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 h ...

singer, born in

Yauco, Puerto Rico Yauco () is a Yauco barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the Yauco barrio-pueblo, downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco ...

but lived most of his life in

Guayama, Puerto Rico Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. He 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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 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 Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. With Los Panchos, he recorded Japanese

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, Sammy Davis Jr. 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 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 Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

References

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

See also

References