Rosa Rio
Recorded April 12th, 1997 - 27 min
Staff organist and pianist on NBC and ABC radio for more than 20 years, she also had her own program, Rosa Rio Rhythms and performed ad lib scores for The Shadow and dozens of other radio series. She was born June 2, 1902 and was retired from broadcasting but still making personal appearances at the age of 95 when we called her at her home in Florida. She died on May 13, 2010 at age 107. Yes, the dates and ages are correct!
Rosa Rio Time - 7/1/47
Did you enjoy the interview? Listen to Rosa Rio Time from July 1st, 1947.
May 16, 2012 at 10:06 am
Good interview, and I enjoyed listening to the program. I met Rosa Rio at her home in Connecticut when I was an engineer with WTIC in Hartford. I recorded the show, and Dick Bertel and Ed Corcoran interviewed her. We were entertained by her musical talents, as she played both the organ and piano for us. You can hear this program, which departs from the usual format in that there are no excerpts, at our website http://www.goldenage-wtic.org It is Program #11. You’ll hear music from shows such as The Shadow, Ethel & Albert, Front Page Farrell, Lorenzo Jones, My True Story, When A Girl Marries, and a lot of conversation.
January 21, 2017 at 2:42 pm
In all likelihood, the organist mentioned filling dead air with a tune that proved to be controversial was fellow NBC organist George Wright. 🙂
October 5, 2020 at 4:00 pm
I took organ lessons from her in Shelton, CT for 10 years. I didn’t realize she was still playing when she was 103 yrs old. I would have loved to have seen her again. She was an amazing woman.