Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist who was known for his festive approach to New Years' Eve, and his band's performance of eighteenth-century Scots poet Robert Burns's sentimental song Auld Lang Syne quickly became an American tradition.
Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and other musicians from his hometown. They billed themselves as creating "the sweetest music this side of Heaven."Lombardo was born in London, Ontario, to Italian immigrants Gaetano Alberto and Angelina Lombardo. His father, who had worked as a tailor, was an amateur singer with a baritone voice and had four of his five sons learn to play instruments so they could accompany him. Lombardo and his brothers formed their first orchestra while still in grammar school and rehearsed in the back of their father's tailor shop.
Lombardo first performed in public with his brother Carmen at a church lawn party in London in 1914. His first recording session took place in Richmond, Indiana, at the Gennett Studios, during early 1924.
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| Lebert, Camen, Guy & Victor Lombardo 1931 |
After that solitary Gennett session, they recorded two sessions for Brunswick; a rejected session in Cleveland in late 1926, and an issued session for Vocalion in early 1927. The band then signed to Columbia and recorded prolifically between 1927 and 1931. In early 1932, they signed to Brunswick and continued their success through 1934 when they signed to Decca (1934–35). They then signed to Victor in later 1935 and stayed until the middle of 1938 when again they signed to Decca. In 1938, Lombardo became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians’ recorded output was also substantial, with more than 100 albums released throughout their career. They also had a number of million-selling singles, including The Thin Man movie theme, “Humoresque,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Easter Parade.” In total, their sales exceeded 300 million.
Although Lombardo's "sweet" big-band music was viewed by some in the jazz and big-band community of the day as "boring, mainstream pap," trumpeter Louis Armstrong regularly named Lombardo's band his favourite orchestra.
Besides his career as an entertainer, he made a number of successful business investments, and in his afterhours he was an avid speedboat racer, holding the title of national champion in the late 1940s. Lombardo is remembered for almost a half-century of New Year's Eve big band remotes, first on radio, then on television. His orchestra played at the Roosevelt Grill in the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City from 1929 ("radio's first nationwide New Year's Eve broadcast") to 1959, and from then until 1976 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Live broadcasts (and later telecasts) of their performances were a large part of New Year's celebrations across North America; millions of people watched the show with friends at house parties. Because of this popularity, Lombardo was called "Mr. New Year's Eve".
On December 31, 1956, the Lombardo band did their first New Year's TV special on CBS; the program (and Lombardo's 20 subsequent New Year's Eve TV shows) included a live segment from Times Square. Although CBS carried most of the Lombardo New Year's specials, there were a few years in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the special was syndicated live to individual TV stations instead of broadcast on a network. By the middle 1970s, the Lombardo TV show was facing competition, especially for younger viewers, from Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, but Lombardo remained famous among viewers, especially older ones. |
| Guy with his brothers and sister |
The band made its last appearance in London, Ontario, in June of 1977 at an event where no one on the dance floor appeared to be younger than age fifty. On November 5, 1977, Lombardo died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm in Houston Methodist Hospital. Other sources say he died from cancer. He was interred at the Pinelawn Memorial Park in East Farmingdale, NY. He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Victor Lombardo took over the band briefly but could not maintain it. When Lebert Lombardo severed his ties in 1979, the group dissolved. The orchestra was later revived in 1989 by Al Pierson, playing a mix of nostalgic tunes and modern arrangements. (Edited from Wikipedia)
Here's a clip of Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians. Carmen Lombardo sits in the front row in the leftmost seat either playing Sax/flute plus vocalizes. Lebert Lombardo is the youngest of the brothers and sits in the last row on the leftmost side and plays the trumpet. The two pianists are Buddy Brennan and Fred Chrysler. Kenny Gardner is the primary vocalist. Other band members include Cliff Grass and Fred Higman (Vocalists & musicians), Bill Flannigan (vocals & guitar) and Jeff Stouton (trombone obligato)