I'm An American -- Guy Lombardo

Recorded Sound | Digitized | RG Number: RG-91.0042

Overview

Description: On February 2, 1941 Guy Lombardo spoke with Henry B. Hazard of the US. Department of Justice about his experience as an American. He describes the American attitude and nightlife. The band leader says, “In America you don’t have to be upper class to hear good music.” Lombardo tells how and why he immigrated to the United States. He also reveals he, and all his band members, became naturalized and voted together. Lombardo closes the program by stating that because Americans like to laugh, sing and dance, they would never submit to a dictator.

Guy Lombardo (b. Gaetano Alberto Lombardo) was born on June 19, 1902 in London, Ontario, Canada to a musically inclined family. Lombardo and his brothers formed their first orchestra while still in grade school. At the age of 22, they formed the Royal Canadians which claimed to create “the sweetest music this side of Heaven.” He launched his career after a trip to Cleveland, when they became represented by the Music Corporation of America. In 1929, his New Year’s Eve Show debuted on the radio from New York City’s Roosevelt Grille. Lombardo and his band went on to secure the booking for almost half a decade. He was affectionately known as “Mr. New Year’s Eve”. In 1934, Lombardo became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Date: Broadcast: 1941 February 02
Format: WAV

Physical Details

Language: English
Genre/Form: Radio broadcasts.

Rights & Restrictions

Conditions on Access: This archival media can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations.
Copyright: NBC Universal
Conditions on Use: Contact NBC Universal at www.nbcuniarchives.com for permission to duplicate and use this film or sound recording.

Keywords & Subjects

Topical Term: Band directors. Canadian Americans. Democracy--United States. Immigrants--Interviews. Immigrants--United States. Men--Personal narratives. Music--Performance. Music--United States. Oaths--United States. Voting--United States.
Geographic Name: United States.
Personal Name: Hazard, Henry B. (Henry Bernard), 1880- Lombardo, Guy, 1902-1977.
Corporate Name: National Broadcasting Company United States. Department of Justice

Administrative Notes

Legal Status: In process
Recorded Sound Provenance: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of these sound recordings from the Library of Congress in March 2018.
Recorded Sound Notes: More information about Guy Lombardo:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guy-Lombardo
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1977/11/07/guy-lombardo-mr-new-years-eve-dies-after-surgery/fed62f9b-8dec-45ee-95a3-d6daddd36851/?utm_term=.ee935820dd9b
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0518456/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Lombardo

More information about I’M AN AMERICAN:
https://www.uscis.gov/history-and-genealogy/our-history/historians-mailbox/im-american
https://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557338355/im-an-american-radio-show-promoted-inclusion-before-world-war-ii
Recorded Sound Source: Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
File Number: Source Archive Number: RGA 9794

Record last modified:: 2024-02-21 07:30:12
This page:: http://collections.ushmm.org/search/bookmarks/irn620818

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Also in "I'm An American" NBC radio broadcasts

I’M AN AMERICAN premiered in 1940 on the eve of WWII. The NBC radio broadcast was spearheaded by the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Labor to foster a “deeper consciousness of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and more tolerance for fellow american of all birthplaces”. The weekly program featured distinguished foreign-born citizens discussing their naturalization process, the meaning of “democracy” and reminding all Americans of the value/privilege of U.S. citizenship. Sound recordings of I’M AN AMERICAN are available from the NBC Radio Collection in the Library of Congress.

Date: 1940-1944

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I'm An American -- Guy Lombardo

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