Background
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was born on June 19, 1902 in London, Ontario, Canada, the oldest son of Gaetano Lombardo, a tailor, and Angelina Paladino. Both parents were musically inclined.
(All original 78 rpm records are from the personal collect...)
All original 78 rpm records are from the personal collection of Mickey Clark You'll find this track list in the CD case. All these tracks have been transferred from original 78rpm records using a special digital hi-definition process for smoother, full more natural sound. Guy Lombardo #3 CD208C 1-COLLEGE MEDLEY - PARTS 1 & 2 COL 1996-D 10/07/29 149111/2 VARIOUS 2-APRIL SHOWERS AL JOLSON BR 6202 12/20/32 12763 SILVERS-DE SYLVA 3-ROCK-A-BYE YOUR BABY AL JOLSON BR 6202 12/20/32 12764 SCHWARTZ-YOUNG-LEWIS 4-I'M PLAYING WITH FIRE CARMEN LOMBARDO BR 6477 01/12/33 12890 BERLIN 5-A THOUSAND GOOD NIGHTS LIEBERT LOMBARDO BR 6776 02/15/34 109 DONALDSON 6-LOVER I CRY FOR YOU CARMEN LOMBARDO BR 6776 02/15/34 111 VON TILZER-MCPHERSON 7-JUNE IN JANUARY CARMEN LOMBARDO DEC 307 11/09/34 38981 ROBIN-RAINGER 8-WITH EVERY BREATH I TAKE CARMEN LOMBARDO DEC 307 11/09/34 38982 ROBIN-RAINGER 9-AT DAWNING/THE LAND OF THE SKY-BLUE WATER DEC 429 03/01/35 116 CADMAN 10--HAWAIIAN PARADISE LEIBERT LOMBARDO DEC 429 03/23/35 145 OWENS 11-RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET CARMEN LOMBARDO DEC 585 10/11/35 60048 KENNEDY-WILLIAMS 12-MADONNA MIA CARMEN LOMBARDO DEC 585 10/11/35 60051 SILVER-SHERMAN-LEWIS 13-WHEN A GREAT LOVE COMES ALONG CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25205 12/14/35 98427 EDGAR LESLIE-JOE BURKE 14-QUICKER THAN YOU CAN SAY JACK ROBINSON TRIO VIC 25205 12/14/35 98428 DAVID-MEYERS-WENDLING 15-BROKEN RECORD HMV BD5028 12/14/35 98429 FRIEND-TOBIAS-BUNCH 16-I'M PUTTING ALL MY EGGS IN ONE BASKET CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25242 01/21/36 98855 BERLIN 17-BUT WHERE ARE YOU? CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25242 01/21/36 98856 BERLIN 18-SCENE CHANGES CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25322 05/05/36 101561 BILLY HILL 19-DREAM TIME VIC 25322 05/05/36 101562 DAVIS-COOTS 20-STATE OF MY HEART CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25331 05/18/36 101791 HEYMAN-SPINA 21-MONOPOLY CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25331 05/18/36 101792 TOBIAS-LOEB 22-RAINBOW ON THE RIVER CARMEN LOMBARDO VIC 25435 09/17/36 10702 WEBSTER-ALTER 23-WHEN MY DREAMBOAT COMES HOME LEBERT LOMBARDO VIC 25435 09/17/36 10703 FRIEND-FRANKLIN
https://www.amazon.com/Guy-Lombardo-Recorded-1929-1936/dp/B00C7CSCCM?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00C7CSCCM
(Best Of Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians by Guy and H...)
Best Of Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians by Guy and His Royal Canadians Lombardo
https://www.amazon.com/Best-Guy-Lombardo-Royal-Canadians/dp/B000000CXG?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000000CXG
(Dust jacket notes: "For over fifty years Guy Lombardo and...)
Dust jacket notes: "For over fifty years Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians have been playing 'the sweetest music this side of heaven' to ever-faithful and ever-expanding audiences. The Royal Canadians, in fact, so much influenced the music of their day that they changed the very style of dance music - and became the most frequently imitated band in the business. This is the story of the man behind that music and the band that has become an American tradition. His is the one popular dance band that has withstood the test of time - year after year playing in the same tempos and often the same songs. Today's generation may know him only from the New Year's broadcasts from the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, others know him from radio, and still many more know the Royal Canadians from the Big Band Era when couples danced cheek to cheek and tapped their toes to the melodic strains and golden melodies from the big band stands....That same joy comes back year after year to millions of people. But what is the secret of Guy Lombardo's success? What is so special about a group that has lasted through the '70s and is one of the very few dance bands that has survived so long and so well? How has the Guy Lombardo band managed to last these fifty years? All these and other questions are answered by the warm and sentimental man who has made New Year's Eve a very special occasion."
https://www.amazon.com/Auld-Acquaintance-Autobiography-Guy-Lombardo/dp/0385028636?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0385028636
(Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians were often billed as t...)
Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians were often billed as the sweetest music this side of heaven. He sold between 100-300 million records! Lombardo is remembered for almost a half-century of New Year's Eve big band remotes, first on radio, then on television. His Auld Lang Syne still plays as the first song of the new year in Times Square. 70 original recordings are presented here on 3 CDs.
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Collection-Guy-Lombardo/dp/B0002IQOBY?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B0002IQOBY
(Before there was Ryan Seacrest, before there was Dick Cla...)
Before there was Ryan Seacrest, before there was Dick Clark, New Year's Eve belonged to band leader Guy Lombardo. Join Guy and his Royal Canadian Orchestra in the Grill Room at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City to ring in the coming year, 1958! Guy Lombardo presides over a variety of popular tunes, such as Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You Think. You will even see the ball drop in Times Square. Ah, you can tell watching this classic television kinescope that it was a simpler, happier America. Also included is the New Years episode of the Jack Benny Show.
https://www.amazon.com/Lombardo-Years-Special-Bennys-Episode/dp/B00MDC8R30?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00MDC8R30
(With a career spanning half a Century, Guy Lombardo sold ...)
With a career spanning half a Century, Guy Lombardo sold more records than any other of the sweet bands in America. Concentrating mainly on the latter part of his career this 2CD set takes you into the fifties in the most tuneful way. Featuring the vocal talents of Bing Crosby on "Young At Heart" & "Oh Baby Mine I Get So Lonely". This is a fantastic follow up to Jasmine's previous release (JASCD396 - Get Those Old Records Out). 50 tracks on this 2CD set featuring an informative booklet.
https://www.amazon.com/Into-Fifties-ORIGINAL-RECORDINGS-REMASTERED/dp/B000O77SDG?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000O77SDG
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was born on June 19, 1902 in London, Ontario, Canada, the oldest son of Gaetano Lombardo, a tailor, and Angelina Paladino. Both parents were musically inclined.
Gaetano began taking violin lessons at the age of twelve and became known as "Guy. " His brothers also received training on musical intruments: Carmen on the flute and saxophone, Lebert on the drums (later shifting to trumpet), and Victor on the saxophone. His brother Joseph was the one nonmusical family member. Two sisters, Rose Marie and Elaine, were later affiliated with their brother's band, the former as a vocalist and the latter as the wife of singer Kenny Gardner. In 1919, Guy, Carmen, and Lebert left school to become professional musicians.
Lombardo's band started playing regularly in London in the early 1920's. The band, calling themselves "the Royal Canadians, " moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1924 for an engagement at the Claremont Café. It was there that the group's style, including playing a melody legato and using the musical medley, began to evolve. One of the café's patrons was Jules Stein, an agent who later represented the Lombardos and founded the Music Corporation of America. A personable individual, Lombardo catered to the dancers in his audience and made use of the then-new technology of radio to gain a following by broadcasting on a Cleveland station. He became a naturalized citizen in 1926.
In 1927 the band moved to the Grenada Hotel in Chicago. A critic praised the musicians as the "sweetest jazzmen on any stage this side of heaven. " Slightly modified, this phrase was used to describe the band's music throughout its career. The Royal Canadians moved to New York City in 1929 at the behest of Jules Stein and opened at the Roosevelt Grill, thus beginning a thirty-three-year association that lasted until the grill closed and the band moved to the Waldorf-Astoria. After arriving in New York, brother Victor joined the group and they established the tradition of playing on New Year's Eve, performing their theme song, "Auld Lang Syne, " at midnight. The band gave its forty-eighth and last New Year's performance on December 31, 1976.
The Royal Canadians were featured on several radio programs, including "The Robert Burns Cigar Show" and "Lady Esther Serenade, " and was one of the three groups hired on a permanent basis for "Spotlight Bands. " Although they appeared in motion pictures beginning in 1934, their activity on television was mainly limited to specials and the New Year's Eve show. The band made its first recordings for Gennett in 1924. In 1934, Lombardo signed a contract with Decca Records, beginning an affiliation lasting for more than twenty years.
During that time, the musicians regularly produced best-sellers, including at least four records that sold more than 1 million copies each. Also in 1934, Lombardo and bandleaders Rudy Vallee, Richard Himber, and Abe Lyman joined Paul Whiteman to form a Committee of Five for the Betterment of Radio. Hoping to avoid any outside censorship of radio similar to the "clean film" movement against sexually suggestive material in the movies, this review board met each Friday to examine songs published during the week. If any were found to be objectionable, the publisher was asked to revise the lyrics. If this was not done, the song was cited on a list that was sent to orchestra leaders who broadcast nationwide.
Throughout his career, Lombardo was an astute businessman. His investments included a music publishing company, the Port-O-Call Restaurant in Tierra Verde, Florida, and the East Point House at Freeport, New York. In 1954, Lombardo began producing extravaganzas at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. Robert Moses, the state parks commissioner, induced the bandleader to enter this very successful activity, which lasted for twenty-three years. In addition to their other performances, the Royal Canadians were noted for their appearances at each presidential inaugural ball, beginning with that for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and continuing through that for Jimmy Carter in 1977. Lombardo died in Houston, Texas, from complications following open-heart surgery. At his funeral, he was eulogized by Robert Moses and by bandleader-singer Phil Harris, who said that his friend was "one of a kind who would continue to live on through his music. "
(Dust jacket notes: "For over fifty years Guy Lombardo and...)
(All original 78 rpm records are from the personal collect...)
(With a career spanning half a Century, Guy Lombardo sold ...)
(Before there was Ryan Seacrest, before there was Dick Cla...)
(Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians were often billed as t...)
(Best Of Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians by Guy and H...)
Lombardo was deeply involved in motorboat racing. He was national speedboat champion from 1946 to 1952. He was nearly killed in 1948 when he hit some floating debris during competition, and his wife prevailed on him to halt this activity in 1957, although he continued boating for pleasure and was in the forefront of attempts to promote safe boating.
Lombardo married Lilliebell Glenn in 1927. They had no children.