Mammola Sandon, known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

of Flo Sandon's (29 June 1924 – 17 November 2006), was an Italian singer who was popular in the post-World War II years. She won the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival ( ), officially the Italian Song Festival (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria, organized and broadcast by (RAI). It is the longest-running ...

in 1953 with the song " Viale d'autunno".

Career

Sandon was born in

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; or , archaically ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione, River Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and e ...

, in

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

. Her musical career began in 1944 when she made her stage début in a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

charity show. Her stage name ''Sandon's'' came by chance - it was an oversight by the

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

who prepared her first record cover. Her first big break as a professional vocalist came in 1947, when she sang in The Hot Club of France with two jazz legends: guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

, and violinist

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

. Celebrity came in 1952 thanks to the movie ''Anna'' directed by

Alberto Lattuada Mario Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director. Career Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a studen ...

and starring

Silvana Mangano Silvana Mangano (; 21 April 1930 – 16 December 1989) was an Italian film actress. She was one of a generation of thespians who arose from the neorealist movement, and went on to become a major female star, regarded as a sex symbol for the 19 ...

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important producti ...

and

Raf Vallone Raffaele Vallone (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002) was an Italian actor and footballer. One of the top male Italian stars of the 1950s and 1960s, he first became known for his association with the neorealist movement, and found success in ...

. Flo Sandon's did not appear in the movie itself, but she performed two songs on the movie

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

, "T'ho voluto ben" and " El Negro Zumbón". Both were great hits.

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

liked "T'ho voluto ben" so much that a few years later he recorded it with the new title " Non Dimenticar". In 1953 Flo Sandon's took part in the

for the first time, and won. The song was "Viale d'autunno" and it was also performed by another singer,

Carla Boni Carla Gaiano (17 July 1925 in Ferrara – 17 October 2009 in Rome), known professionally as Carla Boni, was an Italian people, Italian singer. Life and career Boni worked as a singer for RAI, the Italian state radio and television network, s ...

. Both winners were at their first appearance at the popular song contest, and succeeded ahead of the great favorite

Nilla Pizzi Adionilla Pizzi (; 16 April 1919 – 12 March 2011), known by her stage name Nilla Pizzi, was an Italian singer and actress. Born in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s. She is well know ...

. The press speculated about a possible plot against Pizzi: allegedly she had been originally chosen to perform "Viale d'autunno" but was then dismissed, possibly out of spite or jealousy, and the song offered to Sandon's and Boni. In 2nd June 1955 Flo Sandon's married

Natalino Otto Natalino Otto, stage name of Natale Codognotto (24 December 1912 – 4 October 1969) was an Italian singer. He started the swing genre in Italy. Biography Early years Natalino Otto was born at Cogoleto, province of Genoa, in northern Italy. H ...

, also an Italian singer.Natalino Otto And Flo Sandon'S On The Day Of Their Wedding
gettyimages.co.uk They had a daughter, Silvia, who was born in 1956. They later toured together in Italy and abroad for several years. They are credited with the discovery of one of Italy's greatest singers of all times - Mina. On the night of 24 September 1958, the Happy Boys, a band of teen-age students was playing in the Rivarolo del Re dance hall, Cremona. Otto and his wife were present, and were greatly impressed by the singer of that group. They went to meet her at the end of the concert and proposed her a trial recording session. One month later, Mina's first single was out.Massimo Emanuelli
FLO SANDON'S
storiaradiotv.it Flo Sandon's competed five more times at the Sanremo Music Festival, but never won again. She however won another song contest, the

Festival of Naples The Festival della Canzone Napoletana ("Festival of Neapolitan Song"), commonly known as the Festival di Napoli, is a Neapolitan song contest. The first edition was held in 1952 and the last in 2004. From 1952 to 1970 the show was broadcast on RAI ...

in 1960 with "Serenata a Mergellina". Other hits from her repertoire include "Vorrei volare", "Kiss Me", "I Love Paris", "Passa il tempo", "Concerto d'autunno", "Verde luna", ''"Domani"'', "Que sera sera" and "Bevi con me". Flo Sandon's died in Rome at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandons, Flo 1924 births 2006 deaths Musicians from Vicenza Sanremo Music Festival winners 20th-century Italian women singers