Carmen Lombardo

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Carmen Lombardo (July 16, 1903 - April 17, 1971) was the younger brother of bandleader Guy Lombardo. He was a vocalist and composer whose compositions included the 1928 classic "Sweethearts on Parade", which was number one for three weeks in 1929 on the U.S. pop charts, "Ridin' Around in the Rain", written with Gene Austin in 1934, the jazz and pop standard "Coquette", "Boo Hoo", and "Some Rainy Day".

Career

Born in London, Ontario, Canada, as a child he took flute lessons, and later learned to play saxophone, forming a band with his brother Guy as conductor. The band developed into The Royal Canadians in 1923, in which Carmen both sang and wrote music. He frequently collaborated with American composers and his music was recorded by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and others. Many of his compositions have also been used in Woody Allen films. When singing songs like "Alone at a Table for Two" he would allow his voice to tremble, and seem nearly to break into tears- he was caricatured in Warner Brothers cartoons as "Cryman" Lombardo.

In the late 1960s, actor-raconteur Tony Randall made several TV appearances on the "Tonight Show" in which he sang songs written by Carmen Lombardo in a voice imitating (and somewhat exaggerating) Lombardo's style. On one appearance, Lombardo and Randall performed a duet of Lombardo's "Boo Hoo (You've Got Me Crying for You)", which was one of the songs that Randall typically included in his Lombardo routine.

Lombardo died of cancer in Miami in 1971.

Compositions by Carmen Lombardo

Carmen Lombardo's compositions included the number one jazz and pop standard "Sweethearts on Parade", "Powder Your Face with Sunshine (Smile! Smile! Smile!)", "A Lane in Spain", "Some Rainy Day", "Boo Hoo (You've Got Me Crying For You)", "A Sailboat in the Moonlight" (1937) with John Jacob Loeb, "Coquette", written with Johnny Green and Gus Kahn, recorded by Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Lunceford, Bud Freeman, Bob Crosby, and The Ink Spots, "Seems Like Old Times", "Oahu (My Lovely Island Home)", "Get Out Those Old Records", "Ridin' Around in the Rain" with Gene Austin, and "You're Beautiful To-Night, My Dear".

Cover Versions of "Coquette"

"Coquette" (Carmen Lombardo/Johnny Green / Gus Kahn) has been recorded by:

Paul McCartney; Harold Ashby; Jimmy Beasley; Sidney Bechet; Bix Beiderbecke; Barney Bigard; Scott Black; Gary Burton; Rosemary Clooney; Nat King Cole; Bill Coleman; Norrie Cox & His New Orleans Stompers; Bing Crosby; Bob Crosby; Billy Devroe; Vic Dickenson; Fats Domino; The Dorsey Brothers; Tommy Dorsey; Boots Douglas; Billy Eckstine; Lars Erstrand; Ron Eschete; Bud Freeman; Erroll Garner; Alan Gresty; Edmond Hall; Erskine Hawkins; Fletcher Henderson; Eddie Heywood; Earl Hines; Eddy Howard & His Orch.; The Ink Spots; Carl Kress; Bireli Lagrene; Frankie Laine; Charlie Lewis; Willie Lewis; Big Tiny Little; Guy Lombardo; Jimmie Lunceford; Roy Milton; Joe Mooney; Tony Mottola; Rose Murphy; New England Conservatory Jazz Repertory; Charlie Parker; Dave Pell; Bucky Pizzarelli; Preservation Hall Jazz Band; Johnnie Ray; Django Reinhardt; Sammy Rimington; Pee Wee Russell; Loren Schoenberg; Ronnie Scott; George Shearing; Muggsy Spanier; Sonny Stitt; Bob Strong; Ralph Sutton Quartet; Allan Vaché; Johnny Varro; Dinah Washington; George Wettling's Stuyvesant Stompers; Paul Whiteman; Teddy Wilson; and, Engelbert Wrobel.

External links

• Carmen Lombardo at Find a Grave

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