AUGUST 14, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1909 - Stuff Smith, Jazz violinist and vocalist who performed at some recording sessions with Nat "King" Cole" in 1956, is born Hezekiah Le Roy Gordon Smith in Portsmouth, Ohio.
1916 - Alyce King, singer with the Capitol Records recording group The King Sisters, is born Alyce Driggs in Payson, Utah. If anyone knows her middle name, please leave a comment.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
75 Years Ago Today In 1942 - Freddie Slack and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Cow Cow Boogie", with vocals by Ella Mae Morse, becomes Capitol Records' first single to enter Billboard's National Best Selling Retail Records chart when it debuts at #9 for the week ending on August 14, 1942. The flipside is Freddie Slack and His Orchestra's "Here You Are" with vocals by David Street, a member of The Mellowaires.

70 Years Ago Today In 1947 - At a split session held this day in Los Angeles, California with Frank DeVol and His Orchestra (lineup unlisted) first vocalist Margaret Whiting records the titles "So Far" and "Lazy Countryside" then vocalist Peggy Lee records the titles "There'll Be Some Changers Made". Capitol Records will issue "So Far" and "Lazy Countryside" together as a single (Capitol 461) and "There'll Be Some Changes Made" as a single (Capitol 15001) with "A Nightingale Can Sing The Blues" (recorded July 15, 1946) on the flipside.

70 Years Ago Today In 1947 - Vocalist Gordon MacRae, with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (lineup unlisted), records the titles "A Fellow Needs A Girl", "Body And Soul", "I Understand", and "I STill Get Jealous" in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will issue "A Fellow Needs A Girl" and "Body And Soul" together as a single (Capitol 463), and "I Understand" and "I Still Get Jealous" together as a single (Capitol 15002).
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Vocalist Hunani, with Webley Edwards' Hawaiians (lineup unlisted) records the titles "Love Song From 'Mutiny On The Bounty' (Follow Me)" and "Pearly Shells" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue both titles together as a single (Capitol 4839).
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Vocalist Nat "King" Cole, with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra (Ray Sherman on piano, Allan Reuss on guitar, Jack Ryan on bass, Leon Petties on drums, and a string section with Victor Arno, Israel Baker, Harry Bluestone, Walt Edelstein, Dave Frisina, Jacques Gasselin, Murray Kellner, Joseph Livoti, Dan Lube, Erno Neufeld, Joseph Quadri, Lou Raderman, Mischa Russell, Paul Shure, Felix Slatkin, and Marshall Sosson on violin, Alvin Dinkin, Lou Kievman, Ray Menhennick, Alexander Neiman, Paul Robyn, and Sandy Schonbach on viola, Armand Kaproff and Ray Kramer on cello, and Kathryn Thompson on harp), records a new take on the title "Laughing On The Outside" and the titles "I Keep Going Back To Joe's", "The End Of A Love Affair", "That's All There Is", "Someone To Tell It To", "If Love Ain't There", and "Where Did Everyone Go?" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California between 1:00 PM and 4:45 PM. Capitol Records will issue all the songs on Cole's album "Where Did Everyone Go?" (W 1859). Also, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Ramblin' Rose" is #25 on WABC's Silver Dollar Sound Survey in New York City, New York.
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Capitol Records purchases the masters for vocalist Alfred Apaka's titles "Here (In This Enchanted Place)", "Blue Hawaii", "Ponai Kealoha", "I Want To Learn To Speak Hawaiian", "I'll Weave A Lei Of Stars For You", "Taire O Tahiti", "Hawaiian Paradise", "Honolulu Eyes", "There's No Place Like Hawaii", "Paoakalani (The Queen's Song)", and "Farewell (For Just Awhile" and will issue all the titles on Apaka's album "Alfred Apaka Presented By Webley Edwards - The Golden Voice Of The Islands" (T/DT 1882).
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians (lineup unlisted), with a large choir of 1200 volunteer singers (lineup unlised) directed by Waring, perform the titles "Holy, Holy, Holy/Sholom Alechem/Panis Angelicus/Onward Christian Soliders", "Doxology/Pledge Of Allegiance/God Of Our Fathers", "Come, Thou Almighty King/Salve Regina/Sanctus/Blest Be The Tie That Binds/Work For The Night Is Coming/O God, Our Help In Ages Past/Come, Come Ye Saints/Feed My Sheep/Hospodi Pomilui/The Old Rugged Cross/Song Of Galilee/A Might Fortress Is Our God", "I Am A Poor Wayfaring Stranger/I Wonder As I Wander/Boundless Mercy/Deep River", "The Creation (God's Trombones)", "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands", "Set Down Servant", "Holiday Montage", "O Brother Man", "America - Our Heritage", "God Bless America", and "Battle Hymn Of The Republic" at a concert in Omaha, Nebraska. Capitol Records will issue all the titles except "Holiday Montage" and "America-Our Heritage" on Waring's album "Fred Waring Presents Festival Of Faith" (T/ST 1848) and have yet to release those two titles.
1964 - The Beatles record a cover version of Little Willie John's "Leave My Kitten Alone" at EMI Studios in London which will, after appearing on many bootlegs, finally be released officially by Capitol Records as a track on The Beatles' "Anthology 1" in 1995
1964 - Johnny Burnette, songwriter, guitarist, singer, Coral Records recording artist with his brother Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison as The Rock 'n Roll Trio, Imperial Records recording artist with his brother Dorsey Burnette as The Burnette Brothers, solo artist on Freedom Records (a subsidiary of Liberty Records), Liberty Records, and Capitol Records, drowns after his small fishing boat is hit by a cabin cruiser on Clear Lake in California. He's later interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
50 Years Ago Today In 1967 - The Seeker's Capitol Records single "Georgy Girl", with "When The Stars Begin To Fall" on the flipside, is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
50 Years Ago Today In 1967 - Vocalist and guitarist Glen Campbell, with Al De Lory conducting his own arrangements to the orchestra (line up unlisted), record the titles "A Place In The Sun", "Lonely Afternoon Of Summer Longin'", "Visions Of Sugarplums", and "The Lillies Grow High" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "A Place In The Sun" on Campbell's album "A New Place In The Sun" (ST 2097)  and have yet to issue any of the other titles recorded this day but Campbell did remake "Visions Of Sugarplums" (Capitol 2015) on February 20, 1968 which was released.
45 Years Ago Today In 1972 - Iim McIntire, with unlisted others, records the titles "Interlude" and "Sweet Americana" in Los Angeles, California for Capitol Records which has yet to issue either title.
45 Years Ago Today In 1972 - Billy May conducts The Time-Life Orchestra (lineup unlisted) as they record the titles "It Could Happen To You", "Love-Wise", "Swingin' Sweethearts", "Easy To Love", and "Swedish Rhapsody" in The Capitol Tower Studios at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California. Time-Life Records will issue all the titles as part of  in the "As Your Remember Them" series in the 3 LP set "Volume 3 - Billy May" (STL 243).
1978 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles single "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" with "With A Little Help From My Friends"/"A Day In The Life" on the flipside
1993 - Capitol Records releases Poison's fifth album "Native Tongue"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1956 - Eddie Cochran is filmed performing the song "Twenty Flight Rock" on a 20th Century Fox sound stage in Los Angeles, California for the film that at the time was called "Do Re Mi" which became "The Girl Can't Help It". A digitally remastered version of the movie was released on August 8, 2006 as part of "The Jayne Mansfield Collection", a three movie box set released by Fox. The song will be released by Liberty Records, whose catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.
1956 - Bertolt Brecht, dramatist, stage director, poet, and lyricist (original German lyrics for "Mack The Knife" from "The Three Penny Opera") dies of a heart attack in Berlin, Germany at age 58 and is buried in the Dorotheenfriedhof in Berlin. "Mack The Knife" has been recorded by various Capitol Records artists including Peggy Lee, Bobby Darin, Les Baxter, and Frank Sinatra.