Glenn Miller is perhaps best known for his mysterious disappearance during World War II. However, there was much more to the legendary musician. Born of humble beginnings, he became a musical sensation and pioneer. Leaving his success and family behind, Miller served his country during the war without hesitation. It turned out he left his life in America behind permanently when he vanished. This truly fascinating man left a legacy that is often overlooked among the likes of Elvis and other legends of the era but that made a true impact on the future of music.
1. Glenn Was Not Actually Miller’s First Name
Alton Glenn Miller was born in 1904 in Clarinda, Iowa. He was the second of four children born to Mattie and Lewis Elmer Miller. Young Alton always despised his first name and, from a young age, preferred to be addressed by his middle name, “Glenn.” Glenn would be the name he was known by to the world, as he not only used it for himself but also for his most acclaimed musical act, the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
2. Miller’s Famous Trombone Was Not His First Instrument
Miller grew up in a very musical family, with his mother an organist and older brother Deane playing the cornet. Glenn started out playing the mandolin but was most interested in pursuing a different instrument: the trombone. He purchased a beat-up used horn and began devoting most of his time to practice. A local businessman offered to buy Glenn a newer trombone so he could join Deane in the community band, and Glenn eagerly accepted, working off his new instrument in exchange for the support. The trombone became Glenn’s choice instrument, one he would play for the rest of his life.
3. Clarinets Gave His Orchestra the Competitive Edge
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Miller was once quoted as saying, “a band ought to have a sound all its own. It ought to have a personality.”
He truly believed this and, as a result, realized his band would need a signature sound in order to be successful. After struggling for a few years and disbanding his first orchestra, Miller set out to try again, this time with a new sound to engage listeners and set his band apart. He decided to make the reed section the lead, with a clarinet playing the melodic line of a song. The clarinet was backed by saxophones playing harmony, and the remainder of the band, including trumpets and Miller’s trombone, rounded out the sound. The melodies were instant hits, and the aura is sometimes still referred to today as “the Miller sound.”
4. Miller Didn’t Attend His High School Graduation
Glenn Miller was a popular student known for his prowess on the football field and participation in multiple student bands. However, academics were not his priority during his high school years. In fact, Miller did not even attend his high school graduation, skipping the event to play in a band concert in Wyoming. Instead, his mother accepted his diploma for him.
The school principal lamented that it was appropriate for Mattie Lou Miller to receive the certificate instead of her son, remarking, “You’re the one who should get it anyway; you probably worked harder on it than he did!” Despite failing to attend the ceremonies, Miller is still known today as Fort Morgan High School’s “most famous graduate.”
5. Benny Goodman Helped Miller Pay for His Wedding
Benny Goodman, an American musician known as the “King of Swing,” was one of Miller’s contemporaries. He was hired by Ben Pollack, a jazz great, when he was only sixteen. It was in Ben Pollack’s band that Goodman met another bespectacled musician, Miller. Though they would often be framed as competitors during their future successful careers, the two men became lifelong friends.
Goodman actually lent Miller the money he needed to marry his sweetheart, Helen Burger. Miller met Helen in college when they were both students at the University of Colorado, which Miller attended briefly. The pair were married in 1928 and settled in New York as Miller began expanding his career. Helen stuck by her husband’s side throughout his early failures as a musician and later his successes and was left an assumed widow after his disappearance. She refused to give up on her husband’s memory, though, and was instrumental in ensuring that the Glenn Miller Orchestra returned to performing after the war. She raised the couple’s two children on her own after the loss of Miller and took pains to keep them out of the limelight and in a life of normalcy.
6. Miller Wasn’t a One Hit Wonder
Though his career was cut short by his disappearance, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra were anything but one-hit wonders. The group released a rapid succession of hits, many of which were granted various accolades. “Chattanooga Choo Choo” made twenty-one appearances on the Billboard Top 10. “Moonlight Cocktail” spent the most time at #1, charting for ten weeks in the top position. The group had seven Billboard number-one records and ten Your Hit Parade number-one albums. His final number-one record was “That Old Black Magic,” which spent 14 weeks at the top of the charts in 1943 after Miler had joined the armed forces and ceased his civilian career.
7. Even Though He Wasn’t Drafted, He Joined the Army in Wartime
World War II greatly impacted the music scene, as many up-and-coming musicians were swept up in the draft and sent to fight for their country instead of pursuing their musical dreams. Glenn Miller did his part to support the armed forces, starting a radio program in 1941 that allowed different military installations to participate in song selections and contests. He paid for this program, “Glenn Miller Sunset Serenade,” out of his own pocket, costing him an estimated one thousand dollars a week.
Miller was considered too old for the draft in 1942 and decided to volunteer his services to the US military instead. He applied for a Navy commission that summer, but it was refused. He applied to the Army and was accepted and awarded the rank of captain.
Captain Alton Glenn Miller reported for duty on October 7th, 1942, and was soon transferred to the US Army Air Forces. In 1943, he was named Director of Bands for the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. He spent time working in Alabama, New York, and New Jersey, recruiting and training musicians in an effort to improve military morale. Eventually, his work moved overseas to the European theater.
Troops in Europe missed all aspects of being home, including enjoying American entertainment and music. He organized bands, made Office of War Information recordings, and created radio programs for soldiers. Many men Miller had played with in a civilian capacity before the war were happy to join his new unit in uniform.
8. Glenn Miller Was Posthumously Awarded the Bronze Star
During his time in the service, Glenn Miller was the recipient of multiple awards. Posthumously, he was awarded the Bronze Star, which is awarded to individuals who distinguish themselves by “heroic or meritorious achievement or service” in a combat situation. His medal citation states that Miller’s military band made a “noteworthy contribution to the morale of the armed forces.” General Jimmy Doolittle is quoted as saying, “Next to a letter from home, the Glenn Miller Band was the greatest morale builder in the European Theater of War.” Helen accepted the award in her late husband’s honor at a ceremony in 1945.
9. Glenn Miller May Have Disappeared, but His Orchestra Didn’t
With the blessing of Glenn Miller’s family and efforts made by his wife, Helen, and his manager, his band and their signature sound continued after his death. Helen approached saxophonist Tex Beneke about reviving the band in 1946, and he became the first bandleader of the group following Miller.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra began touring again not long after Miller’s disappearance and continues to do so today, over eighty years after Miller’s presumed death. The band comprises over a dozen members who perform not only in the United States but globally.
10. He Worked in Radio Advertising and Propaganda Using His Music
Miller’s military band made regular radio broadcasts, including over a London broadcasting station operated by the Office of War Information. In addition to his work in military radio, Glenn Miller had already made a splash in American radio before the war. In 1944, Miller became part of a special military propaganda project called “Music for the Wehrmacht,” an Allied effort to encourage German soldiers to surrender. This program was rediscovered and issued in a 2 CD collection by RCA Records in 1996 called “Glenn Miller-The Lost Recordings.” The recordings contain music and also conversations with a German-speaking cohost in which Miller lauds America as a “symbol of unity.” Despite attempted jamming by Nazi forces, most of Miller’s work was successfully broadcast.
11. Miller Has More Hits Than Elvis and The Beatles
During the four-year period in which they were most popular, the Glenn Miller Orchestra put out hit after hit to wildly receptive audiences. From 1939 to 1942, the group made sixteen number 1 records, on which there were 69 top-ten hits. This bests some of the most successful musical acts of all time, including Elvis and the Beatles. Elvis had 40 top-ten hits in his 22-year performing career. The Beatles fell short, with 34 top-tens credited to the Fab Four.
