Guido Deiro - Early Life

Early Life

Born Guido Pietro Deiro in the village of Salto Canavese, in the fraction of Deiro, near Turin, Italy. He was born into a family of rural Italian nobility that were involved in raising dairy cattle, growing wine grapes, tending fruit orchards, and operating general stores to sell their produce. While a young boy, Guido entertained himself by playing the ocarina, an ancient flute-like wind instrument usually made from ceramic or wood. His uncle Fred noticed Guido’s unusual musical ability on the ocarina, and decided to get him a more sophisticated instrument, a diatonic button accordion. Guido started to play the accordion when nine years old. His father allowed Guido to play this two-row accordion in the street outside his stores because Guido’s playing would draw a crowd and attract potential customers. Deiro became a student of the famous Italian accordionist-composer Giovanni Gagliardi.