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Glenn Miller & His Orchestra

Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller Billboard.jpg
Background information
Birth name Alton Glenn Miller
Born (1904-03-01)March 1, 1904
Clarinda, Iowa, United States
Died December 15, 1944 (aged 40)
Plane missing over the English Channel
Genres Swing music, big band
Occupation(s) Bandleader, Musician, Arranger, Composer
Instruments Trombone
Years active 1923–1944
Associated acts Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Modernaires, Marion Hutton
Military career
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch

 United States Army

Years of service 1942-1944
Rank US-O4 insignia.svg Major
Awards Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg Bronze Star
(Posthumously; 1945)

 United States Army

Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – missing in action December 15, 1944) was an American big band musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known big bands. Miller's recordings include "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "A String of Pearls", "At Last", "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo", "American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer's Tune", and "Little Brown Jug". While he was traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Miller's aircraft disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel.

Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa, the son of Mattie Lou (née Cavender) and Lewis Elmer Miller. He attended grade school in North Platte in western Nebraska. In 1915, Miller's family moved to Grant City, Missouri. Around this time, Miller had finally made enough money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and played in the town orchestra. Originally, Miller played cornet and mandolin, but he switched to trombone by 1916. In 1918, the Miller family moved again, this time to Fort Morgan, Colorado, where Miller went to high school. In the fall of 1919, he joined the high school football team, Maroons, which won the Northern Colorado Football Conference in 1920. He was named the Best Left End in Colorado. During his senior year, Miller became very interested in a new style of music called "dance band music". He was so taken with it that he formed his own band with some classmates. By the time Miller graduated from high school in 1921, he had decided to become a professional musician.


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Wikipedia

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