Musso, Vido, 1913-1982

Vido William Musso was born on January 16, 1913 in Carini, Palermo, Italy. His family settled in Detroit in 1920, and Musso relocated to California in the 1930s. He collaborated there with Stan Kenton, and was discovered by Benny Goodman via a radio broadcast with Gil Evans. Musso performed as a tenor saxophonist extensively with Benny Goodman and associated acts, including Teddy Wilson, Billie Holiday, and Lionel Hampton, as well as Harry James, Woody Herman, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald over the course of his career. He returned to the Kenton band in the mid-1940s after serving with the United States Marine Corps in the Second World War, including the hit "Come Back to Sorrento." As the big bands declined, Musso split his time between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He died on January 9, 1982 in Rancho Mirage, California.