OCTOBER 1, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1915 - Skeets McDonald, songwriter, singer, and Capitol Records artist (1951-1958), is born Enos William McDonald in Greenway, Arkansas
1929 - Bonnie Owens, singer, Capitol Records artist with The Strangers, and former wife of Capitol Records artists Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, is born Bonnie Campbell in in Blanchard, Oklahoma. Thanks to Eileen for the update!
1935 - Ann Richards, singer, wife of Capitol Records artist Stan Kenton, vocalist with Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra, George Redman and His Orchestra, and the Capitol Records group Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (1955), and a solo Capitol Records artist, is born in San Diego, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1947 - Jerry Colonna and His San Fernando Valley Pals (aka Frank de Vol and His Orchestra [lineup unlisted]) record the titles "Honkey Little Donkey" and "Riding The Old Donner Trail" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue both together titles as a single (Capitol Americana 40060).
70 Years Ago Today In 1947 - Hal Derwin, the vocal group The King Sisters, and Frank De Vol record five unlisted titles for The Capitol Records Transcription Service probably at "The Chateau" on De Longpre near Vine Street in Hollywood, California. No issuing information is listed.
1948 - Margaret Whiting's Capitol Records single "A Tree In The Meadow", with "I'm Sorry, But I'm Glad" on the flipside, hits #1 on The Billboard magazine's Best-Selling Popular Retail Records and Records Most Played By Disc Jockeys Singles charts.
1948 - Margaret Whiting (on vocals) and The Crew Chiefs (an unlisted vocal chorus) record vocals for "Far Away Places" in Los Angeles, California that will be overdubbed on a band track by Frank De Vol and his Orchestra that was recorded somewhere in Mexico sometime in September 1948. Capitol Records will release the final track as a single (Capitol 15278) with "My Own True Love" (recorded December 9, 1947) on the flipside.
1948 - Jack Smith and The Clark Sisters (on vocals overdubbed on band tracks by an unidentified orchestra) record the tracks "Cuanto La Gusta" and "The Corn Belt Symphony" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue both tracks together as a single (Capitol 15280).
1948 - The Striders (aka The 4 Striders, actually three brothers: tenor Eugene Strider, baritone Charles Strider, and bass James Strider, along with tenor Ernest Griffin) record the as yet unissued track "Feather Your Nest", the tracks "Pleasin' You (As Long As I Live)", "Somebody Stole My Rose Colored Glasses", and the as yet unissued tracks "I'm A Hesitatin' Fool", "Die From A Broken Heart" and "Drop That Other Shoe" at their second (and last) Capitol Records recording session. The second and third tracks will be released by Capitol as a single (Capitol 15306) in November 1948. Marv Goldberg has a great article on the history of this group on his website.
1949 - Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely's Capitol Records single "Slippin' Around" is #5 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, up from #9 the week before, and Jo Stafford and Gordon MacRae with Paul Weston and His Orchestra's Capitol Records single "Whispering Hope" is #7 down from #6
1951 - Renzo Cesana (as "The Continental") records vocals and narration with Eddie Baxter on organ for the titles "You Go To My Head" and "A Handful Of Stars", the as yet unissued take of the title "Take Me In Your Arms", and the titles "It Can't Be Wrong", "(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings", and "Roses And Champagne" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue "You Go To My Head" and "(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings" together as a single (Capitol 1844), "A Handful Of Stars" and "It Can't Be Wrong" together as a single (Capitol 1877) and "Roses And Champagne" on the compilation album "Camp" (Capitol T 2474).
1951 - Ray Anthony and His Orchestra (Ray Anthony, Woody Fansler, Jack Laubach, Conrad Gozzo, and Marty White on trumpet, Keith Butterfield, Tom Oblak, Ken Trimble, and Dick Reynolds on trombone, Earl Bergman and Jim Schneider on clarinet and alto saxophone, Ted Nash and Robert "Buddy" Wise on tenor saxophone, Leo Anthony on alto and baritone saxophone, Fred Savarise on piano, Al Hendrickson on guitar, Billy Cronk on bass, and Archie Freeman on drums), using arrangements by George Williams, record the tracks "At Last" and "I Hear A Rhapsody" with vocals by Tommy Mercer and The Anthony Choir (lineup unlisted), "My Concerto" with vocals by Tommy Mercer, and "Brother Fats" with vocals by Georgia Craig in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue the first track as a single (Capitol 1678) with "As Time Goes By" (recorded on April 15, 1952) on the flipside, the second track as a single (Capitol 1973) with "For Dancers Only" (recorded January 3, 1952) on the flipside, the third track as a single (Capitol 1835) with "I'll Remember April" (recorded June 30, 1951) on the flipside, and the last track as a single (Capitol 1857) with "I Remember Harlem" (recorded September 27, 1957) on the flipside.
65 Years Ago Today In 1952 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Somewhere Along The Way" is #15, his single "Because Your Mine" is #21, his single "Ruby And The Pearl debuts at #25 and it's flipside, "Faith Can Move Mountains", debuts at #26 all on The Billboard magazine's Best Selling Pop Singles chart. "Faith Can Move Mountains" is also #4 on the magazine's The Disk Jockeys Pick chart. "Somewhere Along The Way" is also #10 on the magazine's Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys chart and # 19 on its Most Played Juke Box Records chart.
65 Years Ago Today In 1952 - George Greeley conducts the orchestra (lineup unlisted) as they record the titles "Overture" with vocals by Robert Sands and a male chorus (lineup unlisted), the titles "Riff Song" with vocals by Gordon MacRae and the male chorus, "French Marching Song" with vocals by Lucille Norman and a girls chorus (lineup unlisted) and the male chorus, "Chiding Bit, Part 2" and "Why Waste Time" both with vocals by Gordon MacRae, Lucille Norman, and the girls chorus, "The Desert Song" with vocals by Gordon MacRae, and "Duet/Sabre Song, Part 1", "Sabre Song, Part 2", and "Finale" all with vocals by Gordon MacRae and Lucille Norman in Los Angeles, California between 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the album "'Desert Song' (Selections)" (FBF-351).

1955 - Les Baxter and His Orchestra with vocals by The Notables' Capitol Records single "Wake The Town And Tell All The People" with "I'll Never Stop Loving You" on the flip side, is #14 on Billboard's Best Selling Popular Retail Records chart, down from #13 the previous week and The Cheers with Les Baxter and His Orchestra and Chorus' Capitol Records' single "Black Denim Trousers" with "Some Night In Alaska" on the flipside is #18 up from #23 the previous week

1956 - Capitol Records releases Tennessee Ernie Ford's single "First Born", which was recorded June 4, 1956, with "Have You Seen Her?" on the flipside
60 Years Ago Today In 1957 - It's a Tuesday, and tonight's episode of NBC-TV's "The Nat 'King' Cole Show" was taped live at The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and features an appearance by Tony Bennett. Here's the script.
60 Years Ago Today In 1957 - Freddy Martin conducts His Orchestra (lineup unlisted) as they record Greig's "Piano Concerto In A Minor", Addinsell's "Warsaw Concerto", "Cumana", and "Blue Champagne" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Martin's album "Freddy Martin In Hi-Fi" (W 900).
60 Years Ago Today In 1957 - Vocalist Frank Sinatra, with Billy May conducting his own arrangements to His Orchestra (Mannie Klein, Conrad Gozzo, Shorty Sherock, and Pete Candoli on trumpets, Si Zentner, Murray McEachern, Tommy Pederson, and Francis "Joe" Howard on trombones, Skeets Herfurt and Buddy Collette on alto saxophone, Ted Nash and Jules Jacob on tenor saxophone, Fred Falensby on baritone saxophone, Frank Flynn on vibraphone, Bill Miller on piano, Al Hendrickson on guitar, Joe Mondragon on bass, Country Washburne on tuba, Alvin
Stoller on drums, and Verlye Mills on harp), records the titles "On The Road To Mandalay", "Let's Get Away From It All", and "Isle Of Capri" in Studio A in The Capitol Tower Studios at 1750 North Vine Street in Hollywood, California between 8:30 PM and 11:30 PM. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Sinatra's album "Come Fly With Me" (W/SW 920).
60 Years Ago Today In 1957 - During two sessions held this day in New York City, New York, Fred Waring conducts The Pennsylvanians (lineup unlisted) as they record the titles "Dear hearts And Gentle People" using an arrangement by Hawley Ades, "Comin' Thro' The Rye" with an arrangement by Harry Simeone and vocals by Patti Beems, and "Tennessee Waltz" also arranged by Ades and with vocals by Gordon Goodman at the first session and the titles "The Inch Worm" arranged by Simeone and "If I Had My Way" arranged by Ades. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on the album "Fred Waring And The Pennsylvanians - All Through The Night" (T/ST 936).
60 Years Ago Today In 1957 - Lyle Ritz finishes recording tracks for his album "How About Uke?" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California.
1959 - Dakota Staton, with producer Dave Cavanaugh and an orchestra conducted by Sid Feller, records the track "September in the Rain" for her 1960 Capitol Records album "More Than Most"
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' first album "Surfin' Safari".
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "Your For Me".
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Ramblin' Rose" is #24 on WHK 1420 AM's Official Fabulous 50 Tunedex in Cleveland, Ohio.
55 Years Ago Today In 1962 - Vocalist Lou Rawls, with Onzy Matthews directing his own arrangements to the orchestra (Bob Bryant, Bud Brisbois, Bob Rolfe, and George Graham on trumpets, Lou Blackburn, Les Robertson, Horace Tapscott, and Charles Wilson on trombones, Bob Knight on bass trombone, Alexander Nelson on alto saxophone, Curtis Amy on soprano and tenor saxophone, Jay Migliori and Lou Ciotti on tenor saxophones, Jack Nimitz on baritone saxophone, Richard "Groove" Holmes on organ, Gene Edwards on guitar, Jim Crutcher on bass, and Leroy Henderson on drums), records the titles "Everyday I Have The Blues", "How Long, How Long Blues", "St. James Infirmary", and "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" in Los Angeles, California. Capitol Records will issue all the titles on Rawls' album "Black And Blue" (T/ST 1824).
50 Years Ago Today In 1967 - Capitol Records registers the masters it purchased for Pink Floyd's titles "Apples And Oranges" and "Paint Box" and 18th Century Concepts' titles "Think Drink Theme" and "18th Century Bean" in Los Angeles, California. No issuing information for any of the titles is listed.
1969 - The Beatles' Apple Records album "Abbey Road" is released and distributed in the United States by Capitol Records
1971 - John Lennon's third solo Apple Records album "Imagine", distributed in the United States by Capitol Records, is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A.
45 Years Ago Today In 1972 - Capitol Records edits The Band's title "Don't Do It" and creates a "short version" of the title "(I Don't Want To) Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes" from recordings of a concert that took place on June 30, 1972 and will issue the edited version of "Don't Do It" as a single (Capitol 6246) with "Ain't Got No Home" (a remixed version of the title recorded between June 4 and June 8, 1973) on the flipside. No issuing information is listed for "(I Don't Want To) Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes (Short Version)".

1973 - "Texas" Bill Strength, singer, guitarist, inductee to the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame, and a Capitol Records artist (1953-1956) dies of injuries after an auto accident in August 1973 left him paralyzed from the waist down and later sent him into a coma at age 45

2005 - Capitol Records Nashville artist Dierks Bentley becomes the youngest current member of The Grand Ole Opry
2005 - Paul Pena, singer and Capitol Records artist (1972), dies at age 55 in his San Francisco, California apartment of complications from diabetes and pancreatitis
2008 - Nick Reynolds (born Nicholas Wells Reynolds), singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of the Capitol Records group The Kingston Trio, dies at age 75 in San Diego, California when his family chooses to have his life support turned off after his being hospitalized for weeks with acute respiratory disease and a variety of other illnesses.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1936 - "Dr." George Butler, drummer in the bands Eggs Over Easy and Kilburn & The High Roads, producer for Blue Note (for artists Noel Pointer, Bobbi Humphrey, Donald Byrd, Ronnie Laws and others) and Columbia Records (for artists Harry Connick, Jr., Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and Marlon Jordan), is born in Autaugaville, Alabama
1955 - Future Capitol Records artist Jackie Gleason's CBS-TV series "The Honeymooners" premieres
1955 - Fats Dominio's Imperial Records single "Ain't That A Shame" is still #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
1958 - Martin Cooper, saxophonist with the Virgin Records group Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, is born in Liverpool, England. I adapted the original U.K packaging of the group's albums for release in the United States by Virgin Records America.
1959 - Youssou N'dour, singer and Earthworks Records artist, is born in Dakar, Senegal, Africa. I adapted the original U.K packaging of N'dour's "Immigrés" and "The Lion" albums for release in the United States by Virgin Records America and designed promotional materials for the single "The Truth".
1964 - The Beatles' United Artists motion picture "A Hard Day's Night" premieres in Prague, Czechoslovakia becoming the first Western pop culture film to be seen behind the Iron Curtain
1964 - Vee-Jay Records releases the compilation album "The Beatles vs THE FOUR SEASONS"
1964 - Souvenir Press releases Brian Epstein (manager of The Beatles)' book "A Cellar Full of Noise".
50 Years Ago Today In 1967 - Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, with Ray Nance on violin, Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Chick Corea on piano, and Richard Davis on bass, performs the titles, with Elvin Jones on drums, "Birks' Works" and "Lullaby Of The Leaves", with Mel Lewis on drums, the titles "Lover Come Back To Me"  and "Blues For Max", and with Lewis still on drums and with Garnett Brown on trombone and without Ray Nance on violin, the titles "Tour De Force, "On The Trail", and "Sweet Georgia Brown" during a show at The Village Vanguard in New York City, New York that was recorded. Blue Note Records will issue all the titles unedited on the two CD set "Dizzy Gillespie - Live At The Village Vanguard" (7-80507-2).
50 Years Ago Today In 1967 - Trumpeter Marvin Stamm, with Garnett Brown on trombone, Joe Farrell on tenor saxophone, Chick Corea on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, performs the titles "13 Avenue B", "Stella By Starlight", and "Bachafillen" during a show at the Village Vanguard in New York City, New York. Blue Note Records will issue all the titles unedited on the CD "Jazz For A Sunday Afternoon - Live From The Village Vanguard" (7-89280-2).1971 - Former Capitol Records artist Gene Vincent records an interview and the tracks "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Distant Drums" at BBC's Maida Vale studios in London, England for Radio One with Richard Cole and The Kansas Hook Band. This will be his last recording session before his death on October 12, 1971.
1988 - Bobby McFerrin's EMI Manhattan single "Don't Worry Be Happy" is still #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1928 - According to Walt Disney in a 1933 article in Film Pictorial, today is Mickey Mouse's birthday and the anniversary of the first public showing of his first cartoon – the silent short "Plane Crazy". The entire cartoon was animated by Ub Iwerks and inked in Walt's garage on Lyric Avenue in a makeshift studio where Walt and Roy Disney's wives (Lillian and Edna), along with Walt's sister-in-law (Hazel Sewell), inked and painted Ub's artwork onto cels.
1935 - Future Capitol Records artist Judy Garland's first M-G-M contract officially starts at $100.00 per week (equal to about $1300 today)