Ted Fio Rito

Ted Fio Rito

Source: Wikiwand

Born Teodorico Salvatore Fiorito on 20 December 1900 in Newark, New Jersey, Ted Fio Rito was a composer, pianist and hotel bandleader. During the Roaring Twenties Saturday night for a lot of people meant a hotel band for dancing the foxtrot, which orchestras to direct were Fio Rito's career. Albeit jazz surfaces on some of his recordings his main thrust was popular dance music. He is thought to have first recorded in January of 1919 with an ensemble led by Harry Yerkes called the Novelty Five. That tune was 'Bo-la-bo' issued on Little Wonder 1278 credited to simply "Orchestra" [Lord]. This title is found on the rather rare CD, 'From Ragtime to Jazz Vol. 3' released on Timeless CBC1-070 in 2001.

Fio Rito appeared on numerous recordings with Yerkes well into 1920, the same year he began to record with both the Green Brothers Jazz Band and the Happy Six. It isn't certain if Fio Rito contributed to the composition, 'Toot, Toot, Tootsie', in 1921, otherwise credited to Dan Russo, Gus Kahn and Ernie Erdman. 'Toot, Toot, Tootsie' was written for the musical, 'Bombo', premiering on October 6, 1921 by Al Jolson. This composition would become something of the banner tune of the Roaring Twenties, reaching #9 on the charts in February of 1923 as recorded by Billy Jones & Ernest Hare on Okeh 4726.

Around the same time in latter 1921 Fio Rito joined a band led by Russo, of which he became co-leader the following year, the Oriole (Terrace) Orchestra playing at the Oriole Terrace in Detroit. They also recorded in 1922, 'Oriole Blues' their first issue gone down in June. Fio Rito's composition, 'Soothing', had been recorded the previous month by the All Star Trio with the All Star Trio Orchestra. That didn't chart but numerous compositions to which Fio Rito contributed became Top Ten issues beginning with Eddie Cantor's rendition of No, No, Nora' in November 1923, that in collaboration with Erdman.

In February of 1924 Ampico issued Fio Rito's piano roll performance of 'Sleep'. The meanwhile he and Russo continued leading the Oriole Orchestra, Russo leaving in 1928, after which Fio Rito took the ensemble on tour, renaming it the Edgewater Beach Hotel Orchestra upon ending up at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. His first releases with that orchestra occurred the same year in 1929.

Fio Rito's claim to fame was largely via radio in the thirties, some of his titles recorded on location. This was also Fio Rito's golden decade with numerous issues charting in the Top Twenty beginning with 'Willow Weep for Me' in 1932 at #17. Several of Fio Rito's releases proved his to be a popular operation, reaching the Top Ten beginning with 'I'll Take an Option on You' at #7 in 1933. In 1934 Fio Rito issued four Top Ten titles: 'I'll String Along with You' at #1, 'June In January' at #10, 'King Kamehameha' at #10 and 'My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii' at #1. 'Let's Face the Music and Dance' reached #9 in 1936, 'Tomorrow is Another Day' #10 in 1937. His last release to chart was 'How Strange' in 1939 at #16. His popularity diminished in the forties, though he continued to perform at various venues including in Chicago, Arizona and Las Vegas.

Fio Rito died of heart attack on June 27, 1971, in Scottsdale. Among numerous of his contributions to composition were titles co-authored w Gus Kahn such as 'Drifting Apart' for the Jean Goldkette Orchestra in 1926 and 'Nothin' On My Mind' for the Ted Weems Orchestra in 1928.