Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forces. His civilian band, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, was one of the most popular and successful bands of the 20th century and the big-band era.
real name: Alton Glenn Miller
labels: Bluebird Records, RCA Records
genres: jazz, swing, blues, big band music
awards: Bronze Star Medal, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
plays: trombone
member of: Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
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The son of Mattie Lou (née Cavender) Miller and Lewis Elmer Miller, Alton Glen Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa. He added a second n to Glen during high school. Like his father (Lewis Elmer) and his siblings (Elmer Deane, John Herbert, and Emma Irene), Miller went by his middle name. As Dennis Spragg of the Glenn Miller Archives confirms, "Miller's use of his first name, Alton, was necessary for legal and military purposes, which is logically why it shows up in formal documents such as his military documents, driver’s licenses, tax returns, etc." He is listed as Alton G. Miller in the Army Air Forces section of the Tablets of the Missing in Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridge, England. His name is engraved as Major Alton...
Miller's name is engraved as Alton G. Miller on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial run by the American Battle Monuments Commission in Cambridge, England. The names of Flight Officer John R. S. Morgan and Lieutenant Colonel Norman Baessell are also carved there. Many Americans who died in the Second World War in Europe are buried there. On behalf of Miller's family and the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society, an Air Force wreath ceremony was conducted there on the 50th anniversary of their deaths, December 15, 1994. A moment of silence was held there and at Arlington National Cemetery.
Miller and his music became an institution as Miller wished. His music is still played worldwide by professional and amateur musicians every day, including BBC radio.
The Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra's long-term legacy has carried on with the Airmen of Note, a band within the United States Air Force Band. "The Airmen of Note is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force. Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC, it is one of six musical ensembles that form the US Air Force Band." Created in 1950 to continue the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces dance band, the current band consists of 18 active-duty musicians, including one vocalist. This band was created in 1950 from smaller groups within the Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC, and continues to play jazz music for the Air Force community and the general public. The legacy also...
"In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone.
The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by Edgar Hayes and his Orchestra in 1938.