Al Caiola (born Alexander Emil Caiola, September 7, 1920,
Jersey City, New Jersey) is a guitarist who plays jazz, country, rock, western,
and pop music. He has been both a studio musician and stage performer. He has
recorded over fifty albums and has worked with some of the biggest stars of the
20th Century, including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Percy Faith, Buddy Holly,
Mitch Miller, and Tony Bennett.
At the age of twelve he was already a guitar prodigy and by
his sixteenth birthday he was an established guitarist and performer throughout
the Jersey City area. During World War II, Caiola joined the Marine Corps and
became part of the Parris Island base band until he was assigned to active
combat on the island of Iwo Jima as a stretcher bearer.
After the war he used
the G.I. Bill to study music composition and theory at the New Jersey College
of Music. Not long after graduating, Caiola moved to New York City, where he
was hired as a staff musician by CBS Radio, working under Archie Bleyer. He
stayed with the CBS Radio orchestra until 1956, participating in many shows in
the early days of television (Toast of the Town, Jackie Gleason Show, Arthur
Godfrey's Talent Scouts).
The first record under his own name was "Mambo
Jambo"/"Bim Bam Bum" (RCA 5143) in 1953, followed by three other
RCA singles. Al had four LP's released in the second half of the 1950s, two on
Savoy, one on Atco and one on RCA. Being an extremely versatile guitarist who
could handle any genre, Caiola easily adapted to the changes brought about by
the advent of rock 'n' roll and was much in demand as a session guitarist.
Atlantic's Ahmet Ertegun was particularly fond of him and used him on sessions
by (among others) Ruth Brown, Chuck Willis, LaVern Baker, The Coasters and
Bobby Darin. But Al also played behind many non-Atlantic artists, like Paul
Anka (it's Caiola doing the arpeggios on "Diana"), Buddy Holly,
Frankie Avalon, Fabian (great guitar solo on "Tiger"), Connie Francis
and Del Shannon.
In 1960, Al Caiola began an 11-year affiliation with United
Artists, during which period he had 32 singles and 34 albums released. At the
suggestion of his producer / arranger, Don Costa, he began to play the melodies
on the lower strings, creating a guttural sound similar to Duane Eddy. Al
himself called it the "tuff guitar" and became identified with that
sound. His first two singles for United Artists were his biggest (and only)
hits.
The theme from the classic Western film "The
Magnificent Seven" (later well known from the Marlboro commercial) reached
# 35 on the Billboard charts and one position higher in the UK, where Al had to
compete with a cover version by the John Barry Seven. This success spurred
Caiola and Costa to record another Western-themed instrumental, the opening
music to the TV series "Bonanza" (United Artists 302).
This was an even bigger hit, peaking at # 19 in April 1961.
Caiola used a Gretsch on those two hits. In the mid-sixties he would sign with
Epiphone Guitars, who created their own Caiola model guitar. Because United
Artists was an arm of the United Artists motion picture studio, more often than
not Caiola recorded albums that contained "tie-ins" to UA's film and
television projects. "You're
obligated to do those things for the company."
obligated to do those things for the company."
After years of interpreting existing movie soundtracks, Al
got to generate one of his own. With composer / conductor George Romanis he
came up with the entire score (and soundtrack album) for the 1967 comedy motion
picture "Eight On the Lam", starring Bob Hope and Jonathan Winters.
In between his recordings for United Artists, Caiola also performed a series of
"Living Guitar" albums for the RCA Camden label, as well as a
collection of easy-listening albums for Time Records.
In 1971, Al bought out the rest of his UA contract and left
the company, as he felt the need to explore his own new frontiers. He recorded
some sides for the Avalanche label, performed with the Andre Kostelanetz
Orchestra, scored and performed on hundreds of TV commercials and jingles and
wrote the popular Al Caiola Presents series of guitar instruction books.
Beginning in the 1980s, Caiola cut back on his schedule and
began to take a few touring jobs. In 1985, he was the lead guitarist in the
band that accompanied Frank Sinatra on his tour of Europe, and he regularly
appeared with Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme in their nightclub and concert
performances. He performed with Frank Sinatra, Jr., on Dec. 31, 2010 and is
still active today! (Info mainly from Black cat Rockabilly)
They came together to celebrate the late, great Django
Reinhardt. Frank Vignola invited another revered guitar-slinger, 94-year-old Al
Caiola, to join him and Vinny Raniolo, Gary Mazzaroppi, Jason Annick and singer
Aidra Mariel at the Sanctuary series in NJ. Video by Kevin Coughlin for
MorristownGreen.com, Jan. 10, 2015.
2 comments:
For “Bonanza - Al Caiola” go here;
http://www66.zippyshare.com/v/wkkx6DxB/file.html
01 The Magnificent Seven
02 Bonanza
03 The Lonely Rebel
04 The Bounty Hunter
05 Sergeants Three March
06 Experiment In Terror
07 Guitar Boogie
08 Kalinka
09 Gunsmoke
10 Burke's Law Theme
11 Smoke Signals (Redwing)
12 From Russia With Love
13 The Guns Of Navarone
14 Tuff Guitar
15 Ram-Bunk-Shush
16 Honky Tonk - (Part 2)
17 Hunky Funky
18 Hearts Of Stone
19 I'll Walk The Line
20 Big Guitar
21 Two Guitars
22 Foot Stompin'
23 Wheels
24 Jezebel
25 Mexico
26 Brasil
27 The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
28 Return Of The Magnificent Seven
29 Stag Or Drag
30 Scalphunters Theme
31 High Chapparal
32 Stiletto
33 Guitar Woman
A big thank you to Jake @ Jukebox City for link
For “AL CAIOLA: 30 INSTRUMENTAL DELIGHTS” go here;
http://www95.zippyshare.com/v/GIVeSxH1/file.html
A big thank you to Rato Records for link.
Post a Comment