He continued to reside in Detroit until his death, where he performed as a jazz musician for a number of years.
In 1958, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy recruited Messina for his Hitsville U.S.A. studio musicians group, known as The Funk Brothers.
In 2004 the Recording Academy gave him and the Funk Brothers a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Father was Jasper and mother was Mary.
He attended Central High School in Detroit, Michigan before switching to Cass Tech for the music instruction, but he dropped out preferring to launch his career as a professional musician.