Guy Lombardo

Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist. He formed "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers and other musicians from his hometown of London, Ontario. Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "the sweetest music this side of Heaven". The Lombardos are believed to have sold between 100 and 300 million records during their lifetimes, many featuring the band's long time lead singer, Kenny Gardner.

Lombardo is remembered for almost a half-century of New Year's Eve big band remotes, first on radio, and then on television. Lombardo's orchestra played 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 radio broadcasts (and later telecasts) of their performances were a major part of New Year's celebrations across North America as millions of people watched the show with friends at house parties. Because of this popularity, Lombardo was called "Mr. New Year's Eve". 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 popular. Even after Lombardo's death, The Royal Canadians' recording of the traditional song "Auld Lang Syne" still plays as the first song of the new year in Times Square.