Al Capps
has worn about every hat you can in the music business:arranger, conductor, mixer,
multi-instrumentalist, orchestrator, producer, songwriter, and
vocalist.(He's even
done calligraphy!)In
the 1960s, he seemed to concentrate more on songwriting and
performing.He
frequently collaborated with songwriter Mary Dean on songs such as
"Little Bright Star" (for inclusion on The Supremes' 1965 album, Merry Christmas) and
"Heartbeats" (sung by Dick & Dee Dee
in their only film appearance, the 1966 beach-party movie, Wild, Wild Winter).(They would later co-write
"Half-Breed", which was a hit for Cher.)When he wasn't penning
ditties for other artists, he was singing in vocal groups like The
California Dreamers, who lent their dulcet tones to the Gabor Szabo Octet, and The Eligibles, who backed Bobby Vee.Al would go on to arrange for Bobby Vee and many others, including The Brady Bunch,
Freddy Cannon, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Everly Brothers, Jose Feliciano, Lesley Gore,
John Hartford, Davy Jones, Kenny
Rogers & The First Edition, Andre Kostelanetz, Peggy Lee, The
Manhattan Transfer, Johnny
Mathis , The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,
The Osmonds, Brenda Patterson, Helen
Reddy, Nancy
Sinatra , Tanya Tucker, Jerry
Vale , and Andy Williams.In the late '60s, he helped launch a young Jennifer Warnes' career by producing her first couple of
albums.He also played
guitar on The Everly Brothers' Sing, sang vocals on Introducing Sparks and Frank
Sinatra's boxed set, Trilogy, and played
keyboards on Marcia Hines' 1979 release, Ooh Child.In the late '70s and early
'80s, he became involved in film work.He has the dubious
distinction of having arranged a song that was used in Caligula, "We Are One",
performed by Toni Biggs.He also arranged and conducted the music for the Burt
Reynolds films The Cannonball
Run and Sharky's Machine.In the '80s, he became
involved with commercial work, and seems to have found his
niche:He worked for
HLC Killer Music and was instrumental--pun intended--in advertising
campaigns for Budweiser, Gatorade, Lean Cuisine, Levi's 501 Blues,
Oldsmobile, and Wheaties.He is currently involved
with a group called Groove Addicts and works on campaigns for
Budweiser, Cadillac, Dole, GTE, Hilton Hotels, MCI, Mercedes, Pepsi,
and Swatch.
