Tex Beneke

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

Tex Beneke, whose full name was Gordon Lee Beneke, was an American saxophonist, singer and band leader, born in 1914 in Fort Worth, Texas. He began on saxophone at nine and, after trying soprano and alto, stayed with the tenor. His first professional work was in 1935 with the band leader Ben Young. The drummer Gene Krupa heard the band, wanted to take Beneke with him and recommended him to Glenn Miller, who put a band together in 1938. Miller immediately made him his most important tenor soloist.

Music and breakthrough

Beneke played almost all the tenor solos on the recordings and performances of the Miller orchestra until it was disbanded in 1942. In In the Mood, recorded on 1 August 1939, he trades two-bar solos with his colleague Al Klink. They do so in A String of Pearls (1941) as well. He sang Chattanooga Choo Choo, which in 1942 received the first gold record ever, and I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo. Beneke appeared in the films Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Orchestra Wives (1942), which took him high in the Metronome polls. After the band was disbanded he had an orchestra of his own, which is linked to the careers of, among others, Eydie Gormé and Henry Mancini.

Influence

Beneke stands for the sound of the swing band of the early 1940s: a warm, round tenor and a relaxed, friendly vocal style. The jazz critic Will Friedwald counts him among the important blues vocalists with the big bands of that period.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1965Christmas Serenade in the Glenn Miller Style
• 2000Tex Beneke and his "Music In The Miller Mood"
• 2000The Legendary Big Bands Series

In School of Rock

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