He was famous for just one song that is played at just one time of the year.
He didn’t compose it. He didn’t write the lyrics. He didn’t even play a musical instrument on any of the recordings or during live performances of the tune. He was only an orchestra conductor.
Yet throughout most of the 20th Century and even today, Guy Lombardo’s name was synonymous with New Year’s Eve. All because of the song Auld Lang Syne.
He was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, the son of Italian immigrants.
Lombardo and his brothers were musically gifted. They all played instruments; Lebert on trumpet, Carmen on saxophone, Guy on violin.
In 1924, he formed his signature band with whom he would become famous - Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians. Throughout the Roaring Twenties they played in Cleveland, Chicago, and New York City.
He and his only wife Lillibell were wed in 1926. They remained married for the rest of his life but never had children.
1929: The band took up residency at the Roosevelt Grill inside the Roosevelt Hotel, which still exists in Midtown Manhattan. Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians were the house act for 30 years.
Their first live national radio broadcast of Auld Lang Syne happened on December 31, 1929. The band would perform it live every single New Year’s Eve for decades to come.
In 1954, Lombardo moved his group to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where they continued the annual tradition on television.
Throughout the years, Lombardo and his Royal Canadians sold hundreds of millions of records. They recorded original compositions which were written by Carmen, his brother. Yet only one song stood out. And they didn’t even write it.
Guy Lombardo arranged the tune and his recorded version was instrumental, so anyone who wanted to sing along had to know the lyrics.
The words were written by the famous poet Robert Burns, and he applied them to an old melody from his native Scotland.
The first few lines of the song are usually all anyone can remember: “Should old acquaintance be forgot / And never brought to mind / Should old acquaintance be forgot / And auld lang syne.” Most people can’t even remember that much.
The words ‘auld lang syne’ are a mystery to most of us, too. They’re from the Scottish language and roughly translate to “days of old” or “olden days.” Given that knowledge, the lyrics still don’t make much sense. But they’re sung during a traditional celebration, so who cares?
Despite his death in 1977 - and despite not writing the song that made him famous - Guy Lombardo’s name is still synonymous with New Year’s Eve. ALSO:
In midlife, Guy Lombardo became an accomplished speed boat racer. He won championships and awards during the late 1940s. In the 50s he put his name on a brand of fiberglass speed boats.
Yet we only remember him for that one song.
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