User:Lombard, Paul/sandbox

Paul Lombard
Paul Lombard (born Paul Francis Lippman; March 31, 1943) is an American singer. He is dubbed “The King of Romance”. Lombard is considered by some to be one of the most romantic crooners of all time.

Lombard began his career with the jazz trio, Moonlighters. He outshined his fellow crooners and found success as a solo artist in the early 1960’s after being signed to Standard Records in 1963. His professional career has resulted in dozens of albums spanning a wide variety of genres, which include: jazz, swing, folk, psychedelic rock, reggae and hip-hop. His highest grossing album, In the Dark and Lonely Hours (1970) received him the title “The King of Romance” and his first platinum record.

During his jazz era, he produced a number of albums with high praise: Let’s Run Away Baby, Violet Silk, Stars in July, Paul Lombard and his Famous Orchestra, and Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

Following the success of Dark and Lonely, Lombard toured the American jazz club scene and headlined at venues like Caesar’s Palace, Village Vanguard, The Lava Lounge, Whisky Troubadour and The Ivy. He became a Vegas nightlife staple in the 1980’s where he groomed himself into a “slick entertainer”. He released several live albums: Paul Lombard LIVE at Caesar’s Palace, Paul at the Village Vanguard and Swingin’ at Sally’s.

During the early 1970’s, he followed the trend of several other musicians and released his only psychedelic rock album Plasticine Tangerine Mind Warp Baby. Critics compared it to Beatles' Revolver album of the same genre.

Lombard continued to surprise audiences as he strayed farther away from his crooner image and released a reggae album in 1992. This album was followed by a hip-hop LP titled, Original P – Old School.

In early 2000, Lombard released Paul’s Greatest Hits, which accrued over 5 million albums sold. In 2003, he announced his retirement.