Two Decades Ago Today, We Lost the Legendary Rock Guitarist Whose Licks Graced Hits by the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash

On this day (September 17) in 2006, top-tier session guitarist Al Casey died in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 69. A member of the legendary “Wrecking Crew”, you’ve heard Casey’s work on classics such as Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman”, the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations”, and Lee Hazlewood’s “The Fool”. While Casey’s talents were never front and center, he no doubt left a lasting legacy across multiple genres in the music industry. Today, we’re exploring that legacy on the 20th anniversary of his passing.

Remembering Al Casey

Born October 26, 1936, in Long Beach, California, Alvin Wayne Casey spent much of his childhood in Phoenix, Arizona, where he moved at two years old.

Al Casey’s guitar-playing prowess surfaced at an early age. His dad played guitar and wanted his 6-year-old son to follow in his footsteps, but his fingers were still too small, so he switched to ukulele.

At 8, Casey picked up the steel guitar. By 14, he was proficient enough to land paying gigs on the Phoenix club scene.

It was around 1956 when Casey first crossed paths with Lee Hazlewood, a radio DJ from Coolidge, Arizona, who was searching for a singer to record a song he’d co-written with Naomi Ford, “The Fool”.

Casey suggested classmate and friend Sanford Clark. He also played guitar for the recording, throwing in a riff yanked from the Howlin’ Wolf song “Smokestack Lightnin”. 

Thanks in part to Casey’s incredible handiwork, “The Fool” reached the top 10 of both the U.S. pop and R&B charts, along with the country top 20.

Following the song’s success, Casey hopped into Sanford Clark’s Ford Mercury and embarked on a weeklong rockabilly tour with Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Burnette, and Sonny James.

Duane Eddy and the Rebels

In 1955, Al Casey met future Lee Hazelwood prodigy Duane Eddy, joining his band the Rebels. He also wrote one of Eddy’s earliest hits, “Ramrod”, which peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1958.

A year later, Eddy reached number nine on the pop charts with another co-written Casey composition, “Forty Miles of Bad Road”.

Session Work

Al Casey stayed busy, performing on 95 percent of recording sessions held in Phoenix in 1958 (per the Arizona Republic).

Stepping back from touring in the 1960s, he formed his own group, the Al Casey Combo. He landed three instrumental hits with this group: “Cookin” (number 92; 1962), “Jivin’ Around” (number 71 pop charts; number 22 R&B charts; 1962), and “Surfin’ Hootenanny” (number 48; 1963).

In 1965, Casey moved from Phoenix to Los Angeles, where he soon joined the legendary group of studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew.

He spent 18 years with the crew, contributing to the chart-topping hits “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys (1966), “These Boots Are Made For Walking” by Nancy Sinatra (1966), “Strangers In The Night” by Frank Sinatra (1966), and “Somethin’ Stupid” by Frank and Nancy (1967).

[RELATED: On This Day in 1967, Frank and Nancy Sinatra Made Father-Daughter Chart History With a Song That Nicole Kidman Took to No. 1 Decades Later]

During this time, Casey also spent three years as a member of the band on The Dean Martin Show.

He ran his own Hollywood music store, Al Casey’s Music Room, for a time in the 1960s. Moving back to Phoenix in the early 1980s, Casey taught guitar lessons and continued recording through the 1990s.

Featured image courtesy of Fervor Records