“Guy Lombardo, Royal Canadians Bring ‘Big Band’ Sound to Tivoli,” heralded the April 24, 1969, Chattanooga Times article, which described the near-capacity crowd enjoying one of the last big bands of the 1930s.
Lombardo and his 12-piece band played a number of old hits including “When My Sugar Walks Down the Street” and “Boo Hoo” mixed with two current selections from “The Graduate,” including “Mrs. Robinson” and “Scarborough Fair.” The article noted, “The old maestro once again proved that his music was of timeless quality.”
Gaetano Alberto “Guy” Lombardo was born in 1902 to Italian immigrants in London, Ontario. His father, a tailor and amateur singer, had his four sons learn to play instruments to accompany him. Guy first performed in public at a church lawn party in his hometown in 1914 and later began recording with his three brothers, Lebert, Carmen and Vector. Trained as a violinist, Guy soon became the leader and conductor of Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians.
The Lombardo orchestra sold well over 100 million records during the band’s lifetime on labels including Brunswick, Vocalion, Columbia, Decca, RCA and Victor.
From 1927 to 1940 the band had more than 21 top hits on the American Billboard single charts. From 1956 to 1959 the Lombardo band played live on the CBS television network. Fans of rap, video game and other forms of modern music have derided Lombardo as “King of Corn.” However, Louis Armstrong constantly cited the Lombardo band as his favorite for purity of innovation.