Everything about Guy Lombardo totally explained
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (
June 19,
1902 –
November 5,
1977) was a
Canadian (born in London, Ontario) bandleader and
violinist famous throughout the world, but particularly in
Canada and the
United States. With his three brothers
Carmen,
Lebert, and
Victor and other musicians from his hometown of
London,
Ontario, he formed the big band
The Royal Canadians in 1924, famous for the motto "The Sweetest Music This Side of
Heaven". His very first recording session took place where
Bix Beiderbecke made his legendary recordings — in
Richmond, Indiana, at the
Gennett Studios — both during early 1924.
The musical team played at the
Roosevelt Hotel in
New York City from 1929 to 1959, and their New Year's Eve broadcasts (which continued with Lombardo until 1976 at the
Waldorf Astoria) were a major part of
New Year's celebrations across North America. Even after Lombardo's death, the band's New Year's specials continued for air two more years on
CBS.
In
1938, he became a
naturalized citizen of the
United States. The Royal Canadians were noted for playing the traditional song "
Auld Lang Syne" as part of the celebrations. Their recording of the song still plays as the first song of the new year in
Times Square.
The Lombardos are believed to have sold more than 300 million phonograph albums during their lifetimes.
Although Lombardo's big band music was viewed by some in the jazz and swing community of the day as "corny,"
Louis Armstrong famously enjoyed Lombardo's music. When questioned about this, Armstrong quipped "The man gets the melody right."
He was inducted into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
Other pursuits
Guy Lombardo was also an important figure in
hydroplane racing, winning the
Gold Cup in
1946 and the
Ford Memorial competition in
1948. A museum in
London, Ontario is dedicated to his musical and hydroplane racing achievements. In 2002 he was inducted into the
Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame for his accomplishments.
In his later years, Lombardo lived in
Freeport,
Long Island,
New York, where he kept his boat,
Tempo IV. He also invested in a nearby seafood restaurant (or clam shack) originally called "Liota's East Point House." It was soon "Guy Lombardo's East Point House." Lombardo later became an earlier promoter and musical director of
Jones Beach Marine Theater, which is a still-popular concert venue south of Freeport.
Tributes
The Guy Lombardo Society is a society dedicated to preserving the music and history of Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians.
(External Link
)
The Guy Lombardo Museum (External Link)is located near Wonderland Gardens, a venue closely associated with Lombardo and the Royal Canadians. (Wonderland Gardens was destroyed by a fire in August 2005.) Nearby there's also a bridge named after him, as well as Lombardo Avenue in north London near the
University of Western Ontario.
The portion of Grove Street in Freeport south of Sunrise Highway is known as Guy Lombardo Avenue. The birth home of Guy Lombardo is still standing in London, Ontario, at 202 Simcoe Street.
A plaque to the Lombardos has been moved from the exterior wall of the
Labatt Retail Store at Richmond and Horton streets in London to the store's entranceway off the parking lot, denoting the site of a subsequent home of the Lombardos.
In the film
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the taunting French soldiers claim that their castle is owned by Guy de Lombard, whom the script's authors named in tribute to Lombardo.
In the song "Marry The Man Today" in Frank Loesser's musical "Guys and Dolls" Guy Lombardo is one of "the better things" that Sarah and Adelaide decide that'll make their husbands appreciate to make them more genteel. The tongue-in-cheek list also includes Reader's Digest and Ovaltine.
Media
Further Information
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