Rito, Ted Fio
(1900–1971)> COMPOSER
Ted Fio Rito Composer Newark, New Jersey, December 20, 1900; Scottsdale, Arizona, July 22, 1971. Fio Rito began his musical career as a demonstrator , playing piano for composer-publisher Al Piantadosi. Next, he formed a band to open the Oriole Terrace in Detroit, with Dan Russo as coleader . Nick Lucas, later known as “The Singing Troubadour” in vaudeville , was their vocalist. Fio Rito’s most successful time as a songwriter was the 1920s, although his heyday as a bandleader came in the 1930s…