Songwriters Hall of Fame

The man who became leader of the only dance band ever to sell more than 100 million records was born on June 19, 1902 in London, Ontario, Canada.

With his brother, Carmen, Lombardo started his first band in 1924 with Guy as leader and Carmen as lead saxophonist and singer. By the decade’s end, ‘the sweetest music this side of heaven’ had settled in for a long stay as one of America’s favorites.

Lombardo and his orchestra charted over 215 top twenty hit songs between 1927 and 1954. Among these were the #1 hit songs ‘Charmaine!’ (1927), ‘Sweethearts on Parade’ (1928), ‘You’re Driving Me Crazy! (What Did I Do?)’ (1930), ‘By the River St. Marie’ (1931), ‘There Ought to be a Moonlight Saving Time’ (1931), ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ (1931), ‘Too Many Tears’ (1932), ‘Paradise’ (1932), ‘We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye’ (1932), ‘The Last Round Up’ (1933), ‘Stars Fell on Alabama’ (1934), ‘What’s the Reason (I’m Not Pleasin’ You)’ (1935), ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’ (1935), ‘Lost’ (1936), ‘When Did you Leave Heaven?’ (1936), ‘Boo Hoo’ (1937), ‘September in the Rain’ (1937), ‘It Looks Like Rain in Cherry Blossom Lane’ (1937), ‘A Sailboat in the Moonlight’ (1937), ‘So Rare’ (1937), ‘Penny Serenade’ (1939), ‘The Band Played On’ (1941), ‘Intermezzo (Souvenir De Vienne)’ (1941), ‘It’s Love-Love-Love’ (1944), ‘Managua, Nicaragua’ (1947) and ‘The Third Man Theme’ (1950).

In addition to the long string of hit recordings by Guy and his Orchestra, his annual New Year’s Eve broadcasts (climaxed by his theme ‘Auld Lang Syne’) made him most famous to modern audiences.

Guy Lombardo died on November 5, 1977.