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marketing anthology records, staring with 1972s' "Superstars of the '70s," and worked at Capitol Records and as director of con- sumer research for Warner Communications. Kapp always had an interest in cars — he was President of the Rolls Royce Owners Club— and in 1994 came to the Pen- insula to attend the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. "I was a Bentley guy," he says, "I entered and won awards twice." He became a judge, and this year will mark his 20th anniversary in that position. It's perhaps his relationships with America's pioneering Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astro- nauts that are among his most treasured mem- ories. Everywhere one turns in his neat-as-a- pin office are mementos given to him person- ally by those space-age heroes: scale-model rockets, an authentic astronaut helmet, cer tificates of apprecia- tion and personal photographs. Kapp is also proud of the fact that he came up with the idea of sending the astronauts to space with music. "Weight was a great concern for NASA, because it's expensive put- ting things in space," he recalls. "But music doesn't weigh anything." Despite his many accomplish- ments, Mickey Kapp remains a modest, engaging man with a mis- chievous twinkle in his eye, always ready with a good joke. He's a treasure trove of interesting stories about the music and astro- naut businesses and is willing to share them at the drop of a hat…or a space helmet. 176 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 Joyce and Mickey Kapp share their Carmel Valley home with their two Havanese, Benji and Bosco. Mickey is the third generation of Kapps to engage in a successful music business career. This 1920 photo of Kapps Music Store on West Madison Street in Chicago was owned and operated by his grandfather Meyer. Photo: Courtesy of Mickey & Joyce Kapp Photo: Kelli Uldall