Glenn Miller Biography

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Glenn Miller
Big Band | 3 CD Set
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There was a brief time in the '40s when it was thought by some that Glenn Miller had survived his mysterious aircraft's plunge into the English Channel on the way to an assignment in Europe during World War II - similar to an earlier "Bird Lives" (jazz legend Charlie Parker) and frequent "sightings" of Elvis Presley after his 1977 death. But Miller was presumed dead December 15, 1944, ending his contribution to the still lively big band craze that lasted through and after the war but giving birth to the Miller legacy that still keeps his music alive via traveling Glenn Miller "ghost" bands. Born in Iowa in 1904, Miller's family moved to Nebraska where his trombone playing got him into bands in high school and then the University of Colorado. Professionally, he joined the popular Ben Pollack in 1926, Paul Ash in 1928 and Red Nichols in 1930, establishing himself as an in-demand trombonist as the pop music styles of the '20s sweet and jazz bands were getting ready for the Big Band (or Swing) era of the '30s. He was a studio player in the '30s, in the Dorsey Brothers (Tommy and Jimmy) band in 1934 and Ray Noble's in 1935, also arranging and beginning studies with the renowned music scholar Joseph Schillinger. About this time, Miller began writing charts that would one day become his band's stock in fame, the clarinet "lead" sound over the saxophones. He had his first band in 1937 but it failed. He then put another one together the following year and this band recorded for Bluebird, reaching great fame by 1939. Hits were his theme, "Moonlight Serenade," "Little Brown Jug" and "In the Mood," among others. The Miller band was compared to the great Benny Goodman swing band of the earlier '30s and played dance pavilions like the Pompton Turnpike roadhouse and the popular Glen Island Casino. In 1940, his "Chattanooga Choo Choo" became the first million-selling disc. Movies were in his future, too, as he made 1941's "Sun Valley Serenade" and 1942's "Orchestra Wives," showing off America's fascination with big bands as World War II was getting ready to envelop the United States. Meanwhile, hits included "I've Got a Gal In Kalamazoo" and "American Patrol" and in 1942 he enlisted in the Army and began entertaining servicemen with his new band of Army men, most from big bands who have been drafted into the Army. Two years later, he disappeared on a flight from England to France. The Glenn Miller mystique began almost immediately. When the war ended, the Miller family put a band on the road, continuing the fascination his fame had triggered earlier. Miller bands over the past fifty years have been led by an array of musicians. A biographical, if somewhat fictional, movie about him, "The Glenn Miller Story," featuring Jimmy Stewart as Glenn, came out in 1954. And the occasional recording was made, including one as late as 1977. It has been said that he told a band mate prior to his death that although the style of popular music he was noted for made him famous, he was planning on evolving in new directions once the war was over. But that '40s music he made so popular is still a part of the music scene in reissues and the occasional tribute recording, like Manhattan Transfer's version of "Tuxedo Junction," and symphony pops orchestras delving into the Miller sound.

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