On This Date (November 5, 1977) Guy Lombardo / World Famous Band Leader
Gaetano “Guy” Lombardo
June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977

Guy Lombardo was an internationally famous band leader whose yearly New Year’s Eve shows were broadcast across the United States for many years. Lombardo’s music career began in 1924, and by the ’30s, he and his group were the most popular dance band in the country. He and his orchestra performed at New York’s famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel for three decades, and the radio and television broadcasts of their New Year’s Eve shows laid the foundation for New Year’s Eve broadcasts to come. In fact, it’s Lombardo’s version of “Auld Lang Syne” that is played in New York’s Times Square (and countless other locations) every year. Several sources have indicated that over the course of his career, Lombardo likely sold as many as 300 million records. Guy Lombardo continued to perform right up until the time of his death in 1977. He passed away at the age of 75.

Bobby Scott was a notable jazz pianist who, remarkably, turned professional when he was just 11. By the time he was 15, he was touring with the likes of
Even though he was mostly blind, Art Tatum was one of jazz’s greatest pianists. Tatum was considered a child prodigy and was able to pick up the fine art of piano playing by copying what he heard on the radio or player-piano rolls. As a child with perfect pitch, he could instantly tell if a piano was out of tune. In the mid ’20s, he studied piano at a Toledo music school. Word of his prowess began to spread through jazz circles, and before long, jazz greats like 

Johnny Horton was a popular country singer, musician and songwriter who came to prominence during the 1950s. His main contribution to popular music was that it was he who ushered in the so-called historical ballad craze of the late ’50s. His 1959 single “The Ballad of New Orleans” was one of the most popular songs of the decade and earned him a Best Country Record Grammy. Other songs like “Sink the Bismarck” and “North to Alaska” were popular with country music fans and history buffs alike. On November 5, 1960 while driving home from an Austin, Texas performance, Johnny Horton, 35, was killed when his car was hit head-on by a drunk driver.
Eugene Powell was a Mississippi born Delta blues musician who, like so many of his peers, picked up the guitar while still a child. During his early career, Powell, who was also proficient on the banjo, violin and harmonica, occasionally performed and recorded with the Mississippi Sheiks. Sometimes performing under the name of Sonny Boy Nelson, Powell built a strong regional following throughout the ’30s and ’40s. But as rock ‘n roll and R&B began to take root, his music began to fall out of favor with young audiences so he was all but retired during the ’50s. He experienced a bit of a comeback during the folk revival of the ’60s, and was encouraged to record and tour the festival circuit. He signed to Adelphi Records in the early ’70s and recorded such sides as “Street Walkin’,” “Suitcase Full of Trouble,” “44 Blues,” and “Meet Me in the Bottoms.” By the ’90s, Powell’s health began to ail so he was living in a nursing facility. He passed away on November 4, 1998.