The Guy Lombardo Music Centre and Museum is located in the heart of London, Ontario
- the birthplace of Guy Lombardo. It is nestled in Springbank Park directly next door to Historic Wonderland Gardens
Ballroom where Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians returned year after year to renew old acquiantances and make
new fans.Museum Director, Doug Flood has been working at the museum since 2000. He is dedicated to preserving the music and legacy of the greatest dance orchestra in the history of popular dance music!
The music centre has three wonderful CD's available for purchase. The CD's cost $20.00 each (in US and Canadian funds) and can be purchased by sending your money to:
The Friends Of Lombardo® - Post Office Box 58 - Lambeth Station - London, Ontario, Canada N6P-1P9 - Make your cheque or money order (International Money Order For US Residents) payable to "Friends Of Lombardo". You can e-mail Doug Flood for a listing of the tunes on each CD. The $20.00 covers postage and handling fees.
The Guy Lombardo Museum and Music Centre was founded in 1984 by Col. Tom Lawson. Col. Lawson found and restored Guy's racing boat "Tempo VII". He raised the needed funds and built the museum to actually house the boat. Making a museum out of the rest of the building was actually an afterthought.
Fred Higman, Fred Kreitzer, and many other original "Royal Canadians" donated pictures and artifacts which are still on display there. Fred Higman attended the ribbon cutting ceremony. Guy's original 1924 Gennett Recordings are also housed in the museum. One of his Violins is on display too. As many know, Guy gave up the Violin at an early age and was found using it's bow to lead the orchestra rather than caress the instrument it was designed for. Eventually he dropped the Violin altogether in favor of a baton.
Other interesting items the museum has in it's collection are an original band jacket worn by singer Kenny Gardner, who was also Guy's brother-in-law. Dangling from the ceiling, are reprints of Guy's
many long-playing records. Yes, Guy recorded over 60 different long-playing collections, and Doug
has managed to put their covers to good use.The music centre also shows a 1 hour documentary on the life of Guy Lombardo which was produced in London just a few days after he passed away in 1977. It boasts interviews with family, friends, past band members, and avid fans. It also shows footage of Lombardo's last concert before television cameras, which he gave at The Stork Club in Port Stanley, Ontario in June of 1977.
For more information on The Guy Lombardo Museum and Music Centre, you can visit Tourism London. You may also e-mail Doug Flood, the Director of the museum for more information or to schedule a visit.