The lyric itself dates back to a
1788 Scottish poem that was soon set to music and traditionally sung on
occasions that signified the conclusion of something - including the year’s end
for which it is most famously associated.
It would eventually become the
anthem to big band leader Guy Lombardo’s New Year’s Eve broadcasts aired live
from NYC on radio and TV between 1929 & 1979. Despite it’s popularity and having been released as a single
by Lombardo in 1947, Auld Lang Syne failed to make the Billboard hit singles
chart until 2000 when Kenny G took it to #7 with his special “Millennium Mix.”
"Dick Clark’s New Year's Rockin'
Eve” premiered in 1972 and signaled a changing of the guard for New Year’s Eve
TV programs. Taking a page out of
his days as host of American Bandstand, Clark’s program showcased performances
by the latest and greatest hit makers of the day and set it against the live backdrop of the
ball drop in Times Square and the millions of revelers that assemble there each
New Year’s Eve.
Clark utilized a rock version of
Auld Lang Syne as the program theme and in Dick’s final appearance on NYE
2011/12 before his unfortunate death in 2012, Guy Lombardo’s version of Auld
Lang Syne plays as he kisses his wife at midnight.
Dick Clark will be missed by
generations as Guy Lombardo is still by others. For now, the guard changes again tonight but the tradition
lives on in days of ‘Old Long Since.’
Happy New Year from djChrisPickett.com!
