Great Musicians: Guitarist Al Caiola

Johnny Mathis: Open Fire Two Guitars on CD

Al Caiola is a prolific session musician and solo recording artist who has been laying down great licks since the 1940s. His playing can be heard on the historic Johnny Mathis LP Open Fire Two Guitars (Columbia C-1270, 1959), as well as on recordings by Sarah Vaughan (Sarah Vaughan In Hi-Fi [Columbia CL 745-M, 1956]), Bobby Darin (That's All [Atco 33-104, March 1959]), Tony Bennett (Who Can I Turn To [Columbia CS-9085, 1964), and many early Frank Sinatra recordings.

Caiola also worked as a conductor and arranger for United Artists Records in the late '40s and early '50s. He released his first solo album, Deep in a Dream, on the Savoy label in 1955. His solo career didn't really take off, however, until the 1960s, with a series of UA albums mixing covers of movie and TV themes, current hits, and Caiola's own original compositions. Caiola scored top 40 hits with his versions of the themes from Bonanza and The Magnificent Seven.

While all this was going on, the tireless and multi-talented Caiola was also serving as conductor and arranger for producer Ethel Gabriel's Living groups series (Living Strings, Living Voices, etc.) on RCA's budget label, Camden.

In 1985, Caiola accompanied Frank Sinatra on his European Tour, as lead guitarist, and continues to work today, most notably backing up Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme.