Al DeLory

Alfred V. "Al" De Lory (January 31, 1930 – February 5, 2012) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician. He was the producer and arranger of a series of worldwide hits by Glen Campbell in the 1960s, including John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind", Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston". He was also a member of the 1960s Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, and inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.
Born in Los Angeles, De Lory was the son of a studio musician. As a child he studied piano and began arranging music while in the Army. Upon his discharge, he worked as a pianist in studio orchestras and in clubs.

In the late 1950s De Lory co-wrote the 1960 #1 hit novelty song “Mr. Custer”, recorded by Larry Verne. As an L.A. based session musician in the early 1960s De Lory played keyboards for various Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" productions, recordings of Surf rock, and The Beach Boys’ Magnum Opus Pet Sounds.

By the mid-1960s Ken Nelson had hired him as producer and arranger for Capitol Records, and he provided a key element in the success of Glen Campbell’s million selling hit singles and albums from 1967 to 1970. As a bandleader he had his own hit in 1970 with a instrumental version of the “Theme from M*A*S*H*”. In the 1970s he moved to Nashville, producing country artists and film soundtracks. He also played and recorded his own Latin Jazz groups.

De Lory’s daughter Donna De Lory is also a singer, session musician and recording artist. For many years she was a backing vocalist for Madonna. De Lory also has a son A.D. DeLory who is also a singer/songwriter.

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