Johnny Albino

Guitarist and vocalist Johnny Albino entered the world as Juan Antonio Albino on December 19, 1917, in Guayama, Puerto Rico. While serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he first turned toward music by assembling a quartet that performed at U.S.O.-sponsored gatherings for fellow troops. In the closing years of the 1940s he settled in New York City and became a regular performer with the San Juan Trio, whose lineup also featured first guitarist Jaime Gozilez and second voice José Ramón Ortiz. The ensemble’s brisk Latin arrangements quickly won favor across continents, leading the group to stages throughout the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Russia, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Europe, and Japan. Albino later cut two albums alongside vocalist Eydie Gorme and spent a decade, from 1958 to 1968, as a member of the celebrated Trio Los Panchos. Television audiences saw him on programs hosted by Johnny Carson and Ed Sullivan, while live engagements placed him alongside Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Xavier Cugat, Nat “King” Cole, and Steve Lawrence. Over subsequent decades he contributed to many recordings, among them solo projects such as Johnny Albino Y Su Trio, El Magnifico, Consejo de Madre, and La Voz de los Panchos.