Glenn Miller

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Undetermined Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Glenn Miller Similar Undetermined Music Search Artistopia

Biography

Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – missing in actionThe website for Arlington National Cemetery refers to Glenn Miller as "missing in action since Dec. 15, 1944" see "", Arlington National Cemetery by Kathryn Shenkle. Accessed March 2012. December 15, 1944) was an United States|American jazz musician ( trombone ), arranger, composer, and bandleader in the Swing (genre)|swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known Big Band s. Miller's notable recordings include " In the Mood ", " Moonlight Serenade ", " Pennsylvania 6-5000 ", " Chattanooga Choo Choo ", " A String of Pearls (song)|A String of Pearls ", " At Last ", " (I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo ", " American Patrol ", " Tuxedo Junction ", and " Little Brown Jug (song)|Little Brown Jug ".Glenn Miller had 23 number one records and 72 top ten hits from 1939 to 1943 see "", Tsort , Accessed March 2012, more than Elvis Presley discography|Elvis Presley (18 #1s, 38 top 10s) and The Beatles discography|The Beatles (20 #1s, 33 top 10s) had in their careers. See "", GlennMillerOrchestra.se . See "", Wiki.Answers.com . See , Elvis Presley Enterprises inc . Accessed 2011-09-09. While he was traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II , Glenn Miller disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel. The Glenn Miller Orchestra was re-formed after the war and continues to record and perform to this day.

Early life and career

Miller was born on a farm in Clarinda, Iowa|Clarinda , Iowa, to Lewis Elmer Miller and Mattie Lou (née Cavender). He went to grade school in North Platte, Nebraska|North Platte in western Nebraska. In 1915, Miller's family moved to Grant City, Missouri|Grant City , Missouri. Around this time, Miller had finally made enough money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and played in the town orchestra. In 1918, the Miller family moved again, this time to Fort Morgan, Colorado|Fort Morgan , Colorado, where Miller went to high school. During his senior year, Miller became very interested in a new style of music called "dance band music." He was so taken with it that he formed his own band with some classmates. By the time Miller graduated from high school in 1921, he had decided he wanted to become a professional musician.

In 1923, Miller entered the University of Colorado at Boulder , where he joined Sigma Nu Fraternity,"", Oregonstate.edu . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. but spent most of his time away from school, attending auditions and playing any gigs he could get, most notably with Boyd Senter's band in Denver . He dropped out of school after failing three out of five classes one semester, and decided to concentrate on making a career as a professional musician. He later studied the Schillinger System|Schillinger technique with Joseph Schillinger , under whose tutelage he composed what became his signature theme, "Moonlight Serenade"."", The Schillinger System . In 1926, Miller toured with several groups, eventually landing a good spot in Ben Pollack 's group in Los Angeles. During his stint with Pollack, Miller wrote several musical arrangements of his own. He also co-wrote his first composition, " Room 1411 ", written with Benny Goodman and released as a Brunswick 78, 4013, credited to Bennie Goodman's Boys."", Red Hot Jazz . In 1928, when the band arrived in New York City, he sent for and married his college sweetheart, Helen Burger. He was a member of Red Nichols 's orchestra in 1930, and because of Nichols, Miller played in the pit bands of two Broadway theatre|Broadway shows , Strike Up the Band (musical)|Strike Up the Band and Girl Crazy (where his bandmates included big band leaders Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa ).

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Miller managed to earn a living working as a freelance trombonist in several bands. On a March 21, 1928 Victor session Miller played alongside Tommy Dorsey , Benny Goodman , and Joe Venuti in the All-Star Orchestra, directed by Nat Shilkret .Conner, D. Russell, and Warner W. Hicks, BG-Off the Record, Arlington House, New Rochelle, New York, 1969. ISBN 87000-059-4Shilkret, Nathaniel, ed. Niel Shell and Barbara Shilkret, Nathaniel Shilkret: Sixty Years in the Music Business , Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 2005. ISBN 0-8108-5128-8.Stockdale, Robert L., Tommy Dorsey on the Side, Studies in Jazz, No. 19, Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New Jersey, 1995. On November 14, 1929, an original vocalist named Red McKenzie hired Glenn to play on two records that are now considered to be jazz classics:Simon, George T. (1980). Glenn Miller and His Orchestra , p. 42. De Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80129-9.Simon (1980) says in Glenn Miller and His Orchestra , on page 42, when he asked Miller years later what recordings he made were his favorites, he specifically singled out the Mound City Blue Blowers sessions. "Hello, Lola" and "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight". Beside Glenn were clarinetist Pee Wee Russell , guitarist Eddie Condon , drummer Gene Krupa and Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone.

In the early-to-mid-1930s, Miller also worked as a trombonist and arranger in The Dorsey Brothers , first when they were a Brunswick studio group (under their own name and providing accompaniment for many of The Boswell Sisters sessions), and finally when they formed an ill-fated co-led touring and recording orchestra.Simon (1980), pp. 65–66. Miller composed the song " Annie's Cousin Fanny "Simon (1980), p. 9."Annie's Cousin Fanny" was recorded for Decca and Brunswick, a total of three times. The Brunswick release is catalogued Brunswick 6938 and one of the Decca recordings is catalogued Decca 117-A. These recordings are from the summer of 1934. See the website "", RedHotJazz.com for more information about dates and " Dese Dem Dose ""Dese Dem Dose" was recorded February 6, 1935 and released on the Decca label. For more information and where the preceding sentence was taken from, see "", RedHotJazz.com for the Dorsey Brothers Band in 1934 and 1935. In 1935, he assembled an American orchestra for British bandleader Ray Noble (musician)|Ray Noble , developing the arrangement of lead clarinet over four saxophones that eventually became the sonic keynote of his own big band. Members of the Noble band included future bandleaders Claude Thornhill , Bud Freeman and Charlie Spivak .

Glenn Miller made his first movie appearance in the 1935 Paramount Pictures release The Big Broadcast of 1936 as a member of the Ray Noble Orchestra performing "Why Stars Come Out at Night"., Internet Movie Database . The Big Broadcast of 1936 starred Bing Crosby , George Burns , Gracie Allen , Ethel Merman , Jack Oakie , and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and also featured other performances by Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers , who would appear with Miller again in two movies for Twentieth Century Fox in 1941 and 1942.

Glenn Miller compiled several musical arrangement s and formed his first band in 1937. The band failed to distinguish itself from the many others of the era, and broke up after playing its last show at the Ritz Ballroom, Bridgeport#Glenn Miller|Ritz Ballroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut on January 2, 1938.George Thomas Simon, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra , New York: Crowell, 1974, ISBN 978-0-690-00470-0, . Benny Goodman said in 1976, "In late 1937, before his band became popular, we were both playing in Dallas . Glenn was pretty dejected and came to see me. He asked, 'What do you do? How do you make it? ' I said, 'I don't know, Glenn. You just stay with it.'"

Success from 1938 to 1942

Discouraged, Miller returned to New York. He realized that he needed to develop a unique sound, and decided to make the clarinet play a melodic line with a tenor saxophone holding the same note, while three other saxophones harmonized within a single octave. George T. Simon discovered a saxophonist named Wilbur Schwartz for Glenn Miller. Miller hired Schwartz, but instead had him play the lead clarinet. According to Simon, "Willie's tone and way of playing provided a fullness and richness so distinctive that none of the later Miller imitators could ever accurately reproduce the Miller sound."Simon (1980), p. 122. With this new sound combination, Glenn Miller found a way to differentiate his band's style from the many bands that existed in the late thirties. Miller talked about his style in the May, 1939 issue of Metronome magazine. "You'll notice today some bands use the same trick on every introduction; others repeat the same musical phrase as a modulation into a vocal ... We're fortunate in that our style doesn't limit us to stereotyped intros, modulations, first choruses, endings or even trick rhythms. The fifth sax, playing clarinet most of the time, lets you know whose band you're listening to. And that's about all there is to it."

In September 1938, the Miller band began making recordings for the RCA Victor , Bluebird Records subsidiary.Simon (1980), p. 143. Cy Shribman, a prominent East Coast businessman, began financing the band, providing a much needed infusion of cash., Jazzsight.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2011. In the spring of 1939, the band's fortunes improved with a date at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey , and more dramatically at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York . The Glen Island date according to author Gunther Schuller attracted "a record breaking opening night crowd of 1800..." With the Glen Island date, the band began a huge rise in popularity.Simon (1980), p. 170. In 1939, TIME magazine noted: "Of the twelve to 24 discs in each of today's 300,000 U.S. jukeboxes, from two to six are usually Glenn Miller's." There were record-breaking recordings such as " Tuxedo Junction " which sold 115,000 copies in the first week. . Glennmillerorchestra.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Miller's huge success in 1939 culminated with his band appearing at Carnegie Hall on October 6, with Paul Whiteman , Benny Goodman, and Fred Waring also the main attractions.Simon (1980), p. 91.

From 1939 to 1942, Miller's band was featured three times a week during a quarter-hour broadcast for Chesterfield cigarettes on CBS ,The entire output of Chesterfield-sponsored radio programs Glenn Miller did between 1939 and 1942 were recorded by the Glenn Miller organization on acetate disc s. first with the Andrews Sisters and then on its own.Simon (1980), pp. 197, 314. On February 10, 1942, RCA Victor presented Miller with the first gold record for " Chattanooga Choo-Choo ".Miller, Glenn, A Legendary Performer , RCA, 1939/1991. "Chattanooga Choo Choo" was performed by the Miller orchestra with his singers Gordon "Tex" Beneke, Paula Kelly and the vocal group, the Modernaires ."", The Modernaires (October 20, 2000). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Other singers with this orchestra included Marion Hutton, Skip Nelson,, Legacy Recordings (copyright 2011). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Ray Eberle"", Solid! . and to a smaller extent, Kay Starr,, Members.tripod.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Ernie Caceres,, Landing.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Dorothy Claire, Parabrisas.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. and Jack Lathrop., also see '& #39;Moonlight Serenade'& #39; by John Flower. (PDF) . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Pat Friday ghost sang with the Miller band in their two films, Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives with Lynn Bari lip synching.

Motion pictures

Miller and his band appear in two Twentieth Century Fox films. In 1941's Sun Valley Serenade they are major members of the cast, which also features comedian Milton Berle ., Internet Movie Database . The Miller band returned to Hollywood to film 1942 in film|1942's Orchestra Wives ,, Internet Movie Database . featuring Jackie Gleason playing a part as the group's bassist, Ben Beck. Miller had an ailment that made laughter extremely painful. Since Jackie Gleason was a comedian, Miller had a difficult time watching Gleason more than once, because Miller would start laughing. Harry Morgan appears as Cully Anderson, the unrequited love interest of Ann Rutherford 's character, Connie Ward.Harry/Henry Morgan was also cast in 1953's The Glenn Miller Story as Miller's pianist, Chummy MacGregor. See , TCM.com .Miller co-wrote with Billy May the instrumental "Boom Shot" for the Orchestra Wive s soundtrack. See Moonlight Serenade , p. 428, for catalogue listing by 20th Century Fox and writing credits. Miller was contracted to do a third movie for Fox, Blind Date , but as he entered the U.S. Army, this never panned out. Variety , September 16, 1942.

Critical reaction

In 2004, Miller orchestra bassist Trigger Alpert|Herman "Trigger" Alpert explained the band's success: "Miller had America's music pulse ... He knew what would please the listeners.""", Big Band Library . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Although Miller had massive popularity, many jazz critics of the time had misgivings. They believed that the band's endless rehearsals and according to critic Amy Lee in Metronome magazine , "letter-perfect playing", diminished any feeling from performances.Simon (1980), p. 241. They also felt that Miller's brand of swing shifted popular music away from the "hot jazz" bands of Benny Goodman and Count Basie toward commercial novelty instrumentals and vocal numbers.For an example, see a mention in Time magazine from November 23, 1942. "U.S. jive epicures consider the jazz played by such famous name bands as Tommy Dorsey's or Glenn Miller's a low, commercial product.", Time , web: "", Time . For years, even after Miller died, the Miller estate maintained an unfriendly stance toward critics that derided the band during Miller's lifetime. Miller was often criticized for being too commercial. His answer to the criticism was, "I don't want a jazz band".Albertson, Chris, Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band, 1943–1944 , Bluebird/RCA, 1987. Liner notes.Another reference by Miller's friend George T. Simon, states " resented critics who focused almost entirely on his band's jazz or lack of it. ( Leonard Feather was a pet peeve)." see Simon (1971), p. 275. Many modern jazz critics still harbor similar antipathy toward Miller.As recently as 1997 on a website administered by JazzTimes , Miller is listed as an example of an overrated jazz musician by Doug Ramsey. "Miller was a businessman who discovered a popular formula from which he allowed little departure. A disproportionate ratio of nostalgia to substance keeps his music alive." see http://jazztimes.com/articles/24803-who-s-overrated-who-s-underrated for Ramsey's credentials see http://jazztimes.com/contributors/27-doug-ramsey
Jazz critics Gunther SchullerAmong Gunther Schuller's credentials are Professor of Composition at Yale University, Artist in Residence at the University of Wisconsin Madison and former president of the New England Conservatory of Music. He is also the past recipient of the Pulitzer Prize. See Wisc.edu URL: . (1991) and Gary GiddinsGary Giddins is a New York based jazz and film critic who has written for the Village Voice and the New York Sun . He won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Visions of Jazz: The First Century . See "", GaryGiddins.com . (2004) have separately defended the Miller orchestra for whatever deficiencies earlier critics have found. In an article written for The New Yorker in 2004, Gary Giddins says he feels that these early critics erred in denigrating Glenn Miller's music, and that the popular opinion of the time should hold greater sway. The article states: "Miller exuded little warmth on or off the bandstand, but once the band struck up its theme, audiences were done for: throats clutched, eyes softened. Can any other record match 'Moonlight Serenade' for its ability to induce a Pavlovian slaver in so many for so long? " Schuller, notes, " was nevertheless very special and able to penetrate our collective awareness that few other sounds have..."Schuller, pp. 662, 670, 677. He compares it partially to "Japanese Gagaku Hindu music" in its purity. Schuller and Giddins do not take completely uncritical approaches to Miller. Schuller says that Ray Eberle 's "lumpy, sexless vocalizing dragged down many an otherwise passable performance." However finally Schuller notes: "How much further musical and financial ambitions might have carried him must forever remain conjectural. That it would have been significant, whatever form(s) it might have taken, is not unlikely."

Reaction from musical peers

Louis Armstrong thought enough of Miller to carry around his recordings transferred to seven-inch tape reels when he went on tour. " liked musicians who prized melody, and his selections ranged from Glenn Miller to Jelly Roll Morton to Tchaikovsky ."Armstrong, Louis. "Reel to Reel." The Paris Review. Spring 2008: 63. Jazz pianist George Shearing 's quintet of the 1950s and 1960s was influenced by Miller: "with Shearing's locked hands style piano (influenced by the voicing of Miller's saxophone section) in the middle ."Zwerin, Mike. (August 17, 1995) . International Herald Tribune . Retrieved on July 29, 2011.Keepnews, Peter (February 14, 2011). , The New York Times The article says: "What was aiming for was 'a full block sound, which, if it was scored for saxophones, would sound like the Glenn Miller sound. And coming at the end of the frenetic bebop era, the timing seemed to be right.'" Frank Sinatra and Mel Tormé held the orchestra in high regard. Tormé credited Miller with giving him helpful advice when he first started his singing and song-writing career in the 1940s. Mel Tormé met Glenn Miller in 1942, the meeting facilitated by Tormé's father and Ben Pollack. Tormé and Miller discussed " That Old Black Magic " which was just emerging as a new song by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen . Miller told Tormé to pick up every song by Mercer and study it and to become a voracious reader of anything he could find, because "all good lyric writers are great readers." In an interview with George T. Simon in 1948, Sinatra lamented the inferior quality of music he was recording in the late forties and in comparison with "those great Glenn Miller things"Simon (1971), p. 359. from eight years earlier.Frank Sinatra's recording sessions from the late forties and early fifties use some Miller musicians. Trigger Alpert, a bassist from the civilian band, Zeke Zarchy for the Army Air Force Band and Willie Schwartz, the lead clarinetist from the civilian band back up Frank Sinatra on many recordings. see "", Steve-Albin.com for Sinatra record sessions for Columbia and Capitol that use these musicians.Ernie Caceres, the Miller band's baritone saxophonist also appears on several Frank Sinatra recordings. For one example see October 22, 1947. With the opposite opinion, fellow bandleader Artie Shaw frequently disparaged the band after Miller's death: "All I can say is that Glenn should have lived, and 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' should have died."
For another source which intercuts critiques by Gary Giddins and Artie Shaw about Glenn Miller, see Jazz: A Film By Ken Burns . Episode Five. Dir. Ken Burns. 2000. DVD. Florentine Films, 2000. Clarinetist Buddy DeFranco surprised many people when he led the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the late sixties and early seventies. De Franco was already the veteran of bands like Gene Krupa and Tommy Dorsey in the 1940s. He was also a major exponent of modern jazz in the 1950s. He never sees Miller as leading a swinging jazz band, but DeFranco is extremely fond of certain aspects of the Glenn Miller style. "I found that when I opened with the sound of 'Moonlight Serenade,' I could look around and see men and women weeping as the music carried them back to years gone by."Zammarchi 238DeFranco's favorite Miller recordings are " Skylark (song)|Skylark " and " Indian Summer " see Zammarchi 237 De Franco says, "the beauty of Glenn Miller's ballads caused people to dance together."Zammarchi 237

The Army Air Force Band 1942–1944

In 1942, at the peak of his civilian career, Miller decided to join the war effort . At 38, Miller was too old to be drafted, and first volunteered for the United States Navy|Navy but was told that they did not need his services.Simon (1980), pp. 309–310. Miller then wrote to Army Brigadier General Charles Young. He persuaded the United States Army to accept him so he could, in his own words, "be placed in charge of a modernized Army band." After being accepted into the Army, Glenn’s civilian band played its last concert in Passaic, New Jersey , on September 27, 1942.

At first placed in the United States Army, Glenn Miller was transferred to the Army Air Force .Simon (1980), p. 324. Captain Glenn Miller served initially as assistant special services officer for the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Maxwell Air Force Base|Maxwell Field , Montgomery, Alabama , in December 1942. He played trombone with the Rhythmaires, a 15-piece dance band, in both Montgomery and in service clubs and recreation halls on Maxwell. Miller also appeared on both WAPI (AM)|WAPI ( Birmingham, Alabama ) and WLWI (AM)|WSFA radio (Montgomery), promoting the activities of civil service women aircraft mechanics employed at Maxwell.

Miller initially formed a large marching band that was to be the core of a network of service orchestras. Miller's attempts at modernizing military music were met with some resistance from tradition-minded career officers. For example, Miller's arrangement of " St. Louis Blues (song)|St. Louis Blues March ", combined blues and jazz with the traditional military march."", Ftmeade.army.mil . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Miller's weekly radio broadcast "I Sustain the Wings", for which he co-wrote the eponymous theme song, moved from New Haven to New York City and was very popular. This led to permission for Miller to form his 50-piece Army Air Force Band and take it to England in the summer of 1944, where he gave 800 performances., "Glenn Miller", pp. 37–38. Benton, Jeffrey C. (1999). Air University Press. While in England, now Major Miller recorded a series of records at HMV- (now EMI -) owned Abbey Road Studios . HMV at this time was the British and sometime European distributor for the American record company that handled and originated Glenn Miller's recordings, RCA Victor., expert-level blog by Donald Clarke (writer) The recordings the AAF band made in 1944 at Abbey Road were propaganda broadcasts for the Office of War Information . Many songs are sung in German language|German by Johnny Desmond and Glenn Miller speaks in German about the war effort.Hugh Palmer. . Tarcl.com (April 30, 1944). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Before Miller's disappearance, his music was used by World War II American Forces Network#World War II|AFN radio broadcasting for entertainment and morale as well as counter- propaganda to denounce fascist oppression in Europe with even Miller once stating on radio:

"America means freedom and theres no expression of freedom quite so sincere as music". -Glenn Miller

Also, the Miller-led AAF Orchestra recorded songs with the American singer Dinah Shore . These were done at the Abbey Road studios and were the last recorded songs made by the band while being led by Miller. They were stored with HMV/EMI for fifty years, never being released until their copyright expired in Europe in 1994., Abbeyroad.com (September 16, 1944). Retrieved on July 29, 2011.
. Centennialofflight.gov. Retrieved on July 29, 2011. In summarizing Miller's military career, General Jimmy Doolittle said, “next to a letter from home, that organization was the greatest morale builder in the European Theater of Operations.”"", History.com .

Disappearance

Miller spent his last night alive at the Hall in Milton Ernest , on the outskirts of Bedford, Bedfordshire|Bedford . On December 15, 1944, Miller was to fly from the United Kingdom to Paris, France, to play for the soldiers there. His plane (a single-engined Noorduyn Norseman|UC-64 Norseman , USAAF serial 44-70285) departed from RAF Twinwood Farm in Clapham, Bedfordshire and disappeared while flying over the English Channel .Butcher, pp. 203–205. No trace of the aircrew, passengers or plane has ever been found. Miller's status is missing in action .

There are three main theories about what happened to Miller's plane, including the suggestion that he might have been hit by Royal Air Force bombs after an abortive raid on Siegen , Germany . One hundred and thirty-eight Lancaster bombers, short on fuel, jettisoned approximately 100,000 incendiaries in a designated area before landing. The logbooks of Royal Air Force navigator Fred Shaw recorded that he saw a small, single-engined monoplane spiraling out of control and crashing into the water. However, a second source, while acknowledging the possibility, cites other RAF crew members flying the same mission who stated that the drop area was in the North Sea. Further research by British scholars also seems to indicate that this is the most likely probability, making Miller's death a "friendly fire" incident.

In his 2006 self-published book I Kept My Word: The Personal Promise Between a World War II Army Private and His Captain About What Really Happened to Glenn Miller, Clarence B. Wolfe& nbsp;— a gunner with Battery D, 134th AAA Battalion, in Folkestone , England& nbsp;— claims that his battery shot down Miller's plane."", RockyMountainNews.com . Another book by Lt. Col. Huton Downs, a former member of Dwight D. Eisenhower 's personal staff, argues that the U.S. government covered up Miller's death. Downs suggested that Miller had been enlisted by Eisenhower to covertly attempt to convince some German officers to end the war early. The book goes on to suggest that Miller was captured and killed in a Paris brothel, and his death covered up to save the government embarrassment.

When Glenn Miller disappeared, he left behind his wife, the former Helen Burger, originally from Boulder, Colorado , and the two children they adopted in 1943 and 1944, Steven and Jonnie.Simon (1980), pp. 354, 434. Helen Miller accepted the Bronze Star medal for Glenn Miller in February 1945.Simon (1980), p. 433.

Civilian band legacy

The Miller estate authorized an official Glenn Miller "ghost band" in 1946. This band was led by Tex Beneke , former lead saxophonist and a singer for the civilian band. It had a make up similar to the Army Air Force Band: it had a large string section.Simon (1980), pp. 437–39. The orchestra's official public début was at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway where it opened for a three week engagement on January 24, 1946.Butcher, p. 262. Future television and film composer Henry Mancini was the band's pianist and one of the arrangers., Allaboutjazz.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. This ghost band played to very large audiences all across the United States, including a few dates at the Hollywood Palladium in 1947, where the original Miller band played in 1941.Simon (1980), p. 258. In a website concerning the history of the Hollywood Palladium, it is noted "ven as the big band era faded, the Tex Beneke and Glenn Miller Orchestra concert at the Palladium resulted in a record-breaking crowd of 6,750 dancers.""", Yehoodi.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. By 1949, economics dictated that the string section be dropped.Butcher, page 263

This band recorded for RCA Victor , just as the original Miller band did. Beneke was struggling with how to expand the Miller sound and also how to achieve success under his own name. What began as the "Glenn Miller Orchestra Under the Direction of Tex Beneke" finally became "The Tex Beneke Orchestra". By 1950, Beneke and the Miller estate parted ways.Simon (1980), p. 439. The break was acrimoniousGeorge Simon (1980) in Glenn Miller and His Orchestra , p. 439, says it happened in December of 1950. and Beneke is not currently listed by the Miller estate as a former leader of the Glenn Miller orchestra.

When Glenn Miller was alive, various bandleaders like Bob Chester imitated his style., Parabrisas.com (March 20, 1908). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. By the early 1950s, various bands were again copying the Miller style of clarinet-led reeds and muted trumpets, notably Ralph Flanagan ,, Bigbandlibrary.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Jerry Gray (arranger)|Jerry Gray ,"", Bigbandlibrary.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. and Ray Anthony ., Parabrisas.com (January 20, 1922). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. This, coupled with the success of The Glenn Miller Story (1953), led the Miller estate to ask Ray McKinley to lead a new ghost band. This 1956 band is the original version of the current ghost band that still tours the United States today."", Drummerworld . The official Glenn Miller orchestra for the United States is currently under the direction of Gary Tole.. The officially sanctioned Glenn Miller Orchestra for the United Kingdom has toured and recorded with great success under the leadership of Ray McVay., BBC . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. The official Glenn Miller Orchestra for Europe has been led by Wil Salden since 1990., Glenn-miller.de (October 20, 2010). Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

Army Air Force band legacy

In the mid-1940s, after Miller's disappearance, the Miller-led Army Air Force band was decommissioned and sent back to the United States. "The chief of the European theater asked Lin to put together another band to take its place, and that's when the 314 was formed." According to singer Tony Bennett who sang with it while in the service, the 314 was the immediate successor to the Glenn Miller led AAF orchestra. The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band's long term legacy has carried on with the Airmen of Note , a band within the United States Air Force Band . This band was created in 1950 from smaller groups within the Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. and continues to play jazz music for the Air Force community and the general public.

Posthumous events

Glenn Miller's widow, Helen, died in 1966.Simon, page 434. Herb Miller, Glenn Miller's brother, led his own band in the United States and England until the late 1980s."", Nfo.net . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Herb's son, John continues the tradition leading a band playing mainly Glenn Miller style music., Johnmillerorchestra.org.uk (March 27, 2010). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. In 1989, Glenn Miller's daughter Jonnie purchased her father's house where he was born. The Glenn Miller Foundation was created to oversee the subsequent restoration., "Glennmiller.org" (June 10, 2010). Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

In 1953, Universal-International pictures released The Glenn Miller Story , starring James Stewart .Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton and Tex Beneke do not appear in or are referred to in this movie. "Perhaps the only faults The Glenn Miller Story can be cited for are the obvious liberties that were taken with the band leader's career and a tendency to become overly sentimental at times.", see Richard Steiner, The Glenn Miller Story . In 1953, Glenn Miller was voted into the Down Beat magazine Jazz Hall of Fame in the Readers' Poll. In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Glenn Miller postage stamp."", Internet Movie Database . The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammys), honored Glenn Miller by including three of his recordings in their Hall of Fame: In 1983, "In The Mood", Bluebird B-10416-A, was inducted. The recording of "Moonlight Serenade", Bluebird B-10214-B, was also honored by the Grammys in similar fashion in 1991. "Chattanooga Choo Choo", Bluebird B-11230-B, was inducted in 1996. In 2003, Miller received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ."", Colorado.edu .

In the United States and England, there are a few archives that are devoted to Glenn Miller.In June 2009, it was announced that the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society in Clarinda, Iowa, was building a 5,600 foot museum to house "memorabilia from musical career." The museum in Glenn Miller's birthplace has been in the works since 1990, according to the . The University of Colorado, Boulder, has an extensive Glenn Miller Archive, which houses many of Miller's recordings, gold records and other memorabilia, which is open to scholarly research and the general public. This archive, formed by Alan Cass, includes the original manuscript to Miller's theme song, "Moonlight Serenade", among other items of interest., University of Colorado at Boulder (May 1, 2007). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. In 2002, the Glenn Miller Museum opened to the public at the former RAF Twinwood Farm , in Clapham, Bedfordshire , England.. Twinwoodevents.com (August 30, 2010). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Miller's surname resides on the 'Wall of Missing' at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial . A monument stone was also placed in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut next to the campus of Yale University .Papazian, Rita (January 31, 1999) New York Times . Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

Glenn Miller arranging staff and compositions

Miller had a staff of arrangers who wrote originals like "String of Pearls" (written and arranged by Jerry Gray (arranger)|Jerry Gray )"", Big Band Library . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. or took originals like "In The Mood" (writing credit given to Joe Garland )"", ShapiroBernstein.com . and arranged by Eddie Durham "", Sony BMG . Retrieved on July 29, 2011.) and " Tuxedo Junction " (written by bandleader Erskine Hawkins )"", BuddyFeyne.com . and arranged by Jerry Gray ).) and arranged them for the Miller band to either record or broadcast. Glenn Miller's staff of arrangers in his civilian band, that handled the bulk of the work were Jerry Gray (a former arranger for Artie Shaw), Bill Finegan (a former arranger for Tommy Dorsey),, All About Jazz . '& #39;Bill Finegan Arranger for Dorsey, Miller Bands Dies'& #39;. Allaboutjazz.com (June 9, 2008). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Billy May and to a much smaller extent, George Williams,. '& #39;George Williams, Musical Arranger, 71.'& #39;. New York Times (April 21, 1988). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. who worked very briefly with the band as well as Andrews Sisters arranger Vic Schoen Years later he married Miller singer Marion Hutton see . According to Norman Leyden , "everal others arranged for Miller in the service, including Jerry Gray, Ralph Wilkinson, Mel Powell, and Steve Steck.""", Big Band Library . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. In 1943, Glenn Miller wrote '' Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging , published by the Mutual Music Society in New York, a one hundred sixteen page book with illustrations and scores that explains how he wrote his musical arrangements.

Discography

Glenn Miller composed individually or in collaboration with others at least fourteen songs that are available on recordings. He added lyrics to an additional tune. These and many other songs were recorded by Miller with his pre-war civilian bands and his Army Air Force band.

Band alumni

Many of the Miller musicians went on to studio and touring careers in Hollywood and New York after World War II . Musicians who went from the Miller bands to important reputations afterwards include:

George Siravo , 1916–2000"" retrieved September 3, 2009. was an arranger with Glenn Miller's first band in the late 1930s. Siravo went on to become a staff arranger with Columbia Records in the 1940s, working with Frank Sinatra For example, see the recording session of November 7, 1946. and October 19, 1947 and Doris Day .See , three songs are listed as collaborations between Day and Siravo, beginning with "It's Magic", recorded in 1947.

Billy May , 1916–2004"", Internet Movie Database . retrieved November 17, 2008. a trumpeter and an arranger for the civilian band,"", Swingmusic.net . Swingmusic.net. Retrieved on July 29, 2011.Billy May was hired from Charlie Barnet's band by Glenn Miller and joined in 1940. Miller and May had a wary relationship with each other. According to Will Friedwald, by 1942, May was ready to resign from the Miller band. A few reasons were, Miller refused to record half of May's arrangements and May objected to the regimented style of Miller's band. But since Miller was joining the military, he convinced May to stay on until the band broke up. May finally said around 1995, after a life of heavy drinking and going to rehabilitation for alcoholism, that working with Glenn Miller "helped me immensely. I learned a lot from Glenn. He was a good musician and an excellent arranger." see Sinatra& #33; The Song Is You . Will Friedwald, p. 280. became a much-coveted arranger and studio orchestra leader after that band broke up, going on to work with Frank Sinatra,"", Spaceagepop.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Rosemary Clooney , Anita O'Day ,. Anitaoday.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2011. and Bing Crosby , among other singers of the post-war era.

Cornetist Bobby Hackett ,1915–1976 solos on "A String of Pearls", with Miller in 1941, for Bluebird records."", Landing.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. "Simon 267Other Miller recordings Hackett appears on include an aircheck of "Vilia", an aircheck of "April in Paris" and the studio recording of "Serenade in Blue". Richard M. Sudhalter in his book Lost Chords feels that Hackett's best work with Miller is in an aircheck version of "Little Brown Jug" from 1942 where he plays off the "muscularity" of Tex Beneke's saxophone solo. Sudhalter sees this version as done in a "slower, more rocking tempo than on the 1939 Bluebird recording". Before, during and after the time Miller hired Hackett, Hackett had a large reputation in the jazz community. George Simon says in the same book, that whenever Hackett soloed with the band,"fellow sidemen 'obviously as excited as the dancers, stopped to listen to Bobby solo'." All aircheck information from Hackett went on to work with Jackie Gleason and Dizzy Gillespie ."", Space Age Music Maker , Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

Johnny Desmond , 1919–1985 a lead vocalist from the Army Air Force Band, became a popular singer in the 1950s, and appeared on Broadway in the 1960s in Funny Girl (film)|Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand .

Kay Starr , b. 1922. became a pop, jazz and country singer in the post-war period. In 1939, Marion Hutton, the regular "girl singer", became sick and sixteen year old Kay Starr was flown in to replace her.The songs Starr sang were in Hutton's key and Starr said she sounded like a "a jazzed up Alfalfa" since they weren't in her range. "'They would ask me, 'is that in your range? and I didn't know so I just said yes because I only knew two kinds of ranges-one of them you cooked on and the other was where the cows were. I just loved music and I thought as long as I start and end with the band I've done my job." Kay Starr to Will Friedwald, A Biographical Guide To The Great Jazz and Pop Singers , 2010, New York, Pantheon Books, p. 443. Kay Starr's two recordings with Glenn Miller were two 1939 sides, "Baby Me" and "Love With a Capital You"., Members.tripod.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

Artie Malvin , 1922–2006"", Spaceagepop.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. Glenn Miller's AAF Band had a vocal group called " The Crew Chiefs ". Artie Malvin was the baritone of the four men. After World War II and Miller's death, Malvin became heavily immersed in the popular music of the forties and fifties, being involved in everything from children's music to the nascent beginnings of rock to jingles for commercials. By the 1970s Artie Malvin was involved with " The Carol Burnett Show ". doing special musical material.He won an Emmy for the Burnett show parody of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies: Hi-Hat . The Burnett show does a tribute to The Glenn Miller Story which opens with Burnett singing "Moonlight Serenade".

Paul Tanner , b. 1917"", Spaceagepop.com (October 15, 1917). Retrieved on July 29, 2011. trombonist for the civilian band, went on to create the electrotheremin and perform on songs such as Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys

Some of the Army Air Force members went on to notable careers in classical music and modern jazz. Three such are:

Norman Leyden b. 1917. Blog.oregonlive.com. Retrieved on July 29, 2011. an arranger from the Army Air Force Band later became a noted arranger in New York, composing arrangements for Sarah Vaughan ,Specifically, in the liner notes for The Divine Sarah Vaughan The Columbia Years 1949–1953 (1988 Columbia C2K 44165) written by Gene Lees the discography refers to "Thinking of You", "Perdido" and "I'll Know" as three Leyden arrangements for Vaughan from 1950. See page 10 of the enclosed booklet."", Michaelminn.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. among other artists. His long career culminated with his highly regarded work for the Oregon Symphony, now as Laureate Associate Conductor."", February 27, 2004. Oregon Symphony . Retrieved on July 29, 2011."", Bigbandlibrary.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

Mel Powell , 1923–1998,"", Jazzhouse.org . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. was the pianist and one of the arrangers in the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. Gary Giddins comments on " splendid forty-two-piece Army Air Force Band’s startling performance of 'Mission to Moscow.'”Giddins, Gary. (January 7, 2009) , The New Yorker . Retrieved on July 29, 2011. "Mission to Moscow" was arranged by Mel Powell, the former pianist for the Benny Goodman orchestra before he was drafted into the service and subsequently joined the Miller orchestra. "Pearls on Velvet" with the Air Force Band is also one of his compositions. at www.allmusic.com "In 1949, he decided on a radical change of direction, setting aside jazz and enrolling as a pupil of the composer and teacher Paul Hindemith at Yale University ." Powell started teaching at the California Institute for the Arts in Los Angeles in 1969."", Schirmer.com . Retrieved on July 29, 2011.

Junior Collins|Addison Collins, Jr. played French Horn in the service band. He is featured as "Junior" Collins on the Miles Davis Birth of the Cool recordings of 1949–50.

Drummer and biographer:

George T. Simon 1912–2001. George Simon knew and worked with Glenn Miller from his early sideman days to the days of leading his civilian band and finally, worked with him when he was stateside with the Army Air Force band. Simon was a drummer for some of the Miller bands. He helped his friend Glenn Miller with personnel using the connections that Simon had as editor with the now defunct Metronome magazine . George Simon wrote the liner notes for eleven Miller reissues, among them: Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band , 1955, Glenn Miller On The Air , 1963, and Glenn Miller: A Legendary Performer , 1974.see Chris Popa During a long career, he also wrote articles with topics ranging from Miller and Frank Sinatra to Thelonious Monk . In 1974, Simon won a Grammy award for his liner notes for the RCA record: Bing Crosby: A Legendary Performer .see Chris Popa for list of liner notes authored by George Simon.

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Glenn Miller


1. Winifred Atwell 2. The Belmonts 3. Big Star 4. The Boswell Sisters 5. Al Bowlly 6. Tommy Dorsey 7. Don Ellis 8. Henry Mancini 9. Jack Teagarden 10. Bobby Troup 11. Rudy Vallee 12. Artie Shaw 13. Hoagy Carmichael 14. Lester Young 15. Copywrite 16. Vassar Clements 17. Jackie Gleason 18. Parish Mitchell 19. Miki Howard 20. Meredith Willson 21. Bunny Berigan 22. Al Jolson 23. Chattanooga 24. elvis 25. Eydie Gorme

Undetermined Music Artists