Johnny Albino

Guitarist/singer Johnny Albino was born Juan Antonio Albino on December 19, 1917, in Guayama, Puerto Rico. It was during a stint with the U.S. Army in World War II that Albino began to pursue music, forming a quartet and singing U.S.O.-sponsored events for fellow servicemen. By the late '40s, Albino had relocated to New York City, where he performed regularly as part of the San Juan Trio (which also included members Jaime Gozilez, first guitar, and José Ramón Ortiz, second voice). The group's up-tempo Latin stylings proved to be a hit with audiences worldwide, as they soon began playing around the globe -- the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Russia, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Europe, and Japan. Albino then recorded a pair of albums with vocalist Eydie Gorme, and played with one of Latin music's all-time great bands, Trio Los Panchos from 1958 through 1968, and appeared on TV shows with Johnny Carson and Ed Sullivan, and performed alongside the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Xavier Cugat, Nat "King" Cole, and Steve Lawrence. Albino has appeared on numerous albums over the years, including quite a few solo albums, including such titles as Johnny Albino Y Su Trio, El Magnifico, Consejo de Madre, and La Voz de los Panchos, among others. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi