Al Caiola, RIP

Legendary Guitarist Al Caiola Has Died At Age 96



Legendary guitarist Alexander "Al" Caiola died Wednesday (November 9) at the age of 96. Al was one of the top studio musicians in New York in the '50s and '60s, playing on such hits as "Diana" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" with Paul Anka, Percy Faith's "Theme From 'A Summer Place'", "Mack The Knife" and "Dream Lover" for Bobby Darin, Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl", Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are", "Mrs. Robinson" from Simon & Garfunkel and Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (that's only a fraction of the songs he played on even for those artists).

As a recording artist himself, he charted with the TV theme "Bonanza (#19 in 1961) and the movie theme "The Magnificent Seven" (#35-1961). All told, the Jersey City, New Jersey native recorded over 50 albums. He played on hundreds of commercial jingles and issued a series of best-selling guitar instruction books.

 

Al is simply one of the greatest guitarists to have ever lived. RIP.

 

This sucks too.. Already Leonard Cohen and now Al Caiola. I've got many of his LPs and always love that golden Epiphone guitar on the covers..

 

Legend - good life, sad loss..

Jeff

 

Many of our favorite 50s-60s pop recordings would not have sounded the way they did without Al's unique guitar sound.

 

wow, knew all of those musical works.

RIP Al for all the playing, and instrumental film works.

Condolences to family, friends, and fans.

 

What a great talent and legend. RIP.

 

RIP.

(Didn't know he was still alive)

 

Partial studio recording list:

Paul Anka — "Diana", "Lonely Boy", "My Way", "Puppy Love", "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", "Times of Your Life"

Louis Armstrong — "Back O'Town Blues", "Mop! Mop!", "Blueberry Hill" (All three tracks recorded live in 1947)

Frankie Avalon — "DeDe Dinah", "Venus"

Burt Bacharach — "Bridget Bardo"

Pearl Bailey — "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'", "Westport"

LaVern Baker — "I Cried a Tear", "I'm Leaving You", banjo on "Humpty Dumpty Heart"

Tony Bennett — "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Stranger in Paradise"

Ruth Brown — "Miss Rhythm", "Late Date with Ruth Brown"

Solomon Burke — "Cry to Me"

Glen Campbell — "Galveston"

Petula Clark — "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "This Is My Song"

Rosemary Clooney — "Come on a My House", "Half as Much", "Hey There", "This Ole House"

The Coasters — "Dance!", "Gee, Golly", "Hungry", "I'm Fallin'", "Run Red Run"

Perry Como — "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes", "Patricia", "Temptation"

Ray Conniff, His Orchestra And Chorus — "Melody for Two Guitars"

The Crickets — "Rave On!", "That's My Desire"

King Curtis & Al Caiola — "Guitar Boogie Shuffle"

Bobby Darin — "Artificial Flowers", "Bill Bailey", "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife", "Queen of the Hop", "Splish Splash", "That's All"

Peter De Angelis Orchestra & Chorus featuring Al Caiola — "The Happy Mandolin"

Dion — "Abraham, Martin and John", "Drip Drop", "Runaround Sue", "The Wanderer"

Fabian — "Tiger", "Turn Me Loose", "Hound Dog Man"

Percy Faith — "The Theme from A Summer Place"

Ferrante & Teicher — "Airport Love Theme", "Theme from Exodus"

Eddie Fisher — "Anytime", "Dungaree Doll", "On the Street Where You Live", "Oh! My Pa-Pa"

The Four Lads — "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing", "Moments to Remember", "No, Not Much", "Standing on the Corner"

Sergio Franchi - Two entire RCA Victor albums in 1968: "I'm A Fool to Want You" & "Wine and Song"

Connie Francis — "Al-Di-La", "Arrivederci Roma", "Mama", "Summertime in Venice"

Jackie Gleason — "From Russia with Love", "Melancholy Serenade"

The Bobby Hackett Quartet — entire "You Stepped Out of a Dream" album

Herbie Hancock — "Deck the Halls"

Woody Herman — "Body and Soul", "Caldonia", "Early Autumn", "Mood Indigo"

Al Hirt — "Big Honey", "Puppet on a String"

Buddy Holly — "I'm Gonna Love You Too", "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", "Moondreams", "True Love Ways"

The Hugo & Luigi Chorus — "It Happened in Monterey"

Ivory Joe Hunter — "Empty Arms", "Love's a Hurting Game"

Mahalia Jackson — "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", "I See God", "You're Not Living In Vain"

Willis Jackson — "Back Door", "Lator Gator"
Ben E. King — "Spanish Harlem", "Stand by Me"

Andre Kostelanetz — "The Impossible Dream", "My Favorite Things"

Frankie Laine — "Lonely Man", "Moonlight Gambler"

Brenda Lee — "Fairyland", "One Step at a Time"

Peggy Lee — "Lean On Me", "Spinning Wheel"

Jerry Lee Lewis — "Let's Talk About Us", "To Make Love Sweeter For You"

Julie London — "Lonely Girl", "Remember"

Al Martino — "Spanish Eyes"

Johnny Mathis — "Chances Are", "It's Not for Me to Say", "Misty", "Smile", "The Twelfth of Never"

Howard McGhee — "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" (Bethlehem, 1956)

The McGuire Sisters — "Sugartime"

Helen Merrill — "It's De-Lovely"

Mitch Miller — "The Yellow Rose of Texas", most "Sing Along with Mitch" albums

Guy Mitchell — "Knee Deep in the Blues", "Run with the Best"

Lou Monte — "Lazy Mary", "Pepino the Italian Mouse"

Claus Ogerman — "Lyric Suite"

Elvis Presley — "Santa Lucia"

Johnnie Ray — "Just Walkin' in the Rain", "Soliloquy of a Fool"

Henri René And His Orchestra — entire "Compulsion To Swing" album

Marty Robbins — "A White Sport Coat", "She Was Only Seventeen", "The Story of My Life"

Neil Sedaka — "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", "Calendar Girl", "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen", "Next Door to an Angel"

Del Shannon — "Hats Off to Larry", "Little Town Flirt", "Runaway"

Simon & Garfunkel — "Mrs. Robinson", "Old Friends", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (also see Tom & Jerry)

Frank Sinatra — "Bye Bye Baby", "Don't Cry Joe", "Drinking Again", "It All Depends on You"

Somethin' Smith and the Redheads — "It's Gonna Snowflow", "Love Is a Gamble"

Barbra Streisand — "Bye Bye Blackbird"

Tom & Jerry (Simon & Garfunkel) — "Baby Talk"

Sarah Vaughan — "Autumn in New York", "Lullaby of Birdland", "Moonlight in Vermont", "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"

The Village Stompers - "Washington Square"

Dinah Washington — entire "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!" album

Andy Williams — "Butterfly", "Canadian Sunset"

Joe Williams — "I Should Have Kissed Her More", "On the Sunny Side of the Street"

Chuck Willis — "C. C. Rider" (also known as "See See Rider"), "Hang Up My Rock 'N' Roll Shoes", "What Am I Living For?"

Hugo Winterhalter — "Blue Tango", "Count Every Star"

As you can see, he played with nearly every legendary pop artist ever and will always be one of the most talented guitarists to have ever lived.

 

He even played on a lot of Lou Christie's recordings

 

that list is staggering. what a loss, though i think most of us would take 96.

 

Yes, 96 and what he did to contribute to the world is a definite full life. It is still sad news big time as he is a true legend in music.

 

This is proof of why Al is a legend who is already missed.

 

I would've thought Paul Simon covered all or most guitar parts on S&G hits, he is so good! Listen to "The Boxer" (sorry to cap).

 

Al Caiola was an awesome guitarist. Both as a session musician, and on his own fine output for United Artists. His recorded legacy is vast and wide, and his work will live on forever. Al Caiola's loss is also a very sad one in the music world, a musician's musician. He will be missed. A tip, if you ever find a clean copy of "King Guitar" take it home and play this on your turntable. It is loaded with superb guitar work and awesome arrangements. You will love it. And likely a nice copy won't cost you much money. Great cheap audiophile thrills here. RIP Al Caiola, you will be missed. Also, Al Caiola arranged and also played on the RCA Living Guitars albums, played on many of the 50 Guitars of Tommy Garrett albums for Liberty.

 

Brad, this is terrible news. I'm at a loss for words. Such an inspiring and versatile guitarist. The classic albums released under his own name matched quality of the ones he played on for other artists. He served in World War II and came from a dying breed of that "great generation" we cherish. RIP Al

 

I can't find news of this anywhere.

 

Sadly, Al's longtime friend Frank Vignola confirmed this on his Facebook. Like you, I wish it was a hoax.
Frank Vignola | Facebook »

 

Here's an Epiphone issued Al Caiola guitar model FWIW:

 

What a player, some great records, 96 is a pretty decent innings too.

 

Along with Tony Mottola, one of the Guitar Muzak greats. RIP