A QUOTE FROM THE BOOK, ‘How Sweet It Is’ by Frank and Nancy Prothero:

“If one more dance could be held at the Stork Club and one more band could be selected for that dance, it would have to be the Glenn Miller Band.”

Miller’s band played at the club more times than any other group although Miller himself was never in Port. “The ….. Miller band could swing with the best of them, but it was those hauntingly sweet riffs appearing and disappearing that provided the most memorable evenings in that dance hall.”

Alton Glenn Miller, born in 1904, got his musical start when his father brought home a mandolin.  Glenn promptly traded it for a battered horn, which he practiced regularly.

In 1923, he entered University but spent more time auditioning and playing.  After failing three courses one semester, he decided to concentrate on becoming a professional musician.

He toured with several orchestras and wrote some arrangements, married his college sweetheart, and for the next three years, worked as a free-lance trombonist and arranger.

Miller played and recorded with many big name musicians, became musical director of the Dorsey band and later organized the Ray Noble Orchestra.

In 1935, he first recorded under his own name.  Using six horns, a rhythm section and a string quartet, he recorded ‘Moonlight on the Ganges’ and ‘A Blues Serenade’.

Miler first he formed his own band in 1937.   He made a few recordings and played at many venues, but with little success.  Broke and depressed, he returned to New York.   He decided to emphasize his unique reed section sound, produced by the clarinet and tenor sax playing melody with harmony by three other sax’s.   That became the individual, recognizable style that set his band apart from others.

Formed in 1938, the second Glenn Miller Orchestra broke attendance records in the eastern U.S. and once topped Guy Lombardo.   When they performed at Carnegie Hall with Paul Whiteman, Fred Waring and Benny Goodman, his group created the biggest stir.  Record-breaking recordings followed including ‘Tuxedo Junction’, ‘In the Mood’, and ‘Pennsylvania 6-5000’.

In 1941, the war took its toll on many big bands as musicians and other young men received draft notices or enlisted.   In October, 1942, Glenn Miller reported for induction into the Army and was assigned to the Army Specialist Corps.  He became Captain after convincing military brass that he could modernize the army band and improve morale.  In the Army Air Corps, he organized the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band, and in late 1943, he and the band were shipped out to England.

In less than a year, the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band gave over 800 performances, 500 of which were broadcasts heard by millions.   There were over 300 personal appearances including concerts and dances with attendance over 600,000.

In the autumn of 1944, the band was to be stationed in Paris to prepare for a six-week tour of Europe. Miller went ahead to make arrangements for the group's arrival.

On December 15th, Glenn Miller boarded a transport plane to Paris, never to be seen again.

THE GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA TODAY

Glenn Miller was one of the most successful dance band- leaders in the Swing era of the 1930s and '40s, and numerous hit records, radio broadcasts and dances furthered his popularity.   Because of popular demand, the Miller estate authorized the formation of the present Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956 directed by drummer Ray McKinley, the unofficial leader of the Army Air Force Band after Miller disappeared. 

The 19-member band continues to delight fans by playing many of the original Miller arrangements.  They also play more modern selections in the big-band style, selecting only tunes that fit the Miller style and sound.  Their repertoire now exceeds 1,700 compositions and keeps the band popular with young and old.

Most of the band's shows are sell-outs.  In fact, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is still the most sought after big band in the world just as it was in Glenn's day.

HIGHLIGHTS OF GLENN MILLER’S CAREER

1935 – he began recording under his own name for Columbia. His instrumental ‘Solo Hop’ reached the Top 10
1937 - organized his own touring band and signed to Brunswick Records
1938 - group was unsuccessful, and he disbanded it
1939 - played at the Glen Island Casino, NY, a major swing venue, and was heard on radio
1939 - 17 Top 10 hits including ‘Sunrise Serenade’; ‘Moonlight Serenade’, ‘Wishing (Will Make It So)’; Chart-toppers included ‘Stairway to the Stars’, ‘Moon Love’, ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘Blue Orchids’, ‘The Man With the Mandolin’; 'Moonlight Serenade’ radio series for Chesterfield aired on CBS three times a week
1940 - ‘Tuxedo Junction’ sold 115,000 copies the first week. ‘Pennsylvania 6-5000’ was released; 31 Top 10 hits: ‘Careless’, ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’, ‘Imagination’, ‘Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)’, and ‘Blueberry Hill’; ‘The Woodpecker Song’. ‘In the Mood’ and ‘Tuxedo Junction’ were inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame. 1941 - another 11 Top 10 hits: The band made the movie, Sun Valley Serenade, introducing ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’, soon a million seller; #1 hits included "Song of the Volga Boatmen’, ‘You and I’, ‘Elmer's Tune’
1942 - 11 Top 10 hits and 3rd year as the top recording artist with ‘American Patrol’, ‘A String of Pearls’, ‘Moonlight Cocktail’, ‘Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else but Me)’ and ‘(I've Got a Gal) In Kalamazoo’ which came from Miller's second film, ‘Orchestra Wives’; The end of Miller's dominance of popular music was when he received an officer's commission in the Army/Air Force, where he organized a service band, performed at military camps, and hosted a weekly radio series.
1943 - two more Top 10 hits including #1 ‘That Old Black Magic’.
1944 - took his band to Great Britain, performed for the troops and did radio broadcasts; on December 15th, Glenn Miller boarded a transport plane to Paris, never to be seen again.
1945 – ‘Glenn Miller’, an album of 78rpm records, topped the newly instituted album charts and became the most successful album of the year
1947 – ‘Glenn Miller Masterpieces, Vol. 2’ topped the album charts
1954 - Miller was the subject of a partly fictionalized film biography, The Glenn Miller Story, starring James Stewart
2003 - Miller posthumously received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

(Contributed by Enid Edwards)