Ken Schrudder on trombones, Earl Pearson on alto saxophone, Bill Stegmeyer on clarinet and alto saxophone, Bill Cervantes and Bob Levine on tenor saxophones, Norman Elvin on baritone saxophone, Mickey Crane on piano, Bob Haggart on bass, and Pete Vuolo on drums) record the titles "Pic-A-Nic-In (In The Park) with vocals by Patricia O'Connor, "My Silent Love" with vocals by Tommy Taylor, "Begin The Beguine", and "Bugle Call Rag" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue "Pic-A-Nic-In (In The Park)" and "My Silent Love" together as a single (Capitol 457) and have yet to issue the takes of "Begin The Beguine" and "Bugle Call Rag" which will be re-recorded at later dates.
1952 - Vocalist Frances Faye, with an orchestra (lineup unlisted) records the titles "Night And Day", "Tweet, Tweet, Tweetheart", and "On A Raft (In The Middle Of The Ocean)" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "Night And Day" and "Tweet, Tweet, Tweetheart" together as a single (Capitol 2224) and "On A Raft (In The Middle Of The Ocean)" as a single (Capitol 2347) with "My Last Affair" (recorded September 2, 1952) on the flipside.
1953 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Return To Paradise" is #27, his single "Pretend" is #39, and his single "I Am In Love" is #43 on Cash Box magazine's Best Selling Singles chart.
1957 - Gene Vincent's Capitol Records single "Lotta Lovin'" peaks at #13 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart.
65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - Ella Fitzgerald is in The Capitol Tower Studios recording the titles "Hooray For Love", "I've Got The World On A String", "Let's Take A Walk Around The Block", "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive", "When The Sun Comes Out", "As Long As I Live", "It's Only A Paper Moon" and "The Man That Got Away" for her Verve Records album "Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Song Book" with Billy May conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra which included Don Fagerquist on trumpet; Ted Nash on alto saxophone; Plas Johnson on tenor saxophone; Paul Smith on piano; John Collins or possibly Al Hendrickson on guitar; Joe Mondragon on bass; and Alvin Stoller on drums.
1963 - John P. Davis, who earned a Masters of Science degree from CalTech in 1948, was on the technical staff of the air defense department of Hughes Aviation, had a commercial pilot's license, was a member of the SkyRoamers Club, and had been director of Capitol Records' electronics division since 1960, is killed when his glider crashes near Apple Valley, California after being caught in a downdraft. An article on functional design for commercial recording studios that Davis had written for "The Journal Of The Audio Engineering Society" is published posthumously in its October 1963 issue. If anyone has any more information on Mr. Davis, please leave a comment.
1964 - Judy Garland, at her last recording session for Capitol Records, records the tracks "It's Yourself", "The Land Of Promise", "Maggie, Maggie May", and "There's Only One Union". The recording would not be released in the United States, but would be released in the U.K on the EP "Judy Sings Maggie May".
1968 - Capitol Records changes the swing line on the labels of its 45rpm singles to reflect corporate restructuring which made it a subsidiary of Capitol Records Industries, Inc. U.S.A. It also was the debut of 45s made with retooled pressing machines at it's Scranton, Jacksonville, and Los Angeles plants which produce the "non-slip" disc, which has a ring of 360 notches around the label to either interlock to other records when stacked or, because the notches are raised, grip the smooth surface of records without the serrations. In addition, the size of the labels is reduced from 3.625" TO 3.3125" to accommodate the notched ring. This type of disc is produced for one year. The Fab4Collectibles website has images of various types of 45 rpm labels that were produced.
1978 - Dr. Hook (Ray Sawyer on lead vocals, Dennis Locorriere on harmonica, guitar, bass and lead vocals, Bob "Willard" Henke on vocals, guitar, and keyboards, Rik Elswit on vocals and guitar, Jance Garfat on bass, Billy Francis on keyboards and vocals, John Wolters on vocals, drums, and percussion), with unlisted female harmony singers and producer Ron Haffkine, records the title "Sharing The Night Together" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the title as a single (Capitol 4621) with "You Make My Pants Want To Get Up And Dance" (recorded July 18, 1978) on the flipside and also on the group's album "Pleasure & Pain" (SW-11859).
1998 - Alan Livingston, former Capitol Records president, receives the Lifetime of Laughter Achievement Award for his creation of Bozo the Capitol Records Clown at the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
2007 - At 12:15 pm, 45 minutes before its final extension deadline, Terra Firma Capital Partners succeeds in acquiring 90.27% approval from the stockholders of EMI Group PLC (parent company of EMI Music Group, the then parent company of Capitol Music Group) to purchase the company for £2.4 billion (US$4.89 billion).
ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1942 - James Petrillo, president of The American Federation of Musicians, declares a strike, banning all musicians in the union from recording. Capitol Records has stockpiled recordings and also comes up with a few novel ways around the ban until they become one of the first majors to settle with the union in June of 1943.
65 Years Ago Today In 1960 - The Beatles make their debut in Hamburg, West Germany, with Stu Sutcliffe on bass guitar and Pete Best on drums.
ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1981 - MTV debuts when it airs The Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star".
