Carmen Lombardo R.I.P.

[Leah LaBrea]

39 years ago, Saturday (April 17th, 1971), we lost Carmen Lombardo, then 67 years old. He lost a 4-year battle with lung cancer. Some would say he was the greatest sax section leader of all time. That section, part of the band known as Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians, had the smoothest and most memorable sound of any band around.

With his brothers Guy, Lebert and Victor, he helped form the most imitated, talked about, and recorded band of all time. Guy Lombardo recorded over 1,000 different tunes. For nearly 15 years, Carmen was the band's lead vocalist and would occasionally come back to sing one of his hits from time to time.

Carmen wrote over 200 hit songs and performed with the band right up until about 2 months before he died. His last televised appearance with the band was New Year's Eve 1970-1971 on CBS TV. If I had only known then what I know now.

Thanks, Carmen, for so many sweet musical moments.

(thanks to the the Guy Lombardo Society for the stats)

[laurie kanner]

If I had only know how to appreciate Carmen Lombardo's vocals, or even the whole band 15 years ago, I would have had that much more time to enjoy him. Even the later recordings with Kenny Gardner as the lead vocalist are nice because you can hear Carmen with the trio and the sound is so comforting.
Maybe my grandmother was on to something years ago when, of course, I wanted nothing to do with Guy Lombardo. I guess I grew into it. Still, it's not everyone's cup of tea. Thanks for reminding me, Leah.

[WheezerTheGeezer]

One of the first 78s I ever bought (at a church rummage sale when I was in the 7th grade) was Guy Lombardo & the RCs on a Victor scroll: Dream Time/The Scene Changes, Carmen doing vocals on both sides. I literally wore it out to the point you could see through the shellac!! Well, not exactly but I sure loved that record... that is until my brother broke it

Flash forward forty years.... thanks to eBay I was able to find another copy of this 78. What a thrill to put that record on my wind-up Victor VV-220 and hear it again after so many years. I never thought I'd get to hear it again but the tunes stuck in my head for all of those empty years. It was like ear-candy to me.

I had a similar experience with a Columbia 78: Arthur Fields doing "We're' All Going Calling on the Kaiser".. this one I used to spin when I was about 6-7 years old in the 1950s. Finally found a couple of copies of this jewel. My wife even loves THIS 78!

[WheezerTheGeezer]

I almost forgot something during all of that previous post's musings...
I really liked the way Carmen sang. Of course all of my friends would look at me funny but I didn't care.
I even named my little Chihuahua dog Carmen.
May the good lawd rest your soul, Carmen.

[Wbsmms]

Carmen is my third favorite singer, behind Kenny Gardner (#1) and the great Levi Stubbs (#2). Carmen always sang with a lot of heart. May they all rest in peace. They are greatly missed.

[Goldie]

Reminder, tonight Rich does Carmen's 107th Birthday Tribute!
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6607

[Leah LaBrea]

Thanks, Goldie, for the reminder! I was unaware, which is not unusual.

[WheezerTheGeezer]

A hat tip to good ol' Carmen.

He and his brothers got me hooked on all this good stuff.

Wheez

[WheezerTheGeezer]

....on an unrelated note.
I really like the good old WFUV Bulletin board. That Twitter and Facebook stuff is ok but this is wayyyy easier to follow.
IMHO.

[laurie kanner]

I have to agree,and I won't say why. But plenty of Carmen is swell.

[Leah LaBrea]

It's like being with friends for an evening of good music (drinks optional).