Birth name Alexander Emil Caiola Name Al Caiola | Role Guitarist | |
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Occupation(s) Guitarist, arranger, composer Instruments Guitar, mandolin, banjo Years active 1955–1969;1980–present Associated acts Bobby Shad And The Bad Men, The Guitars Unlimited Plus 7, The Living Guitars, Tony Mottola And The Quad Guitars, The Living Trio, The Columbia Musical Treasuries Orchestra, Roy Ross And The Ragamuffins With Dizzy Gillespie, The Village Stompers, The Ragtimers Albums Golden Hit Instrumentals, Tuff Guitar Tijuana Style, Music For Space Squirrels, Golden Guitar, Spanish Guitars Similar People Bert Kaempfert, Percy Faith, Hugo Montenegro, Franck Pourcel, Duane Eddy | ||
Al Caiola / Guitar Boogie
Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was a guitarist, composer and arranger who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of the biggest names in music during the 20th century, including Elvis Presley, Ferrante & Teicher, Frank Sinatra, Percy Faith, Buddy Holly, Mitch Miller, and Tony Bennett. During World War II Caiola played with the United States Marine Corps 5th Marine Division Band that also included Bob Crosby. Caiola served in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a stretcher bearer.
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Two guitars al caiola 1961
Career
Caiola was a studio musician in the 1950s in New York City. He released some minor records under his own name in that decade. In addition, he performed under the musical direction of John Serry Sr. on an album for Dot Records in 1956 (Squeeze Play).
In 1960 he became a recording star on the United Artists label for over ten years. He had hits in 1961 with "The Magnificent Seven" and "Bonanza". His guitar style was inspired by Duane Eddy. The arrangements were typically by Don Costa, using a large orchestral backing. Caiola continuously released singles and albums throughout the 1960s and beyond, though no others appeared on the charts except for an entry in 1964 with "From Russia with Love". United Artists used him to make commercial recordings of many movie and TV themes: "Wagon Train (Wagons Ho)", "The Ballad of Paladin", "The Rebel", and "Gunslinger". His album Solid Gold Guitar contained arrangements of "Jezebel", "Two Guitars", "Big Guitar", "I Walk the Line", and "Guitar Boogie".
The Magnificent Seven album, other than the title track, consisted of a variety of pop songs with a jazzy bent. Guitars Guitars Guitars was similar. There was a wide variety to his albums — soft pop, Italian, Hawaiian, country, jazz. In the early 1970s he continued on the Avalanche Recordings label, producing similar work including the album Theme From the 'Magnificent 7 Ride' '73. Later, on other labels, came some ethnic-themed instrumental albums such as In a Spanish Mood in 1982, and Italian instrumentals. In 1976, Caiola accompanied Sergio Franchi, Dana Valery, and Wayne J. Kirby (Franchi's musical director) on a concert tour to Johannesburg, South Africa.
Caiola died in Allendale, New Jersey, at the age of 96.