[1] Alley was born in Winnemucca, Nevada, and played football in high school and college.
Vernon played with Wes People in 1937 and with Saunders King until the end of the decade.
In 1942, he joined Count Basie's ensemble, where he played only for a few months and appeared in the film Reveille with Beverly.
Alley enlisted in the United States Navy as a musician in 1942 and after training at Camp Robert Smalls, he was assigned as part of a 45-piece regimental band to the Navy's PreFlight School located at Saint Mary's College of California.
Others who served in this band included Ernie and Marshal Royal, Jackie Kelso, Wilbert Baranco, Earl Watkins, and Buddy Collette.