Return to Rock-and-Roll Page.Al Caiola made his mark on the top forty in the early 60's with some memorable instrumentals from some well-known Westerns.
He was born Alexander Emil Caiola in 1920 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He learned to play a guitar and decided early on that he would like to make a living as a musician.
He made his first recording with Savoy in 1955. Al issued a number of LP's on Savoy, including Serenade In Blue and Deep In A Dream. Al Caiola was a prolific studio musician. He recorded some singles on RCA, and the most notable among his early work was his version of a 1952 number one hit for Percy Faith titled Delicado. Caiola's record became an international hit and he began to draw notice.
Besides his work as a studio musician and guitarist, Caiola did some music composing and served as a bandleader. He worked with a number of big names in the industry at the time, including Andre Kostelanetz, Percy Faith, Mitch Miller and Hugo Winterhaler.
Al moved on to United Artists and in 1961 he issued The Magnificant Seven theme, from the movie of the same name, and Bonanza, which would become the theme from the top-rated television show of the same name. Both records entered the pop top forty.
In later years Al had a television show for a while and remained active in the music industry. In recent years, he has been performing with his old friends Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.
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