Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

There are some really interesting folks in my neighbourhood.  One particularly interesting fellow is a man named George, who lives at the end of my street.  George is in his late 80s; he is a former WWII pilot and he and his wife (who is also in her late 80s) have lived in that house at the end of the street since they were married in the early 1940s.  George likes to tell me how the land my house is on used to be a big tomato field.  One day this past summer, George stopped to talk for a particularly long conversation. We ended up chatting about wartime music and he told me how he, along with the local townsfolk, had once brought Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians to play in our sleepy little village (this was back in the 40s or 50s).  Long story short, I had never heard of Guy Lombardo (have YOU?), but now I'm sort of proud of the fact that there was a famous CANADIAN big band and it once played in our little piece of the map.  We are looking into seeing if George and his wife, along with some of our other neighbours, will be able to attend a Wartime music and dance night at a local aviation museum in November. If that pans out, you may hear more about George! In the mean-time, enjoy the sweet sounds of the Royal Canadians, with famous singer Kate Smith's vocals!

 

13 comments:

Nancy said...

Oh my goodness, how lucky to have someone like George to hear stories from!

I have heard of Guy Lombardo, probably because my father's a musician and used to play dance jobs in the 60's and 70's and people used to request some of Guy's hits....

Looking forward to hearing more from George!

BaronessVonVintage said...

Hey, Nancy, MY father's a musician, too!! Once I asked him, he too knew of Guy Lombardo. George is a real gem, indeed. I really want to sit down and interview him one day!

Lauren said...

Cool! I like Guy Lombardo :)
So neat that you have someone like George. It's really a treasure! I bet he has some awesome stories.

Cee said...

I LOVE Guy Lombardo! I grew up with his Deck The Halls Christmas album as the most played one every year and now have a few of his records. I get such a kick out of him :) That is still my absolute favorite Christmas record and I have the copy I grew up with. If you do vinyl at all, you can find it in thrift shops now and again!

BaronessVonVintage said...

Ooh, I'll have to get that album for the holidays. Thanks, Rueby! My dad is a major vinyl collector. Must see if he has this album!

Beth said...

I've got some Christmas music by him too! The band's usually a little heavy on vibrato for my taste, but I still enjoy it - definitely a style of the period!

michellionaire said...

check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdvw3ijpZQo&feature=related

Penny Dreadful Vintage said...

I think I had vaguely heard the name, will need to look up some tunes when I get home (I can't listen to this at work, boo)

BaronessVonVintage said...

thanks for the youtube link, michellionaire. Fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Guy Lombardo was my grandmother's favourite! She had several records, and I remember how she loved listening to them!

Tickety Boo Tupney - A Dash OF Worcester Sauce. said...

How cool!I have heard of him and I'm pretty sure I have some 78's of his in my collection- must have a look!

BaronessVonVintage said...

that's so neat! I love discovering artists that are so well beloved!

LandGirl1980 said...

Never heard of them - but will check them out. Sounds like they will be RIGHT up my street. And what a lovely old couple at the end of your street. Cherish them :)