AUGUST 7, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1910 - Freddie Slack, pianist, bandleader, and Capitol Records artist, is born Frederick Charles Slack in Westby, Wisconsin
1913 - George Van Eps, innovator of the seven string (extra bass string) guitar, Capitol Records and Columbia Records (as part of Paul Weston and His Orchestra) studio musician (1950s), and a Capitol Record solo artist (late 1960s) is born George Abel Van Eps in Plainfield, New Jersey
1922 - Stan Freberg, voice actor for cartoons, puppeteer, radio and television actor, commercial writer and creative director, and Capitol Records artist is born Stanley Victor Freberg in Los Angeles, California and will grow up in Pasadena, California
1943 - Dino Valente, songwriter, singer and original member of the Capitol Records band Quicksilver Messenger Service, is born Chester William Powers, Jr. in New York City

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1958 - The Louvin Brothers, with Spider Rich and Odell Martin, record the tracks "Read What's in My Heart", "Red Hen Hop", "She Will Get Lonesome", "I Wonder If You Know", and "Blue" for their Capitol Records album "Country Love Ballads"
1997 - Capitol Records Nashville artist Garth Brooks performs a free evening concert in Central Park's North Meadow in New York City, New York for over 750,000 fans

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - The Quarry Men play at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England
1957 - Oliver Hardy (born Norvell Hardy), actor and part of the film duo Laurel and Hardy, dies after a series of strokes at age 65. Hardy was one of the celebrities on the cover of The Beatles' Capitol Records album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
1985 - George Thorogood And The Destroyers' EMI America album "Bad To The Bone" is certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the EMI America catalog.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1939 - My mother was born Roberta Joan Stolz in Midlothian, Illinois
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Joseph Kosma, composer (best know for "Autumn Leaves" for which Capitol Records' co-founder Johnny Mercer wrote the English lyrics) and motion picture, ballet and light opera scorer, dies at age 63 near Paris, France

AUGUST 6, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
1917 - Robert Mitchum, motion picture and television actor and Capitol Records recording artist (the album "Calypso – Is Just So..."), is born Robert Charles Durman Mitchum in Bridgeport, Connecticut
1972 - Geri Halliwell, member of the musical group The Spice Girls and Capitol Records solo artist, is born Geraldine Estelle Halliwell in Watford , in the county of Hertfordshire, England

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1947 - The Giants Of Jazz (Louis Armstrong on trumpet and vocals, Tommy Dorsey on trombone, Benny Goodman on clarinet, Charlie Barnet on alto saxophone, Lionel Hampton on vibraphones, Mel Powell on piano, Al Hendrickson on guitar, Harry Babasin on bass, Louis Bellson on drums, Jeri Sullivan on vocals, and The Golden Gate Quartet {Clyde Riddick, Orlandus Wilson, Henry Owens, and Bill Johnson} on vocals) record the tracks "A Song Was Born (part one) and "A Song Was Born (part two)" in Los Angeles, California for the Samuel Goldwyn motion picture "A Song Is Born". The recordings will be released by Capitol Records in 1948 on one of the four discs in the 78rpm soundtrack album for the movie. The album was sold for the benefit of the Damon Runyon Memorial Fund for cancer research. The artists fees were waived by the AFM as a donation to the fund and the profits were accepted on behalf of the fund by Walter Winchell.
1958 - Capitol Records records Judy Garland at a live concert at The Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, California. The recording will be released on the Capitol Records album "Live At The Grove".
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Dean Martin records the tracks "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "Out In The Cold Again", "Baby, It's Cold Outside", "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" for his Capitol Records album "A Winter Romance" with an orchestra conducted by Gus Levene at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1966 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' album "Revolver" in the U.S. minus the tracks" I'm Only Sleeping", "And Your Bird Can Sing", and "Doctor Robert", which appear on Parlophone Records' UK release. Capitol also releases The Beatles' single "Eleanor Rigby" with "Yellow Submarine" on the flip side
15 Years Ago Today In 1994 - Bonnie Raitt's Capitol Records single "You", with "Feeling Of Falling" on the flip side, debuts on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. CEMA presses a limited jukebox clear red vinyl version.
10 Years Ago Today In 1999 - Colleen Brooks, Capitol Records artist (under the name Colleen Carroll) and mother of Capitol Records Nashville artist Garth Brooks, dies of cancer.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1918 - Norman Granz, jazz music impresario who founded the "Jazz At The Philharmonic" series of concerts and recordings, record producer, and founder of Clef Records, Norgran Records, Down Home Records, Verve Records and Pablo Records, is born in Los Angeles, California. Granz would use The Capitol Tower Studios many times to record various artists for his Verve label
1965 - Parlophone Records in the U.K. releases The Beatles' soundtrack album "HELP!" in England

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - The United States drops the atomic bomb named "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan killing more than 92,000 civilians
1970 - M. Night Shyamalan, film director, writer, producer, and actor is born born Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan in Pondicherry, India
20 Years Ago Today In 1989 - Creator Burke Breathed ends his production of his comic strip "Bloom County"

AUGUST 5, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
On This Day 45 Years Ago In 1964 - MCA, of the Grand Royal/Capitol Records trio The Beastie Boys, is born Adam Nathaniel Yauch in Brooklyn, New York. Best wishes to Adam for a speedy recovery from treatment for the cancer in his neck.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1950 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Mona Lisa" is #1 on the singles charts. "Mona Lisa" was originally the flip side of single "The Greatest Inventor Of Them All" until it got more airplay.
1960 - Judy Garland returns to EMI's London studios with Norrie Paramour conducting the orchestra to record the tracks "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe", "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody", "You Go To My Head", and a medley of "You Made Me Love You" with "For Me and My Gal" and "The Trolley Song"
1967 - Capitol Records releases Bobbie Gentry's single "Mississippi Delta" with "Ode To Billie Joe" on the flip side
1991 - Capitol Records releases the CD compilation "Cole Porter: Anything Goes" as part of its "Capitol Sings" series
2006 - Ed Thrasher, photographer, designer and Grammy nominated art director with Capitol Records from 1957-1964, dies of cancer at his home in Big Bear Lake, California. According to his son (by former wife and actress Linda Gray), Jeff Thrasher, Ed was working on a book of his historic music photos at the time of his death.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1966 - Parlophone Records, a subsidiary of EMI in the UK, releases The Beatles' album "Revolver" as well as their single "Eleanor Rigby" with "Yellow Submarine" on the flip side. Both will be released by Capitol Records on August 8, 1966
1967 - Columbia Records in the UK releases Pink Floyd's debut album "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn". Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, will release a version of the album, entitled "Pink Floyd" a month later

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL HISTORY
1957 - "American Bandstand" debuts on ABC-TV, its first time on network television

AUGUST 4, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1983 - Craig (aka "Pitbull"), summer intern at Capitol Records (2002 and 2003), is born in Palm Springs, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1960 - Judy Garland goes back into EMI Studios in London to record the tracks "Come Rain Or Come Shine", "The Man That Got Away", "Over The Rainbow", and "San Francisco", with an orchestra conducted by Norrie Paramour, which were released in 1972 on the album Judy In London"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1940 - Timi Yuro, singer and Liberty Records artist, is born Rosemary Timotea Yuro in Chicago, Illinois
1958 - Ricky Nelson's Imperial Records single "Poor Little Fool" (written by Sharon Sheeley, who was Eddie Cochran's girlfriend), with "Don't Leave Me This Way" on the flip side, is the first single to be #1 on Billboard's new Hot 100 Singles chart, which also debuted today. Capitol Records currently owns Imperial's catalog
1997 - Harry Connick, Jr. beings a week of sessions at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, Califonia, recording tracks for his "Come By Me" album

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1901 - Louis Armstrong is born Louis Daniel Armstrong in New Orleans, Louisiana
1958 - Billboard Magazine starts it's Hot 100 Singles chart

AUGUST 3, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
85 Years Ago Today In 1924 - Gordon Stoker, manager, first tenor, piano player and briefly second tenor with Capitol Records recording artists (1950-1961) The Jordanaires, is born Hugh Gordon Stoker in Gleason, Tennessee
1945 - Cecil Hale, radio personality, promoter, president of the Natiional Association of Television and Radio Artists, and a vice president at Capitol Records/EMI (1979-1981), is born in St. Louis, Missouri. The History Makers website has a short biography of Hale.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - The Kingston Trio appear on the cover of Life magazine with today's cover date
1968 - Capitol Records releases its first album on cassette, "Sounds Of The Great Bands" by Glen Gray and The Casa Loma Orchestra
1992 - Capitol Records releases Judy Garland's compilation album "The Best of the Capitol Masters: The London Sessions" on CD

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1926 - Tony Bennett, singer, painter, and Roulette Records recording artist, is born Antonio Dominick Benedetto in Astoria, Queens, New York. Capitol Records currently owns the Roulette catalog.
80 Years Ago Today In 1929 - Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone disc record and founder of the Berliner Gramophone Company whose London branch would become EMI, dies of a heart attack at age 78 in the United States. The Library of Congress has a site on Berliner and the birth of the recording industry.
1963 - The Beatles perform for the 292nd and last time at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England
1965 - Arranger and conductor Gerald Wilson (with musicians Melvin Moore, Al Procino, Freddie Hill, and Jules Chaitkin on trumpet; John Ewing, Bob Edmondssn, and Lester Robertson on trombone; Kenny Shroyer on bass trombone; Curtis Amy on soprano saxophone; Anthony Ortega on alto saxophone and flute; Teddy Edwards and Don Raffell on tenor saxophone; Jack Nimitz on baritone saxophone; Phil Moore, Jr. on piano; Dennis Budimir on guitar; Buddy Woodson on bass; and Mel Lee on drums) record the tracks "Satin Doll", "Softly As I Leave You" and "For Lonely Hearts" for Wilson's Pacific Jazz Records album "When I'm Feeling Kinda Blue" in Los Angeles, California that were rejected. The tapes from the session are currently missing and are presumed destroyed. Pacific Jazz's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
2008 - Louis Teicher (born Louis Milton Teicher), pianist and United Artists Records artist as part of the duo Ferrante and Teicher, has died of heart failure at his summer home in Highlands, North Carolina at age 83. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the United Artists catalog.

AUGUST 2, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1937- Garth Hudson, instrumentalist (Lowrey organ, piano, keyboards, saxophones, accordion, horns) with the Capitol Records artists The Band, is born Eric Garth Hudson in Windsor, Ontario

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Chico Alvarez, John Anderson, and Ken Hanna on trumpets; Kai Winding, Harry Forbes, and Miff Sines on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; Al Anthony and Boots Mussulli on alto saxophone; Vido Musso and Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Bob Ahern on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; and Shelly Manne on drums), with vocalist June Christy, record the tracks "Collaboration" arranged by Pete Rugolo, with solos by Kenton, Safranski, Winding and Alvarez; "Don't Want That Man Around" arranged by Rugolo with vocals by Christy and solos by Kenton, Safranski, and Alvarez; and two versions of "Opus In Pastels" arranged by Kenton using the saxophones and rhythm sections only at Radio Recorders studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Lee Gillette
1960 - Judy Garland records the tracks "Lucky Day", "Stormy Weather", "Chicago", and "Do It Again" in stereo for the first time at EMI Studios in London England with producer Norman Newell and conductor Norrie Paramour. The recordings would eventually be released in 1972 on the Capitol Records Club album "Judy In London"
1986 - Enigma Records (which had joint venture and distribution deals with Capitol Records) releases Poison's debut album "Look What The Cat Dragged In". Capitol would buy Enigma in 1989 and currently EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company owns Enigma's catalog.
10 Years Ago On This Day In 1999 - Chris Gaines' (aka Garth Brooks) video for his Capitol Records single "Lost In You" premieres on VH1

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1898 - Fred Gainsberg, The Gramophone Company (later to become EMI)'s first recording engineer, has his first recording session in London at Gramophone & Typewriter's basement studio on Maiden Lane in Convent Garden, London, England where he records a track sung by Syria Lamonte, a barmaid at Rules Restaurant which is also (and still) located on Maiden Lane. Miss Lamont, according to Gaisberg in a 1949 interview with Brian Rust, had "a large voice". He would later record her again in the same studio on October 3, 1898 when they recorded the track "When A Merry Maiden Marries" from Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta "The Gondoliers" which will become the earliest known surviving disc of a Gilbert & Sullivan selection.
1957 - The Stan Getz Quartet (Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, Lou Levy on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, and Stan Levey on drums) record the tracks "Where or When", "Woody'n You", "Smiles", "Three Little Words", "But Beautiful", "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm", "Time After Time Verve", and "This Can't Be Love" for their Verve Records album "Award Winner" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1957 - The Gerry Mulligan/Paul Desmond Quartet (Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Paul Desmond on alto saxophone, Joe Benjamin on acoustic bass, and Dave Bailey on drums) are in The Capitol Tower Studios to record the tracks "Body And Soul", "Blues In Time", "Wintersong" for their Verve Records album "Blues In Time" produced by Norman Granz
1960 - Ella Fitzgerald is back in The Capitol Tower Studios to record the tracks "Get Happy", "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead", "Sing My Heart", "Let's Take A Walk Around The Block (Alternate Take)", and "Sing My Heart (Alternate Take)" with arragements by Billy May who also conducts the orchestra which includes Ted Nash on alto saxophone, Paul Smith on piano, John Collins or possibly Al Hendrickson on guitar, Joe Mondragon on bass, and Alvin Stoller on drums

AUGUST 1, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1922 - Marie Ellington, singer, second wife on Capitol Records artist Nat "King" Cole, mother of Capitol Records artist Natalie Cole, and a Capitol Records artist, is born Marie Hawkins in Boston, Massachusetts. She got the name Ellington after she married a fighter pilot named Spurgeon Ellington who was killed in a plane crash in 1945.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - Gene Vincent's Capitol Records single "Lotta Lovin'" peaks at #13 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1957 - The Jazz Giants of '58 (Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet, Stan Getz on tenor saxophone, Gerry Mulligan on baritone saxophone, Oscar Peterson on piano, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ray Brown on bass and Louis Bellson on drums) record the tracks "Chocolate Sundae, Parts 1 and 2", "When Your Lover Has Gone", "Candy", Woody'n You" and "Ballad Medley: It Never Entered My Mind/Lush Life/Lullaby of the Leaves/Makin' Whoopee" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California for the Verve album "Jazz Giants '58" (21215-1).
1960 - Ella Fitzgerald is in The Capitol Tower Studios recording the tracks "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's arrangements and him conducting 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 was 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.
45 Years Ago Today In 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 label 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 aree reduced from 3.625" TO 3.3125" to accommodate the notched ring. This type of disc is produced for 1 year. The Fab4Collectibles web site has images of various types of 45 rpm labels that were produced.
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 stock holders of EMI Group PLC (parent company of EMI Music Group, the 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.
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"

JULY 31, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1931 - Plas Johnson, saxophonist and Capitol Records session musician, is born Plas John Johnson Jr.in Donaldsonville, Louisiana
1946 - Bob Welch, singer, guitarist, member of the bands Fleetwood Mac, Paris, Touch and Avenue M as well as being a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Robert Welch in Los Angeles, California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1968 - The Beatles, with orchestral accompaniment, record the released master track for their song "Hey Jude" using the eight-track recording machine at Trident Studios in London, England
1976 - Natalie Cole, singer and Capitol Records artist, marries Marvin Yancy, songwriter and producer
1990 - Capitol Records Nashville calls the R.I.A.A. to request that Garth Brooks' self-titled debut album be certified Gold
15 Years Ago Today In 1994 - Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan, singer, guitarist and Capitol Records artist (1949-1955) dies at age 78
5 Years Ago Today In 2004 - Capitol Records releases the compilation CD "Cocktails With Cole Porter"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 or 1946 - Gary Lewis, singer, drummer, band leader of Liberty Records recording artists Gary Lewis and The Playboys, and son of future Capitol Records artist Jerry Lewis, is born Gary Harold Lee Lewis in Los Angeles, California. If anyone knows for sure whch year, please leave a comment. Liberty Records catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1995 - Pink Floyd's 2-CD live album "P*U*L*S*E", released by EMI in the U.K. and Columbia in the U.S. is certified Gold, Platinum, and Double Platinum by the R.I.A.A.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1931 - "The Shadow", the mystery-adventure series based on the pulp magazine stories, makes its radio debut
1951 - Ray Charles marries his first wife, Eileen Williams. After having one child, they will divorce in 1952.
1952 - Peggy Lee records the track "San Souci" with Gordon Jenkins and His Orchestra for Decca Records
1965 - J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is born Joanne Kathleen Rowling in the General Hospital at Chipping Sodbury, near her parents' home in Yate, Gloucestershire, England
1967 - Judy Garland's variety revue titled, "Judy Garland; At Home at the Palace" opens on Broadway at the Palace Theatre. Joining her onstage to perform were her children, Lorna and Joey Luft. The show ran for 32 performances.
1971 - The first lunar rover is driven on the surface of the moon by astronauts as part of the Apollo 15 mission

JULY 30, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1936 - John W. Anderson (aka KaSandra), songwriter and Capitol Records artist, is born. If anyone has any further information about John W. Anderson, or KaSandra, please post a response or contact me via email.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1963 - The Beatles record the track "It Won't Be Long" at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, England
1966 - The Beatles' Capitol Records album "Yesterday And Today" hits #1 on Billboard's album chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1958 - Kate Bush, singer, songwriter and EMI America recording artist, is born Catherine Bush in Bexleyheath, Kent, England. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns EMI America's catalog.
1962 - Liberty Records releases Johnny Burnette's last single for the label "Damn The Defiant" (also the first A side of his singles that he wrote himself) with "Lonesome Waters" on the flip side. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns Liberty's catalog.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1955 - Johnny Cash records the tracks "Folsum Prison Blues", "Mean Eyed Cat," "Luther's Boogie" and "So Doggone Lonesome" for Sun Records

JULY 29, 2009

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Peggy Lee, with arranger and conductor Frank Devol and His Orchestra (Uan Rasey and Lenny Mach on trumpet; Paul Wiegand on trombone; Dick Perissi on french horn; Skeets Herfurt, Julius Kinsler, Lou Palange, and Paul McLarand on reeds; Henry Sugar, Joe Livoti, Victor Arno, Joe Quadri, Walter Edelstein, and Ted Rosen on violin; Paul Lowenkron and Elizabeth Sugar on viola; Julius Tannenbaum on cello; June Weiland on harp; Dave Barbour on guitar; Buddy Cole on piano; Fred Whiting on bass; John Cyr on drums) record the tracks "The Best Man", "If You Were The Only Boy", "Love Doesn't Grow On Trees", "I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home", and "My Sugar Is So Refined" to be released by Capitol Records on transcription discs for Radio at Radio Recorders studios in Los Angeles, California
60 Years Ago Today In 1949 - Sammy Davis, Jr. supplies vocals and tap sounds for his tracks "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile", "Dedicated To You", "Azure", and "Inka Dinka Doo" for Capitol Records at Capitol Records' Melrose Studios in Hollywood California with arranger, conductor and tenor saxophonist Dave Cavanaugh, Mickey Mangano on trumpet, Gus Bivona on alto saxophone, Art Hulette on baritone saxophone, Mike Rubin on bass, and Don Lamond on drums
1955 - Frank Sinatra records the tracks "Same Old Saturday Night" "You Forgot All The Words", and "Fairy Tale" with arranger and conductor Nelson Riddle and Mahlon Clark, Justin Gordon, Jerome Kasper, Babe Russin, and Wilbur Schwartz on reeds;, Frank Beach, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Clarence "Shorty" Sherock, and Rubin "Zeke" Zarchy on trumpets; Raymond Klein, Jim Priddy, and Si Zentner on trombones; George Roberts on bass trombone; Jack Marshall on guitar; Joe Comfort on bass; Bill Miller on piano; Frank Flynn on vibraphone; Kathryn Julye on harp; Max Albright on drums; Victor Bay, Alex Beller, Harry Bluestone, Henry Hill, Erno Neufeld, Nathan Ross, Mischa Russell, Eudice Shapiro, and Marshall Sosson on violins; Stanley Spiegelman and Dave Sterkin on viola; Armond Kaproff, Ray Kramer, and Edgar Lustgarten on cellos at Capitol Records' Studios on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood California
1956 - Capitol Records artist Merle Travis attends a ceremony in his boyhood home town, Ebeneezer, Kentucky, to unveil a granite monument the town built to recognize his accomplishments. In 1991, Travis' ashes were buried under the monument
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Dean Martin records the track "Things We Did Last Summer" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California with Gus Levene conducting the orchestra
25 Years Ago Today In 1984 - Fred Waring, band leader, music publisher, co-founder of the National Association of Performing Artists, inventor of the Waring blender, and Capitol Records artist, suffers a massive stroke at age 84 and dies in State College, Pennsylvania
15 Years Ago Today In 1994 - The Beastie Boys' Capitol Records album "Ill Communication" is certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A.
15 Years Ago Today In 1994 - Capitol Records releases the CD version of Red Rider's 1980 album "Don't Fight It"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1953 - Trumpeter Chet Baker, with Larry Bunker on drums, Russ Freeman on piano, and Carson Smith on bass, starts recording the track "Imagination" with producer Richard Bock in Los Angeles, California for Pacific Jazz Records. Capitol Records currently owns the Pacific Jazz catalog.
1965 - The Beatles' second United Artists film "HELP!" is released
1990 - Dan Seals' EMI America Records single "Good Times" is #1 on the U.S. Country siingles charts. EMI America's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
35 Years Ago Today In 1974 - "Mama" Cass Elliot, motion picture actress, singer as a solo artist and with the group The Mamas And The Papas, dies in bed in Harry Nilsson's apartment in London, England from heart failure at age 32. Four years later, Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, would die in the same bed in the same room.
1983 - Raymond Massey, actor ("Things To Come", "Arsenic And Old Lace", "East Of Eden", etc.), dies at age 86 of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California
1983 - David Niven, actor ("The Bachelor Mother", "Around The World In 80 Days", "The Pink Panther", "Casino Royale", "Murder By Death", etc.), dies at age 73 of ALS at his chalet at Chateau d'Oex in Switzerland
1998 - Jerome Robbins, Broadway choreographer and director ("On The Town", "The Kind And I", "West Side Story", "High Button Shoes", "Wonderful Town", "Bells Are Ringing", "Fiddler on the Roof", the ballet "Fancy Free", etc.) dies of a stroke at age 79 in New York City

JULY 28, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
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
1956 - Capitol Records group Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps appears on "The Perry Como Show"
1971 - Capitol Records releases George Harrison's Apple Records single "Bangla Desh" with "Deep Blue" on the flip side 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
1936 - Future Capitol Records artist Nat "King" Cole makes his recording debut at age 17 as part of his older brother's band, Eddie Cole's Solid Swingers, recording four tracks for Decca Records in Chicago, Illinois - "Honey Hush" with vocals by bass player Eddie Cole, "Stomping At The Panama (Skoller's Shuffle)", "Bedtime (Sleep Baby Sleep)" and "Thunder"
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.
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
10 Years Ago Today In 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.

JULY 27, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1933 - Nick Reynolds, singer and guitarist in the Capitol Records group The Kingston Trio, is born Nicholas Wells Reynolds in San Diego, California
65 Years Ago Today In 1944 - Bobbie Gentry, singer, songwriter and Capitol Records artist, is born Roberta Streeter in Chickasaw County, Mississippi

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1968 - Capitol Records releases Merle Haggard's single "Mama Tried" with "You'll Never Love Me Now" on the flip side
1968 - Capitol Records subsidiary Tower Records releases The Pink Floyd's album "A Saucerful of Secrets"
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Capitol Records releases The Pink Floyd's soundtrack album for Barbet Schroeder's movie "More". This would be the the band's first album without Syd Barrett and the last album where the band was called The Pink Floyd.
1970 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' single "The Great White Horse" with "Your Tender Loving Care", a duet with Susan Raye, on the flip side
5 Years Ago Today In 2004 - Capitol Records reissues Megadeth's albums, "Countdown to Extinction", "Cryptic Writings", "Peace Sells ..But Who's Buying?", "Risk; Rust in Peace", "So Far, So Good..So What?!", and "Youthanasia", on CD

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1942 - In her first recording session, future Capitol Records artist Peggy Lee supplies the vocal for future Capitol Records artist Benny Goodman and His Orchestra's track "Why Don't You Do Right", which would become her first big hit
1976 - John Lennon's application for permanent residency in the United States is approved and he is granted his U.S. green card (# A 17,597-321)

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1972 - "The Bobby Darin Amusement Company" debuts for a seven week run on NBC-TV

JULY 26, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1922 - Jim Fogleson, singer, producer, 2004 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame and president of Capitol Records Nashville from 1984-1989, is born in Lundale, West Virginia. The CMHF site has a good biographical article about Jim.
1940 or 1942 - Dobie Gray, singer, songwriter and Capitol Records artist (mid 1980s), is born either Leonard Victor Ainsworth or Laurence Darrow Brown in either Brookshire or Simonton, Texas. If anyone knows for sure Gray's exact year of birth, name, and/or place of birth, please leave a comment.
60 Years Ago Today In 1949 - Roger Taylor, with the Capitol Records group Queen, is born

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Chico Alvarez, John Anderson, and Ken Hanna on trumpets; Kai Winding, Harry Forbes, and Miff Sines on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; Al Anthony and Boots Mussulli on alto saxophone; Vido Musso and Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Bob Ahern on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; and Shelly Manne on drums) record the instrumental tracks (arranged by Kenton) "Fantasy" (arranged by Kenton, with solos by Kenton on piano, Safranski on bass, Musso on tenor saxophone, and Mussulli on alto saxophone), "Concerto To End All Concertos - Part 2" (with solos by the trombone section led by Winding, the saxophone section led by Anthony, the trumpet trio (Childers, Wetzel, Alvarez), Safranski on bass, and Manne on drums), and "Concerto To End All Concertos - Part 1" (with solos by Kenton on piano, Musso on tenor saxophone, Wetzel on trumpet, and Mussulli on alto saxophone) at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California with producer Lee Gillette
1950 - Armund Hug's Lousianans/New Orleans Jazzmen (George Girard on trumpet, Santo Pecora on trombone, Bujie Centobie on clarinet, Hug on piano, John Senac on bass, and Fred King on drums) record the tracks "Dustin' Off The Ivory", "Sweetheart Of All My Dreams", "That Old Gang Of Mine", "A Dixie Jam Session" (an alternated take unissued until Mosaic records released it as part of its "Classic Capitol Jazz Sessions" box set in 1997), and the released version of "A Dixie Jam Session", with producer Dave Dexter, Jr., for Capitol Records at WDSU studio in New Orleans, Louisiana
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - The Beatles' Capitol Records single "A Hard Day's Night" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart
1965 - Capitol Records simultaneously releases two albums by Buck Owens - "Before You Go/No One But You" and "The Instrumental Hits Of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos"
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Buck Owen's Capitol Records single "Johnny B. Goode" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
20 Years Ago Today In 1989 - Capitol Records Releases the compilation CDs "Johnny Mercer" and "Frank Sinatra" as part of its Capitol Collectors Series
1998 - Garth Brook's Capitol Records Nashville single "To Make You Feel My Love" is #1 on the U.S. Country singles charts
2005 - Capitol Records Nashville artist Dierks Bentley is invited to join the Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame while performing in Los Angeles at the House of Blues

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1939 - Future Capitol Records artist sixteen year-old singer Kay Starr makes her first recordings, “Love With A Capitol YOU” and “Baby Me”, with Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on the Bluebird label during a two week stint filling in for an ailing Marion Hutton (sister of future Capitol Records artist Betty Hutton)
1943 - Mick Jagger, singer, songwriter, motion picture actor, solo artist, and member of the Virgin Records group The Rolling Stones, is born

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1973 - Ringo Starr starts a new music publishing company, Wobble Music Ltd.

JULY 25, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1955 - Scott Mathews, producer, Tiki artist, drummer, member of the Capitol Records production and recording duo The Durocs, and also set up Capitol Records' first video department, is born in Sacramento, California. You can check out what Scott Mathews is currently up to at his own website.

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1946 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra (Buddy Childers, Ray Wetzel, Chico Alvarez, John Anderson, and Ken Hanna on trumpets; Kai Winding, Harry Forbes, and Miff Sines on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; Al Anthony and Boots Mussulli on alto saxophone; Vido Musso and Bob Cooper on tenor saxophone; Bob Gioga on baritone saxophone; Kenton on piano; Bob Ahern on guitar; Eddie Safranski on bass; and Shelly Manne on drums) with vocalist June Christy record the Pete Rugulo arranged tracks "It's A Pity To Say Goodnight" (vocal by Christy and solo by Kenton), "Willow Weep For Me" (vocal by Christy and solos by Kenton, Safranski and Winding), and a version of "Fantasy" that was rejected, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California with producer Lee Gillette
1961 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' single "Under The Influence Of Love"
1966 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "Carnegie Hall Concert"
1967 - Tommy Duncan, singer, songwriter, original member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, and Capitol Records artist (1949 - Tommy Duncan and His Western All Stars), dies at age 56 in San Diego, California of a heart attack after finishing a performance at Imperial Beach
20 Years Ago Today In 1989 - Capitol Records releases The Beastie Boys' album "Paul's Boutique"
2006 - Capitol Records releases original Destiny's Child member LaToya Luckett's self-titled album.
2006 - Capitol Records was supposed to release a limited edition version of Grand Funk Railroad's compilation album “Grand Funk Railroad: Greatest Hits” as an expanded CD/DVD set to go with the remastered CD that was released earlier this year. I still haven't seen it in stores.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
115 Years Ago Today In 1894 - Walter Brennan, television and three-time Oscar-winning motion picture actor, singer, and Liberty Records artist, is born Walter Andrew Brennan in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Liberty's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1946 - Future Capitol Records duo Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis give their first show as a team at The 500 Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - The Beatles' United Artists soundtrack album "A Hard Day's Night" hits #1 on Billboard's album chart and and will stay there for 14 weeks. Capitol Records currently owns the United Artists catalog.
1986 - Vincente Minnelli, Broadway and motion picture director, one time husband of Capitol Records artist Judy Garland and father of Capitol Records artist Liza Minnelli, dies in Los Angeles, California at age 83 of Alzheimer's disease and is later interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1965 - Dylan goes electric

JULY 24, 2009

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1956 - Capitol Records artists Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis make their last appearance as a team with a performance at The Copacabana in New York City, New York
1961 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' single "Under The Influence Of Love" with "Bad Bad Dream" on the flip side
1965 - The Beach Boys' Capitol Records single "California Girls", with "Let Him Run Wild" on the flip side, debuts on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart
1967 - Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' single "Heroes And Villans" with "You're Welcome" on the flip side
1967 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' single "All You Need Is Love" with "Baby You're A Rich Man" on the flip side
1967 - Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, releases Pink Floyd's single "See Emily Play" with "The Scarecrow" on the flip side
1995 - A three-night celebration of Capitol Records artist Frank Sinatra's 80th birthday begins at Carnegie Hall in New York City, New York
1998 - Tanya Tucker files a $300,000 lawsuit against Capitol Records Nashville, charging that the label has willfully neglected her career

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
70 Years Ago Today In 1939 - Future Capitol Records artist Kay Starr begins a brief stint with Glenn Miller and His Orchestra with a radio broadcast at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York. During that week that Starr, with Miller, records her first tracks - "Baby Me" (which she sang on the radio broadcast) and "Love With A Capitol YOU" (from the picture "$1000 A Touchdown") which are released as a single on Bluebird Records (#10383).
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Sam Cooke records the tracks "Just For You" and "Made For Me" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California for his own label, SAR Records, and the single of the two tracks, the only one that Cooke released with his name on it on his own label, has become one of the rarest of Cooke's vinyl releases to find
1978 - The motion picture version of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" opens. I saw it when it opened and it wasn't that bad for a family film. It was kind of fun trying to spot the celebrity cameos and hearing the songs performed by other artists. Hey, it was the late '70s, so they could have done a lot worse things to the material (imagine a disco version instead of the mashup of "A Star Is Born", "The Jazz Singer" and "The Music Man").
1988 - Steve Winwood's Virgin Records America single "Roll With It" is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. I worked on the design of the single's packaging, promotional materials and ads.
15 Years Ago Today In 1994 - Les Baxter, Capitol Records artist, gives his last live performance. It was part of the Los Angeles County Art Museum's Bing Theater's "Sunday’s At Four " series with the Los Angeles Composers Guild Chamber Orchestra. Les performed two original compositions, "Movement" and "Poem." "Poem" was actually Les Baxter’s original song "Rio" from Baxter's Capitol Records album "Tamboo!". Jeff Chenault has an interview with David Goodman, who was musical director for the evening, about that show on Chenault's Exoteque Music site.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1938 - Artie Shaw and His Orchestra record "Begin The Beguine"

OBTW
Once again, it's my birthday - ARRRGGGHHHH!.

JULY 23, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1933 - Bert Convy, singer, Broadway and television actor, television game show host, and a Capitol Records artist as part of the group The Cheers (best know for the track "Black Leather Jacket and Motorcycle Boots"), is born Bernard Whalen Convy in St. Louis, Missouri

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1955 - Frank Sinatra (with Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra)'s single "Learnin' The Blues", with "If I Had Three Wishes" on the flip side, peaks at #2 on Billboard's singles chart. It's kept out of the #1 spot by Bill Haley and The Comets single "Rock Around The Clock"
1963 - Johnny Burnette has his first session as a Capitol Records artist when he records the tracks "It Isn’t There", "Wish It Were Saturday Night", "I’ll Give You Three Guesses", "All Week Long", and "Congratulations You’ve Hurt Me Again" with producers Jim Economides and Jimmie Haskell at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California
1963 - Judy Garland records a live version of the song "Maybe I'll Come Back" for her CBS television series that is later included on her Capitol Records album "Just For Openers"
1973 - Helen Reddy is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame just outside The Capitol Tower
1986 - Capitol Records re-releases The Beatles' single "Twist And Shout", with "There's A Place" on the flip side, after the song is used in the motion pictture "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" when Matthew Broderick lip syncs to John Lennon's vocals during the parade sequence
1987 - Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley proclaims it "Capitol Tower Day", characterizing the building as "one of Los Angeles' most distinguishable landmarks" which has become "almost as recognizable as the Hollywood sign itself". Ella Mae Morse, whose 1942 recording of "Cow Cow Boogie" was Capitol Records' first hit single, is presented with a plaque commemorating the accomplishment during an evening celebration marking the the renovation of the Capitol Records Tower. The 31-year-old building was recently repainted and the beacon on top of the 13-story structure has been wired so it once again will blink out the the word Hollywood in Morse Code. Joe Smith, vice chairman and chief executive of Capitol, will host the reception that will also honor such other past and present Capitol artists as Peggy Lee, Yma Sumac, Martha Davis of the Motels and members of the band Duran Duran.
1996 - Capitol Records releases "Organs In Orbit", volume 11 of its compilation Ultra Lounge series
1996 - Capitol Records Nashville) releases Suzy Bogguss' first single for the label (after its named had been changed from Liberty Records) "Give Me Some Wheels" with "Far And Away" on the flip side

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1898 - Fred Gaisberg, a young recording engineer and talent scout, who previously worked for Emile Berliner, leaves New York for London to join The Gramophone Company (which would later become EMI, Capitol Record's owner) as its first recording engineer
1951 - Pianist Thelonius Monk (with Art Blakey on drums, Milt Jackson on vibraphone, Sahib Shihab on alto saxophone, and Al McKibbon on bass) records the track "Criss Cross" with producer Alfred Lion, recording engineer Doug Hawkins, and master engineer Rudy Van Gelder at WOR Studios in New York City, New York. The track would be released on the Blue Note Records album "Thelonius Monk: Genius Of Modern Music: Volume 2 (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition). Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.
1965 - United Artists premieres The Beatles' second movie "Help!". Capitol Records will release the soundtrack album for the movie in the United States.
20 Years Ago Today In 1989 - Capitol Records artist Anne Murray helps christen the new Anne Murray Center, which displays memorabilia of her career, in her home town of Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
10 Years Ago Today In 1999 - The 30th anniversary Woodstock concert begins the first of 3 days of concerts at Griffiss Air Base, in Rome, New York

JULY 22, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1917 - Lou McGarity, trombonist, with Capitol Records group Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (1946) and session musician, is born in Athens, Georgia
85 Years Ago Today In 1924 - Margaret Whiting, singer, daughter of composer Richard Whiting, niece of vaudeville and Broadway performer Margaret Young, goddaughter of singer and actress Sophie Tucker, former wife of Capitol Records executive Lou Busch (aka Capitol Records artist Joe "Fingers" Carr), motion picture, television, and Broadway actress, president of The Johnny Mercer Foundation, and a Capitol Records artist, is born in Detroit Michigan
1940 - George Clinton, singer, bandleader, and Capitol Records artist (1982-1989), is born in Kannapolis, North Carolina

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Johnny Mercer's Capitol Records single "On The Atchison, Topeka, And The Santa Fe" is #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
1955 - Yma Sumac, 5 octave singer and Capitol Records artist, becomes a citizen of the United States
1963 - Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' single "Surfer Girl"
1963 - Capitol Records releases The Kingston Trio's album "Sunny Side"
1971 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono direct and star in the documentary film "Imagine"
1990 - Capitol Records releases a promo only CD of Buck Owens' song "Forever Yours"
2001 - Bob Ferguson, songwriter (best known for Ferlin Husky's Capitol Records track "Wings of A Dove") and record producer, dies in Jackson, Mississippi at age age 73
2003 - Capitol Records releases Jane's Addiction's album "Stray" which had the working title "Hypersonic"
2003 - Capitol Records releases Yellowcard's debut album "Ocean Avenue" as an enhanced CD that includes a video entitled "The Making of "Ocean Avenue" and a previously unreleased video of the song "Powder"
2005 - Capitol Records Nashville artists Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand make their Grand Ole Opry debut

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1960 - Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson (with Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass, Al Harewood on drums and Ray Barretto on congas) records the tracks "The Squirrel", "Si Si Safronia", "Dog Walk", "Exactly Like You", "Avalon", "Midnight Sun" (the only track without Barretto on congas), and "Candy" with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder. The tracks would not be released for 20 years until they appeared on the Blue Note Records album "Midnight Sun" which was released in 1980.
1963 - VeeJay Records releases The Beatles' first U.S. album - "Introducing The Beatles"
2005 - Eugene Record, singer, founding member of the "Chi-Lites", songwriter ("Have You Seen Her" which MC Hammer covered on his Capitol Records album "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em"), dies of cancer at age 64

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1932 - Florence Ziegfeld, Broadway producer and at the time husband to motion picture actress Billie Burke, dies at age 65 and is later buried at Kensico Cemetary, Valhalla, West Chester County, New York

JULY 21, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1922 - Kay Starr, singer and multi-million selling Capitol Records artist, is born Katherine LaVerne Starks in Dougherty, Oklahoma
1931 - Plas Johnson, tenor saxophonist, Capitol Records session artist (on recordings by Peggy Lee, Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and others), Imperial Records session artist (on recordings by Rick Nelson), and motion picture studio session artist (best known for his solo on the soundtrack of the title song for "The Pink Panther), is born John Johnson, Jr. in Donaldsonville, Louisiana

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1956 - Capitol Records releases Wynn Stewart's first single "Waltz Of The Angels" with "Love's Gonna Happen To Me" on the flip side. "Waltz" was recorded February 8, 1956 with producer Ken Nelson and with session musician Lewis Talley and Joe Maphis on guitar, Ralph Mooney on steel guitar, Pee Wee Adams on drums and Bud Dooley on bass. The track would peak at #14 for one week on the Country Music charts.
1956 - Capitol Records releases Wanda Jackson's first single for the label "I Gotta Know" with "Half As Good A Girl" on the flip side
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' single "Tall Dark Stranger" with "Sing That Kind Of A Song" on the flip side
1987 - Capitol Records releases on CD the soundtrack to The Beatles' motion picture "Help!" with its original UK track line up versus the US album version released in 1965 that contained instrumental tracks, which was released on April 11, 2006 as part of the "The Beatles The Capitol Albums Volume 2" CD box set.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
85 Years Ago Today In 1924 - Don Knotts, comedian, motion picture and Emmy Award-winning televsion actor, and United Records artist (the 1961 album "An Evening With Me"), is born Jesse Donald Knotts in Morgantown, West Virginia
1971 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono film driving and rowing sequences for the “Jealous Guy” sequence of their “Imagine” film.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1931 - Ted Husing is master of ceremonies for the very first CBS-TV program, a gala show featuring singer Kate Smith, composer George Gershwin and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker
1956 - Johnny Cash's Sun Records single "I Walk The Line", with "Get Rhythm" on the flip side, becomes his first #1 on the Country Records chart and would peak at #17 on the Pop charts.

JULY 20, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1945 - Kim Carnes, singer, songwriter, and EMI/Capitol Records artist, is born in Pasadena California

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1942 - Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (George Wendt, Don Anderson, and Clyde Hurley on trumpet; Bill Anthens and Ed Kusby on trombone; Blake Reynolds on alto saxophone and clarinet; Bumps Meyers on tenor saxophone; Art Smith and Al Taylor on reeds; Slack on piano; T-Bone Walker on guitar; Fred Whiting on bass; and Rich Cornell on drums) record the tracks "He's My Guy" (with vocals by Ella Mae Morse), "Mister Five By Five" (with vocals by Ella Mae Morse and Johnny Mercer), "The Thrill Is Gone" (with vocals by Ella Mae Morse), and "Riffette" (arranged by Gaye Jones) at their second session for Capitol Records with Johnny Mercer producing at C.P. MacGregors Studios in Los Angeles, California
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Capitol Records releases Rose Maddox's second single for the label "My Little Baby" with "Custer's Last Stand" on the flip side
50 Years Ago Today In 1959- Faron Young's Capitol Records single "Country Girl", with "I Hear You Talkin'" on the flip side, enters the U.S. Country singles charts
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' album "Something New" as well as their singles "I'll Cry Instead", with "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" on the flip side, and "And I Love Her" with "If I Fell" on the flip side
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - Capitol Records releases Buck Owens' album "Together Again/My Heart Skips A Beat"
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Capitol Records producer Dave Dexter, Jr. is at Mission Control in Houston, Texas co-ordinating recordings of communications between Earth and Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle, with pilot Neil Armstrong and co-pilot "Buzz" Aldrin, as it lands on the Moon in Tranquility Bay and as, later that day, Armstrong becomes the first human to step foot on the moon's surface. Dexter's recordings, with narration by Paul Haney, will become the Capitol Records album "We Have Landed On The Moon" as well as a differently edited version that is released as an album by Capitol Records Special Markets.
2005 - Capitol Records Nashville artist Dierks Bentley records the track “Murder on Music Row” with Country Music legend George Jones
2006 - According to Scott Sparling's The Seger File website, Bob Seger's new album "Face The Promise" is being mastered today.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1911 - Madame Tetrazzini lays the corner stone of The Gramophone Company (which will become E.M.I.)'s new cabinet factory at Hayes
1921 - The Gramophone Company (which will become E.M.I.)'s new retail store on Oxford Street is opened by Sir Edward Elgar
1956 - Paul Cook, drummer with the EMI and Virgin Records group The Sex Pistols, is born in London, England
1961 - The Beat Brothers (aka The Beatles) sign a German recording contract with producer/bandleader Bert Kaempfert
1968 - Jane Asher, BBC Television variety show host and sister of Peter Asher of the Capitol Records group Peter & Gordon, announces that Paul McCartney, member of the Apple and Capitol Records group The Beatles, has broken off their engagement.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1940 - Billboard magazine publishes the first US weekly pop singles chart. Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra has the first #1 with 'I'll Never Smile Again' featuring vocals by future Capitol Records artists Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Apollo 11's lunar module Eagle, with pilot Neil Armstrong and co-pilot "Buzz" Aldrin, lands on the moon in Tranquility Bay. Later that day, Armstrong will become the first human to step foot on the moon's surface.

JULY 19, 2009

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1945 - Cootie Williams and His Orchestra (with Williams, E. V. Perry, George Treadwell, Billy Ford, and Clarence "Gene" Redd on trumpet; Ed Burke, Dan Logan, Bob Horton on trombone, Rupert Cole on alto saxophone; Eddie Vinson alto saxophone; Sam Taylor and Lee Pope on tenor saxophone; George Favors on baritone saxophone; Arnold Jarvis on piano; Jimmy Glover on bass; and Sylvester Payneon drums), record the tracks "House Of Joy", "Mood For Coot" (arranged by Bill Doggett), "When My Baby Left Me (vocal by Eddie Vinson)", "When My Baby Left Me (vocal by Eddie Vinson)", and two versions of "Everything But You" for Capitol Records
1947 - Tex Williams' Capitol Americana Records single "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", with "Roundup Polka" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country charts
60 Years Ago Today In 1949 - Harry Belafonte has his first recording session as a Capitol Records artist, recording the tracks "They Didn’t Believe Me" and "Close Your Eyes"
1961 - Nat "King" Coler re-records the tracks "To The Ends Of The Earth", "Non Dimenticar (Don't Forget)", "Blue Gardenia", "Night Lights", "Calypso Blues", and "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" for his stereo album "The Nat "King" Cole Story" with Ralph Carmichael conducting the original arrangements of Nelson Riddle, Frank DeVol, Billy May, Dave Cavanaugh and Pete Rugolo
1965 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' single "Help!" with "I'm Down" on the flip side
1966 - Wanda Jackson begins threee consecutive days of recording sessions with producer Ken Nelson for her Capitol Records album "Wanda Jackson Salutes The Country Music Hall Of Fame" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood California
1975 - Wings' Apple Records single "Listen to What the Man Said", distributed by Capitol Records with "Love In Song" on the flip side in the United States, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, and their album "Venus and Mars" is #1 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart
1988 - Capitol Records releases Rigor Mortis' self-titled debut album
1992 - Garth Brooks' Liberty Records (later renamed Capitol Records Nashville) single "The River", with "We Bury The Hatchet" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1963 - The Joe Pass Quartet (Joe Pass on guitar, Clare Fischer on piano and organ, Albert Stinson on bass, and Colin Bailey on drums) record the tracks "Catch Me", "Summertime", and "Falling In Love With Love" for their Pacific Jazz Records album "No Cover No Minimum" at the Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Richard Bock who was also the recording engineer along with Dino Lappas. Pacific Jazz Records catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1966 - Johnny Rivers records the track "Poor Side Of Town" which Imperial Records will release as a single with "A Man Can Cry" on the flip side. Imperial Records catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
10 Years Ago Today In 1999 - Dr. Dre (Andre Young) files suit against Priority Records and Death Row Records, alleging that the recent Priority-distributed Death Row album "The Chronic 2000" infringes on a trademark held by Dre. "The Chronic" was the title of Dre's 1992 album. Priority Records is now a division of Capitol Music Group.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1883 - Max Fleischer, animator and film producer, is born in Kraków, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian province of Galicia
55 Years Ago Today In 1954 - Sun Records releases Elvis Presley's debut single "That's All Right (Mama)" with "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" on the flip side
1966 - Former Capitol Records artist Frank Sinatra marries his third wife, motion picture actress Mia Farrow
2002 - Alan Lomax, who traveled all over America with his father John Lomax, discovering and recording folk music artists in their home towns, including Capitol Records artist Leadbelly, dies at age 87

JULY 18, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1910 - Lou Busch, Capitol Records A&R man, pianist, arranger, composer, one-time husband of Capitol Records artist Margaret Whiting, father of their daughter Deborah, and a Capitol Records artist (as Joe "Fingers" Carr), is born Louis Ferdinand Bush in Louisville, Kentucky
1917 - Joe Comfort, bass player and Capitol Records session artist (as part of Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra), is born in Alcorn, Mississippi
60 Years Ago Today In 1949 - Wally Bryson, guitarist with the Capitol Records group The Raspberries, is born Wallace Bryson in Gastonia, North Carolina

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1952 - At Capitol Records Melrose Studios, Nat "King" Cole is back on piano, along with John Collins on guitar, Charlie Harris on bass, Jack Costanzo on Latin percussion and Bunny Shawker on drums, recording tracks for the album "Penthouse Serenade", an instrumental album of standards, released as a 10" LP
1971 - Sonny James' Capitol Records single "Bright Lights Big City", with "True Love Lasts Forever" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1995 - Capitol Records releases Megadeth's EP "Hidden Treasures"
2000 - Capitol Records re-releases The Beach Boys' Brother Records albums "Sunflower", "Surf's Up" together on a single CD and "In Concert" on its own CD. I helped track down art elements for this release, going to record stores and swap meets in the Los Angeles area, looking for the best copies of the albums to see how they were originally packaged, in case we couldn't find existing elements with the printers or in archives. Much of the art in these re-releases was obtained from the albums' Japanese CD releases, as we couldn't find any existing U.S. film. The re-issues were co-ordinated by Paul Atkinson, former Zombies guitarist and then VP of Catalog A&R at Capitol.
2006 - Capitol Records finally releases The 30th Anniversary Special Edition CD/DVD set of "Fly Like An Eagle" from The Steve Miller Band, which was pushed from its original June 28, 2006 release date
2006 - Capitol Records Nashville releases Eric Church's debut album "Sinners Like Me"

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
100 Years Ago Today In 1909 - Harriet Nelson (aka Harriet Hilliard), singer, motion picture, radio and television actress, and mother radio and television actor David Nelson and Imperial and Capitol Records artist Rick Nelson, is born Peggy Lou Snyder in Des Moines, Iowa
70 Years Ago Today In 1939 - Dion Dimucci, singer, guitarist, and Laurie Records artist as as a solo act and as lead singer of Dion and The Belmonts, is born. EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the Laurie Records catalog.
1943 - Robin MacDonald, rhythm guitarist with the Parlophone Records group Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas, is born
1950 - Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records is born in Naim, England
1961 - Singer Dinah Washington, with Mundell Lowe on guitar and George Duvivier on bass, records the tracks "My Favorite Things", "Great Day", and "In A Sentimental Mood" at RKO Pathe Studios in New York City with producer Teddy Reig for her Roulette Jazz album "After Hours". Roulette's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.
1963 - The Joe Pass Quartet (Joe Pass on guitar, Clare Fischer on piano and organ, Albert Stinson on bass, and Colin Bailey on drums) record the tracks "Just Friends", "Walking Up", and "Peri's Scope" for their Pacific Jazz Records album "No Cover No Minimum" at the Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Richard Bock who was also the recording engineer along with Dino Lappas. Pacific Jazz Records catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1988 - Richard Marx's EMI Manhattan Records single "Hold On To The Nights", with "Lonely Hearts" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. EMI Manhattan's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, parent company of Capitol Music Group.
2006 - Virgin Records releases Summer Obsession's first single "Do You Remember" from their upcoming album “This Is Where You Belong” which is set to be out on August 29, 2006

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
80 Years Ago Today In 1929 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins ("He's my main man"), singer and actor, is born Jalacy J. Hawkins in Cleveland, Ohio
1966 - Bobby Fuller, singer, songwriter, and founder The Bobby Fuller Four, is found dead in his car in Los Angeles
1968 - Former Capitol Records artist Bobby Darin announces the formation of his own label, Direction Records

JULY 17, 2009

REST IN PEACE
2009 - Gordon Waller, lead singer in the Capitol Records vocal duo Peter And Gordon, died of cardiovascular disease at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut at age 64.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!
1912 - Art Linkletter, talk show host and Capitol Records artist (1958-1969), is born Gordon Arthur Kelly in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
1935 - Diahann Carroll, singer, motion picture, Broadway, and television actress and Capitol Records artist (on the original Broadway cast album "No Strings"), is born Carol Diahann Johnson in The Bronx, New York

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
50 Years Ago Today In 1959 - Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan), singer and Decca, Capitol (on the 1942 single "Travelin' Light"), and Verve Records artist, dies at age 44 from liver and heart disease at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City, New York and is later interred in St. Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, New York.
1967 - Capitol Records releases The Beatles' single "All You Need Is Love" with "Baby You're A Rich Man" on the flip side
35 Years Ago Today In 1974 - Don Rich (born born Donalad Eugene Ulrich), fiddle player, guitarist, singer with the Capitol Records group The Buckaroos (which backed up Rich's good friend Buck Owens and recorded on their own), dies at age 33 when he loses control of his motorcycle and strikes a guard rail on Highway 99 north of Bakersfield, California after a recording session at the Buck Owens Studios in Oildale, California. He is later interred at Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery on Kern Canyon Road (Highway 184) in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield, California
1985 - Wynn Stewart (born Winford Lindsey Stewart), singer, songwriter, guitarist and Capitol Records country artist (1956-1958, 1964-1971), dies of a heart attack at age 51 at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee the day he was going to leave to start a four-day tour in Louisiana and Texas to promote his upcoming, self-released album. There will later be graveside services at Rose Hill Cemetary, north of Willard, Tennessee

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1941 - Spencer Davis, harmonica player, guitarist, and founder of the United Artists Records group, is born in South Wales, United Kingdom
1950 - "The Colgate Comedy Hour" makes its television debut with hosts comedy team and Capitol Records artists Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
1952 - Arthur Blanch, Australian country singer and future EMI and Capitol Records artist (1968), has his first recording session, recording six tracks including two of his own compositions, one of which, "Shearing Time", was his earliest hit, for Rodeo Records
1956 - MGM releases the motion picture "High Society" whose soundtrack, featuring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby (who gets the gold record in his career for the single "True Love"), Grace Kelly, and Celeste Holmes, is released by Capitol Records
1963 - Tenor saxophonist Harold Land, with Carmell Jones on trumpet, John Houston on piano, Jimmy Bond on bass and Mel Lee on drums, records the tracks "Take This Hammer", "Hava Na Gila", "Foggy, Foggy Dew", "On Top Of Old Smokey", and "Blue Tail Fly" for his album "JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF FOLK MUSIC" for Imperial Records, whose catalog was acquired by Capitol Records.
1966 - Frank Sinatra marries his third wife, actress Mia Farrow in a private ceremony in Las Vegas
1967 - John Coltrane, saxophonist, composer, and Blue Note Records artist, dies at age 40 from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, NY
1968 - United Artists premieres The Beatles' animated feature motion picture "The Yellow Submarine" in London, England
1988 - Richard Marx's EMI Manhattan Records single "Hold On To The Night", with "Lonely Heart" on the flip side, is #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1955 - Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California

JULY 16, 2009

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1942 - Ray McKinley and His Orchestra (Larry Brooks, Dick Cathcart, Jack Steele, Pete Candoli on trumpet, Bill Corti, and Jim Harwood on trombone, Brad Gowans on valve trombone, Joe Park on tuba, Mahlon Clark on clarinet and alto saxophone, Herb Tompkins on alto saxophone, Jerry Feld and Paul Thatcher on tenor saxophone, Walt Wegner on baritone saxophoen, Lou Stein on piano, Dennis Sandoli on guitar, Gus Van Camp on bass, and McKinley on drums, with vocalist Imogene Lynn) record the tracks "Big Boy" (with Lynn on vocals), "Hard Hearted Hannah" (with McKinley on vocals), "Cheatin' On Me" (with Lynn on vocals), and "Long Island Clarinet" which was unissued and, unfortunately, no longer exists. They may have also recorded at the same session "Manhattan Serenade" (with Lynn on vocals), "Rock A Bye Bay" (with Lynn on vocals), "That Russian Winter" (with McKinley on vocals), and "Without A Song", but the last four tracks may have been recorded on July 18, 1942
1946 - Peggy Lee (on vocals with Buddy Cole's Four Of A Kind: Dave Barbour on guitar, Phil Stephens on bass, Cole on piano, celeste and organ, and Tommy Romersa on drums) records the tracks "Lullaby Of Broadway", "Solitude", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Lover, Come Back To Me", "I Don't Know Enough About You" , "Oh! Look At Me Now", "I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good", and "Someday Sweetheart" with recording engineer John Palladino for Capitol Records Transcripition Service at Radio Recorders, 7000 Santa Monica, Hollywood, California. The tracks will be issued on the 1998 Mosaic Records box set "The
Complete Peggy Lee & June Christy Capitol Transcription Sessions"
1957 - Frank Sinatra with The Ralph Brewster Singers (Sue Allen, Betty Allen, Ralph Brewster, Peggy Clark, Barbara Ford, Lee Gotch, Beverly Jenkins, Jimmy Joyce, Gene Lanham, Bill Lee, Ray Linn, Jr., John Mann, Thora Mathiason, Dorothy McCarty, Loulie Jean Norman, Betty Noves, The Ralph Brewster Singers: Thurl Ravenscroft, Ginny Roos, Max Smith, Bob Stevens, Bill Thompson, Bob Wacker, Betty Wand, Gloria Wood, and Norma Zimmer), records the tracks "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Jingle Bells", "The Christmas Waltz", and "The First Noel", which are arranged by Gordon Jenkins who also conducts the orchestra (Victor Arno, Harry Bluestone, Walter Edelstein, Sol Kindler, Joseph Livoti, Nick Pisani, Joseph Quadri, Lou Raderman, Mischa Russell, and Marshall Sosson on violins; William Baffa, Louis Kievman, Paul Robyn, and David Sterkin on violas; Cy Bernard and Armand Kaproff on cellos; Bill Miller on piano; Nathan Gangursky and John Ryan on bass; Allen Reuss on guitar; and Kathryn Thompson on harp), in Studio A of The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California for Sinatra's Capitol Records album "A Jolly Christmas" with producer Voyle Gilmore
1957 - The Four Freshmen (Bob Flanigan on vocal, trombone, bass; Don Barbour on vocal and guitar; Ross Barbour on vocal and drums; Ken Albers on vocals, trumpet, mellophone, and bass) with arranger Pete Rugalo conducting the studio orchestra (Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo, Ray Linn, Buddy Childers, and Don Fagerquist on trumpet; Milt Bernhart, Frank Rosolino, Herbie Harper, and Tommy Pederson on trombone; George Roberts on bass trombone; Clarence Karalla on tuba; Bud Shank, Harry Klee, Herbie Mann, Bob Cooper, and Chuck Gentry on saxophones and flutes; Laurindo Almeida on guitar; Jimmy Rowles on piano; Red Mitchell on bass; Shelly Manne on drums; Bernie Mattinson on vibraphone and percussion; Milt Holland on percusssion; Chico Guerrero on bongos and percussion; and Carlos Vidal on congas and percusssion) record the tracks "The Breeze And I", "Brazil", and "Tangerine" (all three of which Capitol Records will release on the group's album "Voices In Latin"), as well as "Julie Is Her Name" (without the percussionists and with arranger Dick Reynolds replacing Rugolo as conductor, which Capitol Records will release as a single [F3779] with "Sometimes I'm Happy" recorded May 24, 1957 on the flip side) at the Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. I wonder if they or Sinatra listened in to each others sessions as they were held the same day.
1958 - The Four Freshmen (Bob Flanigan on vocal, trombone, bass; Don Barbour on vocal and guitar; Ross Barbour on vocal and drums; Ken Albers on vocals, trumpet, mellophone, and bass) with arranger Dick Reynolds conducting the studio orchestra (Al Viola on guitar; Geoff Clarkson on piano; Red Mitchell on bass; Shelly Manne on drums and an uncredited string section) record the tracks "Time Was", "I Heard You Cried Last Night", and "I'll Remember April" at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California. All the tracks will appear on the group's Capitol Records album "Voices In Love".
1962 - The Beach Boys sign with Capitol Records
1963 - The Beatles record, for radio broadcast on the BBC, the tracks "I Got A Woman", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)", "Crying, Waiting, Hoping", "To Know Her Is To Love Her", "Long Tall Sally", "The Honeymoon Song", "Glad All Over", "I Just Don't Understand", a medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!", "Slow Down", that were released by Capitol Records in 1996 on the 4 CD set "The Beatles Live At The BBC", and and "Devil In Her Heart" that was one of three B sides (whose A-Side was "Baby It's You" that was recorded on June 1, 1963) on a CD-Single released to promote the 4 CD album.
1963 - Judy Garland and her daughter Lisa Minnelli, at the time both Capitol Records recording artist, make live recordings of a medley of the songs "Together We Could Make Such Beautiful Music", "The Best Is Yet To Come", "Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight?)" and "Bye Bye Baby" as well as the songs "Together (Wherever We Go)", "Let Me Entertain You", "Two Lost Souls" and the show's closing theme song "Maybe I'll Come Back" in Studio 43 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California for episode #3 of "The Judy Garland Show". This would be the first time they worked together professionally for a rehearsed scheduled performance. Judy, on her own, would also record the tracks "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)", "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "As Long As He Needs Me" for the show. The live recording of "As Long As He Needs Me" would appear on the Capitol Records album "Just For Openers".
40 Years Ago Today In 1969 - Merle Haggard records the track ""Okie From Muskogee" which Capitol Records will release with "If I Had Left It Up To You" on the flip side on September 15, 1969
1980 - Linda McCartney starts recording the track "Loves Full Glory" (finishing it October 1980) with lead guitar played by her son James McCartney and pedal steel guitar played by Lloyd Green. The track will be released by Capitol Records and MPL Communications in 1998 on McCartney's posthumous compilation album "Wide Prarie".
1997 - Capitol Records releases the video for Foo Fighter's single "Everlong" directed by Michel Gondry
2008 - Jo Stafford, Capitol Records artist, both as a member of The Pied Pipers and as a solo artist, and wife of Capitol Records artist and the label's first music director, dies of congestive heart failure at her home in Century City, California at age 90.

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1957 - Bob Brookmeyer (on valve trombone and piano) records (with Jimmy Giuffre on clarinet, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone; Jim Hall on guitar; Ralph Pena on bass; and Dave Bailey on drums) the track "Honeysuckle Rose", with producer Richard Bock and recording engineer Al Schmitt, at Costal Studios in New York City for his Pacific Jazz album "Traditionalism Revisited". Pacific Jazz's catalog is currently owned by Capitol Records.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1951 - Cary Grant leaves his footprints in cement at ceremony #94 at Graumann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California

JULY 15, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1946 - Linda Ronstadt, vocalist with the Capitol Records group The Stone Poneys and also as a Capitol Records solo artist, is born Linda Marie Ronstadt in Tucson, Arizona. 25 years ago today in 1983, on Ronstadt's 37th birthday, she makes her film debut, recreating her role of Mabel from the 1980 New York Shakespeare Festival stage production, in the motion picture version of "The Pirates of Penzance".

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
65 Years Ago Today In 1944 - Andy Russell (with orchestra conducted by Al Sack)'s Capitol Records single "Amor" is #7 up from #10 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart and Jo Stafford (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Long Ago And Far Away" is still at #9
1946 - Peggy Lee records the track "A Nightingale Can Sing The Blues" with arranger Frank DeVol conducting his orchestra and an uncredited string section and producer Lee Gillette in Los Angeles, California. Capitol will release the track as a single (#15001) with "There’ll Be Some Changes Made" (recorded on August 17, 1947) on the flip side
1950 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Mona Lisa" is still #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Les Paul's Capitol Records single "Nola" is #14 up from #20, and Kay Starr (with Lou Busch and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Bonaparte's Retreat" is still #16
1953 - The new lineup of The Four Freshmen (now Bob Flanigan on vocals, trombone, and bass; Don Barbour on vocal and guitar; Ross Barbour on vocal and drums: and Ken Errair on vocal, trumpet, mellophone, and bass) at their first session record the tracks "It Happened Once Before" and "Holiday" at Fulton Studios in New York City, New York. Capitol Records will release on the tracks on the band's album "Voices In Modern".
1957 - Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Send For Me" is #14 up from #24 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart and Tommy Sands Capitol Records single "Goin' Steady" is tied for #40 down from #36 with Perry Como (with Mitchell Ayers and His Orchestra)'s single "Girl With The Golden Braids"
1968 - Capitol Records releases The Beach Boys' single "Do It Again" with "Wake The World" on the flip side. The single will peak at #20 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart.
1968 - Capitol Records releases Tennessee Ernie Ford's compilation album "The Best Of Tennessee Ernie Ford's Hymns"
1971 - Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, releases "Relics", Pink Floyd's first compilation album
1972 - Buck Owens and The Buckaroos' Capitol Records single "Made In Japan" with "Black Texas Dirt" on the flip side, hits #1 on Billboard's Country Singles chart. It will be Owen's last #1 single.
30 Years Ago Today In 1979 - Anne Murray's Capitol Records single "Shadows In The Moonlight" with "Yucatan Cafe" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
25 Years Ago Today In 1984 - Anne Murray's Capitol Records single "Just Another Woman In Love", with "Heart Stealer" on the flip side, is #1 on the U.S. Country singles chart
1997 - Capitol Records releases The Dandy Warhols' album "...The Dandy Warhols Come Down"
2002 - Kenny Hollis, vocalist for Capitol Records Canada group (1975-1976) Copperpenny, dies of a heart attack after being hit by a car
2005 - Donald Plunkett, former Capitol Records recording engineer along with being a Charter Member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), as well as its executive director for 20 years and past president, passes away suddenly in New York at age 81

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1905 - Dorothy Fields, lyricist (with Cy Coleman wrote the Broadway shows "Sweet Charity" and "Seesaw", with Jerome Kern wrote ""The Way You Look Tonight" which won the 1936 Academy Award for Best Song, and with Jimmy McHugh wrote "I Can’t Give You Anything But Love", "I’m in the Mood for Love", and "On the Sunny Side of the Street") and the daughter of Vaudeville and Broadway comedian Lew Fields, is born in Allenhurst, New Jersey. Many Capitol Records artists have covered Fields' songs.
1957 - Rick Nelson's Imperial Records single "Teenager's Romance" is tied for #21 down from #12 with Fats Domino's Imperial Records single "Valley Of Tears" down from #17. Imperial Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1970 - Blue Note Records releases Bobby Hutcherson's album "San Francicso featuring Harold Land". Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1997 - Capitol Records releases on CD for the first time Charles Mingus' Roulette Records album "Mingus Three". EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company, currently owns the Roulette Records catalog.

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS
15 Years Ago Today In 1994 - Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves his footprints in cement at ceremony #159 at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California

JULY 14, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
1933 - Del Reeves, singer, radio and television show host, and Capitol (1957-1958) and United Artists (1965-1978) Records artists, is born Franklin Delano Reeves in Sparta, North Carolina

ON THIS DAY IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1942 - Capitol Records gets its first review in Down Beat Magazine of the label's first released singles
1945 - Johnny Mercer and The Pied Pipers (with Paul Weston and His Orchestra)' Capitol Records single "On The Atchison, Topeka, and The Santa Fe" is #2 up from #4 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart
60 Years Ago Today In 1949 - Woody Herman and His Orchestra (with Herman on clarinet and alto saxophone, Stan Fishelson, Al Porcino, Ernie Royal, Charlie Walp, and Shorty Rogers on trumpet; Bill Harris, Earl Swope, and Ollie Wilson on trombone; Bart Varsalona on bass trombone; Sam Marowitz (on alto saxophone: Gene Ammons, Buddy Savitt, and Jimmy Giuffre on tenor saxophone; Serge Chaloff on baritone saxophone: Terry Gibbs on vibraphone; Lou Levy on piano; Joe Mondragon on bass; Shelly Manne on drums; and Mary Ann McCall on vocals) record the tracks "Detour Ahead" (with McCall on vocals and arranged by Jimmy Giuffre), "Jamaica Rhumba" (also with McCall on vocals and arranged by Shorty Rodgers), and the instrumental "Not Really The Blues" (arranged by Johnny Mandel) in Hollywood, California. "Detour Ahead" and "Not Really The Blues" will be released by Capitol Records together as a single (#837). Capitol Records will release "Jamaica Rhumba" as a single with "Tenderly" (arranged by Neal Hefti and recorded on July 20, 1949) on the flip side.
1950 - Tennesse Ernie Ford, with The Starlighters on backing vocals, records the track "It's The Talk Of The Town* (which Capitol Records will finally release on the 1994 album "Masters 1949-1976") and "Bright Lights And Blonde-Haired Women" which will be released by Capitol on May 2, 1960 as part of the album "Sixteen Tons"
1951 - Nat "King" Cole (with orchestra conducted by Les Baxter)'s Capitol Records single "Too Young" is still #1 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Les Paul and Mary Ford's Capitol Records single "How High The Moon" is #4 down from #3, and Les Paul's Capitol Records single "Josephine" is still #16
1956 - Gene Vincent and The Blue Caps' Capitol Records single "Be Bop A Lula" is #12 up from #23 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart, Joe "Fingers' Carr (with orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Portuguese Washerwoman" is #27 up from #40, The Four Freshmen's Capitol Records single "Graduation Day" is #30 down from #27, and Tex Ritter's Capitol Records single "The Wayward Wind" is #32 up from #37
1957 - At 7 PM on a Sunday, CBS Radio Network broadcasts the first episode of "The Stan Freberg Show" as a summer replacement for Jack Benny featuring the voices of Daws Butler, June Foray, Peter Leeds, and Freberg himself. Capitol Records will later release a "best of" album of the show. Joe Bevilcqua has put up a Daws Butler tribute site that has a great article about the show.
1958 - The Four Freshmen (Bob Flanigan on vocal, trombone and bass; Don Barbour on vocal and guitar; Ross Barbour on vocal and drums; and Ken Albers on vocal, trumpet, mellophone, and bass) record the tracks "There Is No Greater Love", "Out Of Nowhere", and "In The Still Of The Night" with Al Viola on guitar, Geoff Clarkson on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, Shelly Manne on drums, and arranger Dick Reynolds conducting a string section at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California for their Capitol Records album "Voices In Love"
1958 - Stan Kenton and His Orchestra begin two straight days of sessions at The Capitol Tower Studios in Hollywood, California where the tracks "Opus In Pastels", "Machito" and "Artistry In Rhythm" will be recorded and eventually released by Capitol Records as bonus tracks on the 1992 CD "Kenton In Hi-Fi"
1958 - Dean Martin (with Dick Stabile and His Orchestra)'s Capitol Records single "Return To Me"is #14 down from #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, Nat "King" Cole's Capitol Records single "Looking Back" is tied for #18 down from #13 with The Four Prep's Capitol Records single "Big Man" down from #15, The Johnny Otis Show's Capitol Records single "Willie And The Hand Jive" is tied for #21 up from #27 with The Platter's single "Twilight Time", and Ed Townsend's Capitol Records single "For Your Love" is still #31
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - The Beatles record the tracks "Long Tall Sally", "Things We Said Today", "A Hard Day's Night", "And I Love Her", "I Should Have Known Better", "If I Fell", and "You Can't Do That' for BBC' Radio's "Top Gear" show in Studio 2 at Broadcasting House in London, England from 7:00-11:00pm. "The Things We Said Today" and a spoken track called "Have A Banana!" , recorded at the same time, will later be released by Apple Records on the 1994 CD complilation "Live At The BBC" which Capitol Records will distribute in the United States
1966 - The Beatles' single "Paperback Writer" with "Rain" on the flip side, is certified Gold by The R.I.A.A.
1975 - Zutty Singleton (born Arthur James Singleton), drummer and Capitol Records solo and session artist, dies at age 77 in New York, New York
1992 - Capitol Records releases Megadeth's album "Countdown To Extinction" which will eventually sell over 2 million copies and be certified Double Platinum by the R.I.A.A.
1997 - An article in Jet Magazine reports that EMI Group has closed EMI Records America and Enclave Records. Enclave was folded into Virgin Records and EMI Records America remaining acts and some staff were split between Virgin and Capitol Records.
1998 - Capitol Records and Grand Royal Records release The Beastie Boys album "Hello Nasty"
10 Years Ago Today In 1999 - Gar Samuelson, original drummer (1984-1986) with Capitol Records band Megadeth, July 14, dies at the age of 41 due to "undiagnosed liver complications" at his home in Orange City, Florida

ON THIS DAY NOT QUITE IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1912 - Woody Guthrie, singer, songwriter, guitarist, cousin of Capitol Records artist Jack Guthrie, and father of singer, songwriter, guitarist, and motion picture actor Arlo Guthrie, is born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie in Okemah, Oklahoma
1928 - Nancy Olson, motion picture actress (including "Sunset Boulevard", "The Absent-Minded Professor", "Snowball Express" and "Flubber" among many others) and current wife of former Capitol Records vice-president, president and Chairman of Capitol Records and creator of Bozo The Clown Alan Livingston, is born Nancy Ann Olson in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1942 - Glenn Miller and His Orchestra record the track "Caribbean Clipper" using an arrangement by band member, trumpet player, and future Capitol Records artist Billy May
1956 - Trumpetist Thad Jones (with Billy Mitchell on tenor saxophone, Barry Harris on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Max Roach on drums), records the tracks "Thedia Blue Note", "April In Paris" (both of which appear on Jones' Blue Note Records album "The Magnificent Thad Jones"), "I've Got A Crush On You (without Mitchell on tenor saxophone which will appear on Jones' Blue Note album "The Magnificent Thad Jones Volume 3"), "Billie Doo", "If I Love Again" and "Someone Had Told Me (without Mitchell on tenor saxophone) with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. The last three tracks also appear on Jones' Blue Notes album The Magnificent Thad Jones". Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1956 - Fats Domino's Imperial Records single "I'm In Love Again" is #5 up from #6 on Billboard's Best Selling Retail Records chart and Domino's Imperial Records single "My Blue Heaven" is tied for #28 up from #31 with Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers' single "I Want You To Be My Girl". Imperial Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1957 - Bassist Paul Chambers (with Kenny Burrell on guitar, Hank Jones on piano, and Art Taylor on drums) records the tracks "Yesterdays", "You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Chasin’ The Bird", "Dear Old Stockholm", "The Theme", and "Confessin’ (I’m Confessin’ That I Love You)", for his Blue Note Records album "Bass On Top", and "Chamber Mates", which was finally released by Mosaic Records on its "Mosaic Select: Paul Chambers" box set, with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at The Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1957 - Capitol Records artist Stan Freberg debuts a weekly evening comedy program on the CBS Radio network. The show only lasted a short time and Capitol Records would release an album of highlights from the show.
1958 - Rick Nelson's Imperial Records single "Poor Little Fool" is #4 up from #18 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, David Seville's Liberty Records single "Witch Doctor" is #16 down from #10, Dion and The Belmonts' Laurie Records single "I Wonder Why" is tied for #32 down from #25 with Eydie Gormé (with Don Costa and His Orchestra and Chorus)'s single "You Need Hands", and David Seville's Liberty Records single "The Bird On My Head" is in a four way tie for #40 up from #63 with Link Wray and His Ray Men's single "Rumble, and Don Gibson's single "Blue, Blue Day". Imperial, Liberty, and Laurie Records' catalogs are currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1960 - Pianist Horace Parlan (with Tommy Turrentine on trumpet, Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone, George Tucker on bass, and Al Harewood on drums) records the two takes of the track "Rastus" (the first appearing on Parlan's Blue Note Records album "Speakin' My Piece" and the second released on the Blue Note [Japan] Toshiba EMI album "Rare Tracks - The Other Side Of Blue Note 4000 Series" in Japan), "Borderline", "Speakin' My Piece", and "Oh, So Blue" (all released on Parlan's Blue Note Records album "Speakin' My Piece"), an alternate version of "Oh, So Blue" (which remained unreleased until it appeared on Mosaic Records' 2000 box set "The Complete Blue Note Horace Parlan Sessions"), as well as "Up In Cynthia's Room" and "Wadin'" (which also appeared on Parlan's Blue Note Records album "Speakin' My Piece") with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1962 - Bobby Vee's Liberty Records single "Sharing You" is #30 down from #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. Liberty Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
45 Years Ago Today In 1964 - Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles, resigns his directorship with I. Epstein & Sons (Liverpool) Limited.
1965 - Trumpet player Blue Mitchell (with Junior Cook on tenor saxophone, Chick Corea on piano, Gene Taylor on bass, and Al Foster on drums) records the tracks "Samba De Stacy", "Hi Heel Sneakers", "Alone, Alone, Alone", "Perception", "March On Selma" and "One Shirt" for his Blue Note Records album "Down With It" with producer Alfred Lion and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder's studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1965 - Spencer Williams, jazz pianist, singer and composer, including "Basin Street Blues" and Capitol Records' first single's A side "I Found A New Baby" which was recorded by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, dies in Flushing, New York at age 75
1967 - Blue Note Records releases Lee Morgan's album "The Procrastinator". Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1998 - Blue Note Records releases the 2 CD set by the Gerry Mulligan Quartet "The Original Quartet With Chet Baker" which contains all 42 tracks they recorded for Pacific Jazz Records. Pacific Jazz's catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
1998 - Blue Note Records also releases Pat Martino and Joyus Lake's CD "Stone Blue".Blue Note Records' catalog is currently owned by EMI Music Group, Capitol Music Group's parent company.
2001 - The last original Bozo The Clown episode, titled "Bozo: 40 Years of Fun!", airs on WGN as a prime-time special

ON THIS DAY NOT IN CAPITOL RECORDS HISTORY
1910 - Bill Hanna, animator, director, producer and co-founder of Hanna-Barbera Studios with his partner Joseph Barbera, is born William Denby Hanna in Melrose, New Mexico