# Born 90 Years Ago Today in California, the Wrecking Crew Guitarist Who Helped Shape Hits for Nancy Sinatra, the Beach Boys, and Glen Campbell

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/born-90-years-ago-today-in-california-the-wrecking-crew-guitarist-who-helped-shape-hits-for-nancy-sinatra-the-beach-boys-and-glen-campbell/
- Published: 2026-10-26T16:45:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T04:05:04+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/born-90-years-ago-today-in-california-the-wrecking-crew-guitarist-who-helped-shape-hits-for-nancy-sinatra-the-beach-boys-and-glen-campbell/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Al Casey was born 90 years ago in California.
- He became a member of Los Angeles’s Wrecking Crew.
- His credits include Pet Sounds and “Good Vibrations”.

## Summary

Al Casey, born in California on 26 October 1936, became a sought-after session guitarist whose playing helped shape recordings by major artists. His move from the Phoenix club scene to Los Angeles made him part of the Wrecking Crew, the influential group of studio musicians behind many popular records.

Casey began on ukulele at six because his hands were too small for guitar, then took up steel guitar and was playing Phoenix clubs six nights a week by 14. He played on more than 90% of Phoenix recording sessions in 1958, according to the Arizona Republic, before moving to Los Angeles in 1965 and spending 18 years as a session musician. His credits include the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and “Good Vibrations”, as well as recordings by Nancy Sinatra, Glen Campbell, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.

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