Stroll over to your shelf, the one that holds your hi-fi and a few dozen albums, and proceed to flip through your record collection.
Flip, flip, flip.
How often does a small oval logo, the one circling a dome and some stars, pop up? We'll make a good guess and say "incredibly often," for Capitol Records, and the rich catalog that's sprung from the legendary company over the decades, has woven into our album collections, our day-to-day listening, the lyrics we've memorized, and the superstars we love.
The celebrated tunesmith titan is turning 75, and it is doing so in the turn-it-up-iest, feel-the-beat-iest way, by offering "an extensive slate of music, film, and literary projects that will pay tribute to Capitol artists spanning the past eight decades and shine a spotlight on their historic contributions to music and popular culture."
That tribute spirit'll start to spin as fast as a 33 1/3 record album set to 45 on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
That's the official Capitol Records Day in Hollywood, and the company, which has long existed adjacent to a caboodle of sidewalk stars at its longtime location near Hollywood and Vine, will "receive a star of recognition from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce."
The Capitol Record star's placement? Below that mid-century marvel, the iconic stacked-record tower at 1750 Vine St., of course.
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In addition to the classic below-your-feet sidewalk symbol, the Los Angeles City Council "will present Capitol wil a resolution declaring November 15 Capitol Records Day in the city."
And one more cherry on top of this celebratory sundae, or, rather, metallic steeple on top of a tall building? The spire at the tippy point of the Capitol Records Tower will broadcast out, via Morse code, "Capitol 75" for the next year.
Did you know it is always sending out the word "Hollywood" to the unseen waves via Morse code, every single day of the year? You did, surely. It's Tinseltown Trivia 101.
And surely you know your famous Capitol artists, from Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra to Al Martino to Tina Turner to Peggy Lee to the Beastie Boys to Katy Perry. You have their albums on your shelf, next to the hi-fi. Or you have their hits on your pocket music player, or on some compact discs, or maybe even a few cherished cassettes.
Because cassettes still rule.
Or own the work of your favorite artists on all the formats, which means our aforementioned joke, about a 33 1/3 LP going at 45 brought a chuckle, or at least a wry and patient smile.
And music fans do know a lot about music history, its formats, its artists, and the giants behind the control boards and microphones, like Capitol Records.
So happy big 75th to the round sound building near Hollywood and Vine. We're looking forward to all of the dance-worthy, snap-along-to-it stuff that's still to come during your do-it-up anniversary year.
