A musician born in Wah Wah, Ontario, is probably destined to be either an electric guitarist or a trumpet player. Bob Roberts took the latter course, but never really payed tribute to his hometown, at least not sonically. Rather than making "wah wah" sounds with his plunger mute as he might have been asked to do in the Duke Ellington or Count Basie bands, Roberts became adept at playing lead trumpet melodies with a crystal tone, because that's what the boss asked him to do in Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians. The so-called "sweetest music this side of heaven" was what Roberts played, meaning that he is one of the most frequently heard trumpet players in the music business, if sales of records are used as the gauge. His trumpet presence, as part of the package when someone forks over dough for a Guy Lombardo recording, rivals the best-known trumpet players in the world, from Herb Alpert to Miles Davis to Chuck Mangione; with the Lombardo discography responsible for more than 300-million records sold worldwide on labels such as Columbia, Brunswick, Decca, and RCA/Victor. So, who cares if most listeners think Bob Roberts is a movie about a fascist folk singer? Of course, if Cootie Williams had been named Bob Roberts, listeners would have still heard of him, because the Duke Ellington band featured a great deal of its instrumentalists in solo numbers as well as demanding and expressive solo spots and interaction throughout the arrangements. This has never been the case with Lombardo's music, although in the early Gennett days, when Roberts first came on board in the trumpet section, it was a tad bit more rambunctious than the almost mummified sound of the band in the '50s and '60s. Other bands with less of a jazz content to their repertoire also featured instruments such as the trumpet in a more active role, leading to audience interest and identification with individual players. A good example would be the popular Spike Jones band, which actually has some things in common with Lombardo and his outfit. Both were popular acts both live and on television, and both groups performed the ghastly number "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," although only Jones recorded an X-rated version of the ditty. The trumpet players in Jones' band, some of whom became minor stars in their own right, played more notes in a night than Lombardo would demand of Roberts in the course of the year; including pitches that Lombardo would only get out of his trumpet players if he accidentally dropped his wardrobe chest on their feet. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide