Johnny Albino (December 9, 1919 – May 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

singer, born in

Yauco, Puerto Rico Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grand ...

but lived most of his life in

Guayama, Puerto Rico Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the ce ...

Biography

Johnny Albino played and sang through his youth years. It was not until years later, however, that he would get a chance to sing as part of an organized act. Albino joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

during World War II, where he formed a quartet and was allowed to sing for his fellow soldiers. In 1946, Albino performed in a trio for the first time. Later on, he would become a member and lead voice of the Trio San Juan, which went on to become an internationally acclaimed group. Trio San Juan was rivaled at the time by the

Trio Los Panchos Originally, Trio Los Panchos are a '' trío romántico'' formed in New York City in 1944 by Alfredo Gil, Chucho Navarro, and Hernando Avilés. The trio became one of the leading exponents of the bolero and the romantic ballad in Latin America. I ...

for popularity. Albino later on left Trio San Juan and joined Los Panchos, as the leading voice, replacing another legendary trio singer, Julito Rodríguez. Albino joined Los Panchos in 1958 and he remained there until 1968. The group became famous across the world, and Albino toured the United States, Europe and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. With Los Panchos, he recorded

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s, and he also performed alongside well known performers such as

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

Steve Lawrence and others. Albino left Los Panchos and went on to form, or become a member of many famous Puerto Rican trios. Notably, Miguel Poventud whose participation in the album ''Los Panchos by Special Request'' are a compilation of love songs recorded in English for CBS. Also, ''Grandes Exitos de Johnny Albino con Los Panchos'' DHIT 2093.2 21 June 2005 is his main performance with

Miguel Poventud Miguel Poventud a.k.a. "El Niño Prodigio de Guayama" and "Miguelito" (August 4, 1942 – March 3, 1983), was a Puerto Rican musician, singer, actor and composer of Boleros. Among the singers who have interpreted his musical compositions are ...

on "requinto" (guitar) and voice accompaniment. His career spanned over 300 albums and CDs. At 93, he died on May 7, 2011, in Long Island, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albino, Johnny 1919 births 2011 deaths People from Yauco, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers United States Army soldiers

Biography

See also

References