Al Casey
Hollywood Bowl: L-R - Duane Eddy, Lester Sill, Lee Hazlewood, Al Casey, Steve Douglas, Mike Bermani - Circa 1958
Al Casey was a studio musician, revered for his work with stringed instruments, including pedal steel and piano. During his teenage years in Arizona, he became a member of the Sunset Riders and befriended songwriter Lee Hazlewood who was working as a disc jockey at the time. Casey was hired to play guitar on Hazlewood's "The Fool" with Casey's friend Sanford Clark singing lead vocals. "The Fool" became a national hit, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
While working with Duane Eddy and the Rebels, Casey penned the song "Ramrod" (1958) and as regular performers on the Alan Freed Show and American Bandstand show the song hit Billboard's Hot 100 peaking at No. 27 and No. 17 on thier R&B charts. Also produced by Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood "Forty Miles of Bad Road" was co-written by Al Casey peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 on July 27, 1959. He started the Al Casey Combo in the 1960s, session players included Hal Blaine and Leon Russell, the band produced three instrumental Billboard hits "Cookin" He had three instrumental hits with "Cookin" charted #92, in 1962, "Jivin' Around" peaked at # 71, also in 1962, and "Surfin' Hootenanny" held a #48, 1963, all of these on the Billboard Hot 100.
Casey was a key player for Gregmark, his works from the Phoenix studio include sessions for Sanford Clarks' "New Kind of Fool", "Still As The Night" and "Run Boy Run", produced by Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood. Other notable Gregmark songs are Willa Mae" and "She Gotta Shake” (Al Casey), "The Stinger" (Lee Hazlewod & Al Casey) and "(Got The) Teen-Age Blues" (Al Casey & The Bats).
Al Casey stopped touring and moved to Los Angeles 1965, where he became a session musician with what became known as the Wrecking Crew, Casey would again cross career paths with Lester Sill, during the time Lester was publishing and producing music for the Monkees and the Partridge Family. During his 18 years with the Wrecking Crew, he worked with Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, the Association, Johnny Cash, Eddy Arnold, Simon & Garfunkel, the 5th Dimension, Harry Nilsson, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra.
Casey also worked for three years as a member of the band on The Dean Martin Show.
Casey was inducted into the Arizona Music Hall of Fame in 2005. He was also inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Casey owned and operated Al Casey's Music Room in Hollywood
“A mutual acquaintance told me that Al had been in failing health for a while, but that he passed away quietly and peacefully in his sleep on Sunday. That seems fitting. A simple dignity and grace was typical of Casey’s musical career; he was always the quiet man in the room, the sidekick who did much of the work but received little of the credit. Whether he was working with Sanford Clark, shaping Duane Eddy’s sound, aiding Hazlewood with his studio experiments, jamming with Dean Martin’s TV band, or playing in the studio with Johnny Cash, the Monkees, the Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, the 5th Dimension, and more, Casey was the consummate sideman. Like the saying goes, chances are you’ve never heard of Al Casey, but I can almost guarantee you’ve heard Al Casey’s playing at some point in your life—whether it was on one of Eddy’s guitar rumbles, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Sinatra’s standards, or the Monkees’ early hits. Much of Casey’s solo instrumental work is available through the Sundazed and Bear Family labels, and it’s well worth checking out. The man himself—a truly gentle and generous soul—will be sorely missed.”