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Glenn Miller Orchestra

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Glenn Miller Orchestra is an American big band that has kept Glenn Miller's music alive since 1956. It is a new incarnation of the famous orchestras of the 1930s and 1940s. The original orchestra played from 1937 to 1942, when Miller joined the Air Force and led an orchestra of his own there. On 15 December 1944 he disappeared over the Channel and was never found.

Music and breakthrough

In 1946 Miller's widow gave permission for a new band under the name Glenn Miller Orchestra, led by the saxophonist and singer Tex Beneke. Many members of the Air Force orchestra played in it. Beneke did not want to follow the old arrangements exactly, and that clashed with Miller's heirs, who wanted an orchestra that would be associated above all with Miller.

Influence

The second relaunch came in 1956, after the success of the film The Glenn Miller Story. Miller's widow asked Ray McKinley, who had led the Air Force orchestra, to lead a new orchestra. He stayed until 1966. He was followed by, among others, Buddy DeFranco, Larry O'Brien, Gary Tole and Nick Hilscher, and since 2021 Erik Stabnau. In England, Europe and Scandinavia, too, groups play under the name with permission. In this way the sounds of the swing years can still be heard live.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the album In the Digital Mood (1983) and pay attention to the recording. Hear how the orchestra uses modern technology to imitate the classic Miller sound of clarinet and saxophones.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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