Guy was born and raised at London, Ontario and he began his band with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor as well as other musicians from the London area.
He billed his music: “The sweetest music this side of Heaven”.
In his career he sold more than 300 million records.
His band was considered to be the number one band of the ” Big Band Era “.
To record, Guy had to go to Cleveland, Ohio as the Canadian music industry was just a few recording studio’s and if he was to get to the world stage he had to go to the U.S.
The U.S. producers wanted to change the name of the band to Guy Lombardo’s Orchestra.
Guy was adamant that the name Royal Canadians was the name of the band and if they didn’t like it, he would sign with another agency.
Eventually the producers relented and the band became the number one band of his era.
Guy was the first band leader to play ‘Auld Lang Signe’ in the U.S. at New Year’s celebrations.
The song was a staple in Canada and for him it was just the right song to play at 12:00 AM.
‘Auld Lang Signe’ is now part of U.S. traditions.
Eventually, Guy became a U.S. citizen, because it was easier for taxes, but he never forgot his Canadian roots and his Canadian values and that his band would always be the Royal Canadians.
Enjoy
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