Sandon was born in
Vicenza, in
Veneto. Her musical career began in 1944 when she made her stage début in a
Red Cross charity show. Her stage name ''Sandon's'' came by chance - it was an oversight by the
illustrator who prepared her first record cover. Her first big break as a professional vocalist came in 1947, when she sang in The Hot Club of France with two jazz legends: guitarist
Django Reinhardt, and violinist
Stéphane Grappelli. Celebrity came in 1952 thanks to the movie
Anna directed by
Alberto Lattuada and starring
Silvana Mangano,
Vittorio Gassman and
Raf Vallone. Flo Sandon's did not appear in the movie itself, but she performed two songs on the movie
soundtrack, "T'ho voluto ben" and "
El Negro Zumbón". Both were great hits.
Nat King Cole liked "T'ho voluto ben" so much that a few years later he recorded it with the new title "
Non Dimenticar". They had a daughter, Silvia, who was born in 1956. They later toured together in Italy and abroad for several years. Flo Sandon's competed five more times at the Sanremo Music Festival, but never won again. She however won another song contest, the
Festival of Naples in 1960 with "Serenata a Mergellina". Other hits from her repertoire include "Vorrei volare", "Kiss Me", "I Love Paris", "Passa il tempo", "Concerto d'autunno", "Verde luna",
"Domani", "Que sera sera" and "Bevi con me". Flo Sandon's died in Rome at the age of 82. ==References==