Guy Lombardo
b. 19 June 1902, London, Ontario, Canada, d. 5 November 1977. Early in the '20s, Lombardo formed a dance band in collaboration with his brothers Carmen and Lebert (a fourth brother, Victor, joined later). After some limited success in their own country they travelled across the border and secured a regular radio engagement in Cleveland, Ohio, where they adopted the name Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians. The band played in Chicago before moving to New York where they remained, mostly enjoying very long residencies, until 1963. Frequent broadcasts and their immaculately played dance music, which was unblushingly billed as ‘the sweetest music this side of heaven’, appealed to a huge audience and the band's worldwide record sales were extraordinary. Published estimates vary between 100 and 300 million copies.