by Stephen Thomas ErlewineAl Caiola is a guitarist who initially made his reputation as a session musician, playing on records made by Percy Faith and Andre Kostelanetz, among others. Caiola was the conductor and arranger for United Artists Records in the late 40s and early 50s. After leaving UA, he signed with RCA, where he released a number of singles in the 50s. In the early 60s, he went back to United Artists, which is where he scored his first hit with the theme to the film The Magnificent Seven. The single peaked at 35 in early 1961 and it was quickly followed by the theme to the television series Bonanza, which climbed to number 19. For the rest of the 60s, Caiola released a number of easy listening instrumental albums. During the decade he also hosted a television show, which was only aired for a short while. Caiola continued to record throughout the 70s and into the 80s.