Growing up I was exposed to a very eclectic mix of music. From classical to rock, folk to barbershop and just about everything in between. Through my mom’s side of the family I was introduced to Big Band, Swing and Jazz. My grandfather held a Masters Degree in music, played multiple instruments, taught clarinet and trombone and probably loved music almost as much as he loved his family. After seeing pictures of him as a young man directing his own “big band,” I personally thought he looked a lot like Benny Goodman! Now, I don’t know if my grandfather was influenced by Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller (I’m thinking he probably was), but they became two of the Big Band masters that I loved to listen to the most.
It was years ago that I learned the story of Glenn Miller and his death over the English Channel. I also saw the movie “The Glenn Miller Story” starring Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson and though it was a somewhat rose-colored version of Glenn Miller’s life, it really showed what a sacrifice his enlisting was to the music world and after his death, just how greatly he was missed by all who knew him. Here is an exerpt from the History of Glenn Miller from the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society:
In 1942, at the peak of his civilian career, Glenn decided he could better serve those in uniform by putting one on himself. By doing this, the band gave up a $20,000 weekly income. Too old to be drafted at age 38, Glenn first volunteered for the Navy but was told that they didn’t need his services. Not giving up, Glenn wrote to the Army’s Brigadier General Charles Young on August 12, 1942. Miller persuaded the Army to accept him so he could in his own words, “put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men and a little more joy into their hearts and to be placed in charge of a modernized army band.” After being accepted in the Army, Glenn’s civilian band played their last concert in Passaic, New Jersey on September 27th, 1942. It was such a sad event that the band couldn’t finish playing the closing theme song, Moonlight Serenade.
Glenn soon became part of the Army Specialists Corps with the rank of captain. For the next year and a half, besides arranging music, Glenn created and directed his own 50-member band. Captain Miller’s mission was morale building, bringing a touch of home to the troops and modernizing military music. Glenn was also a talented fund raiser, and raised millions of dollars in war bond drives. He also attracted Air Corps recruits through his I Sustain the Wings weekly radio broadcasts.
Still wanting to do more, Glenn arranged for overseas duty for the band. Arriving in London, the band was quartered at 25 Sloane Street, an area in constant barrage by German V-1 buzz bombs. Glenn was immediately concerned for the band and made arrangements for the unit to move to new quarters in Bedford, England. The band moved on July 2, 1944, and the very next day a buzz bomb landed in front of their old quarters, destroying the building and killing 100 people. The Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band was extremely busy and Glenn wrote home that in one month they played at 35 different bases, while performing 40 radio broadcasts in their spare time.
Finally, on December 15, 1944, Glenn boarded a single engine C-64 Norseman aircraft to travel to Paris, France where he was to make arrangements for a Christmas broadcast. Tragically, the plane never reached France and was never found. The band, without Miller, performed the scheduled Christmas concert under the direction of Jerry Gray and continued to perform, playing their last concert on November 13, 1945 at the National Press Club dinner for President Truman in Washington, D.C. At that time, General Dwight Eisenhower and General Hap Arnold thanked the band for a job well done.
Glenn Miller will be remembered for many things; his musical style, showmanship, hard work, perseverance, and much more. But his patriotism in giving up his number one civilian band to enlist in the United States Army Air Corps, his pioneering efforts to modernize military bands and his supreme sacrifice for his country have caused him to be remembered as Clarinda’s and America’s favorite musical patriot.
It is Glenn Miller that I have focused on in this post because he gave up his career and ultimately his life for his country. But Benny Goodman did perform a service for our country, it was a Goodwill Tour of Russia in 1962 which was sponsored by the State Department. Upon his return he was called the “International Ambassador With Clarinet” by President John F. Kennedy. And, of course, no one can dispute the tremendous contributions that Benny Goodman made to music and America’s musical history.
Trackbacked to: Blue Star Chronicles, Woman Honor Thyself and Argghhh!
I’ve always liked the Glenn Miller sound. Prolly a result of my parents playing his music along with Sinatra, Classical, and so on.
About Miller’s untimely death, it seems that war planes returning across the Channel from Germany, would drop any unused bombs into the Channel – no one wanted to make a bad landing with unexploded ordinance inside their ship – and continue on to England. Planes heading to France – single planes, I think – flew lower than the squadrons. The theory is that Miller’s plane was accidentally blown up by returning pilots.
The saddest thing is how much music the man still had in him at the time of his death.
I recently caught a PBS show that attempted to address what happened to Capt. Glenn Miller on that last flight. It was very fascinating along with affording a chance to hear some Big Band music.
By digging into British archives they reconstructed Miller’s possible route to France on the SHAFE Shuffle that went west and south of London to avoid the anti-V1 AA batteries and then plotted best route across the Channel to France. Then there was the report from a retired RAF Lancaster navigator named Shaw of 143 Sqn who sighted a Norseman going down in the Channel on that day, he was prompted to relate this tale some 40 years after Miller’s dissaperance due to seeing the movie starring Jimmie Stewart you talk about.
One other crew member in 143 Sqn remembers the tail gunner of Shaw’s plane saying he saw a small kite go into the sea. As for Shaw being positive on the plane being a Norseman, Shaw received navigator training in Manitoba Canada where that type aircraft was common.
As to how 143 Sqn Lancasters came to be in a spot over the Channel to see such an event? Their mission to Germany got scrubbed because their fighter escort was socked in due to fog so the planes had to turn around. They could not land with each plane carrying a 4000lb bomb so they flew to the RAF designated dump spot in the Channel. With further digging in British archives they found the dump spot.
Now they plotted the possible course of Miller’s plane and laid it against the bomb drop zone, that course could have taken it within 4 miles of that zone. Now the Norseman pilot was flying using a magnetic compass and as they showed in that spot of the Channel the variance between compass and modern navigation aids was 8 degrees, more than enough for that plane to actually stray into the bomb dump zone.
After correcting for the RAF use of Greenwich Mean Time with the USAAF use of local time, resulting in an hour differance; the time of Miller’s plane intersecting a returning stream of Lancaster bombers dropping their bombs in the drink match up.
Adding further credance to this theory is the fact that Miller’s Norseman was the only light plane the Allies lost that day in Europe.
So there is a very good possibility that RAF bombs accidentally killed Capt. Glenn Miller and he rests at the bottom of the Channel. The music world lost a true maestro that day.
benning, your parents have good taste!
I had heard that bombing theory, too.
And Anna, I think I saw the same PBS show. There had been a theory that the plane was one they had found bits and pieces of in a field just off the coast of England, but they never could prove it one way or the other. I’m thinking it probably was a case of accidental bombing from all they’ve been able to dig up about it.
What a lovely homage to a great American and a great musician. I really do feel as if I’m living in the wrong time, because I decry the lack of patriotism in today’s performers (Dixie Chicks, anyone?), and have always felt that the old Hollywood stars were less yucky than today’s in large part because they really did their bit during the war. Here’s a nice website that list the contributions by those real stars: http://carol_fus.tripod.com/army_hero_hollywood.html
Me again. I really need to scroll through an entire site before I leave comments. That way, I wouldn’t have done what I just did, which is to link to the same website you used as the basis for the post immediately preceding this one. Clearly, great minds think alike!
What a lovely post Anna!..thanks for sharing. I had no idea.:)
Thanks Book! Yes, great minds do think alike because Wordsmith said he’s been toying with a similar post himself! I would much prefer watching old movies (The Philadelphia Story, Bringing up Baby, Some Like it Hot, etc.) then anything Hollywood puts out anymore!
You are quite welcome, Angel. I think Glenn Miller was extremely talented and it was a great loss to American music.
Hey Anna, I guess we just proved PBS can be good for something every now and then.
Besides Masterpiece Theatre with Alistair Cook and later Diana Rigg.
I think the watershed moment in Hollywood when good movies became outre was after MASH and The Deer Hunter. It seemed everything had to be anti-hero from that point on. Then along came Luke Skywalker and things seemed not so bad at the cinema until Anakin showed up.
Actually right now besides ‘In the Mood’ want some Andrew Sisters and ‘Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.’
Anna, before we had cable (in the dark ages), we watched a lot of PBS, but not so much anymore. I really enjoy the old movies, but the last couple of decades had a handful of good ones…usually starring Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis (yes, the action flicks!).
My ringtone on my cellphone is “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman. “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” or “I’ll be Seeing You” have always been my favorites.
In High School of all places, I became familiar with Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. We had a stellar Jazz Band, (at one time #1 in Northern California) and played and performed their charts.
I played 2nd T-bone, and got all the solos. What a great memory from my growing up time that is, and I’ll forever appreciate the Big Band Sound.
Once again Anna, Excellent post. I hope you don’t start charging for these articles…
Never, gawfer! My oldest is first chair clarinet and has enjoyed many solos over this past school year. We have tried to find “Rhapsody in Blue” for her, but it isn’t available. My youngest plays sax, but wasn’t eligible for jazz band.
This year, the marching band is playing “Swing, Swing, Swing” (an altered version of “Sing, Sing, Sing”), “In the Mood,” “Birdland” and “A Nightengale Sang in Berkley Square.”
Hey there Anna..thanks for the trackback!..have a great weekend!..:)
Thank you, Angel! You have a great weekend, too! (And holiday!)
I love his music. And Jimmy Stewart was the greatest!
I do too, Lady Jane! I loved Jimmy Stewart long before I ever saw “It’s a Wonderful Life”! He was amazing!
Harry Conick Jr does an excellent rendition of Nightingale in Berkley Square.
Early Harry is better than his later syuff, but he had a great big band sound.
I love Harry’s Christmas CD! (Favorite song on that one is I Pray on Christmas, which is a southern-style hymn) Manhattan Transfer does Nightengale, Four Brothers, Tuxedo Junction and Birdland among many others. I have always been fascinated with their ability to sing perfect four part harmony while standing right next to each other!
I totally dig the Manhatten Transfer! Killer joe was a great song that always popes into my grey matter.
I’ve seen them live three or four times. The best tickets were 10th row center and they performed Killer Joe. Alan Paul was in his full long-coat suit, flashy fedora, watchchain-swinging regalia! It was great!!
It is Glenn Miller that I have focused on in this post because he gave up his career and ultimately his life for his country.
Anna,
Lee Powell, the first silver screen Lone Ranger, also gave his life for our nation. He was killed invading Tinian with the 2nd Marine Division.
I’m revisiting this thread because I am finally creating my post, and linking to yours.
You know, I thought for sure I left a comment here a while back; but I don’t see it now. Oh, well.
Word, that’s the difference between yesterday and today. There were so many stars who sacrificed so much back then and now today, they are only bad-mouthing the president and the troops!
(I think the comment is on the Hollywood: Yesterday versus Today post just prior to this one.