159-479: Alton Glen " Glenn " Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombone player, 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. His military group,
318-425: A 145-year-old forest that stood within the property boundaries of a historic district that a National Register of Historic Places nomination form for Arlington House had described in 1966. About 491 trees would be removed from an area of trees that was approximately 105 years old. Approximately 203 trees with ages of 50 to 145 years would be removed from a former picnic area. At a public hearing on July 11, 2013,
477-546: A 78 rpm record under the name "Benny Goodman's Boys". In 1928, when the band arrived in New York City, he sent for and married his college sweetheart, Helen Burger. He was a member of Red Nichols ' orchestra (Red Nichols and his Five Pennies) in 1930, and because of Nichols, he played in the pit bands of two Broadway shows, Strike Up the Band and Girl Crazy . That band included Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa . During
636-472: A buzz bomb landed in front of their old quarters, destroyed the building, and killed more than 100 people, which included WACs among the seventy-five American personnel lost. None were Miller band members. Miller told Lieutenant Don Haynes, "As long as [the Miller Luck] stays with us, we have nothing to worry about." On July 9, 1944, Miller's 51-piece orchestra and production personnel started broadcasting
795-667: A career in music. He failed Harmony. In New York City, he studied the Schillinger system with Joseph Schillinger , under whose tutelage he composed "Miller's Tune". Miller arranged that tune for big band and renamed it. It became his signature theme, "Moonlight Serenade". In 1926, Miller toured with several groups, landing a good spot in Ben Pollack 's group in Los Angeles. He also played for Victor Young , which allowed him to be mentored by other professional musicians. In
954-660: A century as a result of their broadcasts on the NBC and CBS networks of the annual New Year's Eve celebrations from the Roosevelt Grill at New York's Roosevelt Hotel (1929-1959) and the Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel (1959-1976) . Gloria Parker had a radio program on which she conducted the largest all-girl orchestra led by a female. She led her Swingphony while playing marimba. Phil Spitalny ,
1113-606: A component of the Department of the Interior, informed the National Capital Planning Commission that it wanted to transfer only 4 acres (1.6 ha) to the cemetery, rather than the 12 acres (4.9 ha) that the 1995 agreement had described. In response, Metzler stated: "I was surprised. But we will continue to work with the Department of Interior and see what happens." On July 12, 1999,
1272-741: A flight over the English Channel . In keeping with standard operating procedure for the US military services, Miller was officially declared dead a year and a day later. An Army investigation led to an official finding of death (FOD) for Miller, Norman Baessell, and John Morgan, all of whom died on the same flight. All three officers are listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridge, England. Since his body
1431-505: A genre of music, although this was not the only style of music played by big bands. Big bands started as accompaniment for dancing the Lindy Hop . In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements. They gave a greater role to bandleaders, arrangers, and sections of instruments rather than soloists. Big bands generally have four sections: trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and
1590-403: A limitation on mass media access to funerals, which also proved controversial. Until 2005, the cemetery's administration gave free access, with the family's permission, to the press to cover funerals at the cemetery. In July 2008, The Washington Post reported that cemetery had imposed gradually increasing restrictions on media coverage of funerals beginning three years earlier, in 2005. After
1749-612: A marching band for base activities and a jazz band led by T/Sgt. Ray McKinley, the popular civilian bandleader and drummer. Initially designated the 418th AAF Band, Miller's unit was redesignated the Second AAF Radio Production Unit on December 6, 1943. At that time, base band duties transferred to the 708th AAF Band, a unit of standby musicians separate from the radio orchestra. Miller's marching band became famous by using jeeps with drums and string bass aboard for public performances. Miller also famously got into
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#17327805901011908-431: A menace. After 1935, big bands rose to prominence playing swing music and held a major role in defining swing as a distinctive style. Western swing musicians also formed popular big bands during the same period. A considerable range of styles evolved among the hundreds of popular bands. Many of the better known bands reflected the individuality of the bandleader, the lead arranger, and the personnel. Count Basie played
2067-516: A musical argument with Army purists by performing marching arrangements of jazz, including "The Saint Louis Blues" and "Blues in the Night", as opposed to traditional Sousa military marches. The AAF endorsed Miller's modern approach. On May 24, 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower sent a cable to Washington requesting transfer of the Miller AAF unit for the purposes of radio broadcasting and morale. With
2226-420: A native of Ukraine, led a 22-piece female orchestra known as Phil Spitalny and His Hour of Charm Orchestra , named for his radio show, The Hour of Charm , during the 1930s and 1940s. Other female bands were led by trumpeter B. A. Rolfe , Anna Mae Winburn , and Ina Ray Hutton . Big Bands began to appear in movies in the 1930s through the 1960s, though cameos by bandleaders were often stiff and incidental to
2385-716: A one-month delay to settle his business affairs. Miller made his final commercial broadcast for Chesterfield Cigarettes on September 24, 1942. At the end of the program, he introduced competitor Harry James as his successor on the series, a gesture that a grateful James never forgot. On September 26, Miller made his final civilian broadcast on the Blue Network Coca Cola Victory parade of Spotlight Bands. Glenn Miller and his Orchestra gave their final performance at Central Theater in Passaic, New Jersey on September 27, 1942. On October 7, 1942, Miller reported to
2544-728: A part as the group's bassist. Though contracted to do a third movie for Fox, Blind Date , Miller entered the US Army and this film was never made. In 2004, Miller orchestra bassist Trigger Alpert explained the band's success: "Miller had America's music pulse... He knew what would please the listeners." Although Miller was popular, many jazz critics had misgivings. They believed that the band's endless rehearsals—and, according to critic Amy Lee in Metronome magazine, "letter-perfect playing"—removed feeling from their performances. They also felt that Miller's brand of swing shifted popular music from
2703-465: A popular formula from which he allowed little departure. A disproportionate ratio of nostalgia to substance keeps his music alive." Jazz critics Gunther Schuller (1991) and Gary Giddins (2004) have defended Miller from criticism. In an article written for The New Yorker magazine in 2004, Giddins said these critics erred in denigrating Miller's music, and that the popular opinion of the time should hold greater sway. "Miller exuded little warmth on or off
2862-413: A relaxed, propulsive swing, Bob Crosby (brother of Bing ), more of a dixieland style, Benny Goodman a hard driving swing, and Duke Ellington's compositions were varied and sophisticated. Many bands featured strong instrumentalists whose sounds dominated, such as the clarinets of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw , the trombone of Jack Teagarden , the trumpet of Harry James , the drums of Gene Krupa , and
3021-643: A representative tree was 258 years old. The Interment Zone was also determined to contain significant archeological and cultural landscape resources, in addition to those in the Preservation Zone. The EA described four alternative courses of action. In contrast to the National Park Service's March 1998 statement to the National Capital Planning Commission, the 1999 environmental assessment stated that
3180-481: A rhythm section of guitar, piano, double bass, drums and sometimes vibraphone. The division in early big bands, from the 1920s to 1930s, was typically two or three trumpets, one or two trombones, three or four saxophones, and a rhythm section of four instruments. In the 1940s, Stan Kenton 's band used up to five trumpets, five trombones (three tenor and two bass trombones ), five saxophones (two alto saxophones , two tenor saxophones , one baritone saxophone ), and
3339-581: A rhythm section. Duke Ellington at one time used six trumpets. While most big bands dropped the previously common jazz clarinet from their arrangements (other than the clarinet-led orchestras of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman), many Duke Ellington songs had clarinet parts, often replacing or doubling one of the tenor saxophone parts; more rarely, Ellington would substitute baritone sax for bass clarinet, such as in "Ase's Death" from Swinging Suites . Boyd Raeburn drew from symphony orchestras by adding flute , French horn , strings, and timpani to his band. In
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#17327805901013498-489: A saxophonist named Wilbur Schwartz . Miller hired Schwartz but had him play lead clarinet instead of the saxophone. According to Simon, "Willie's tone and way of playing provided a fullness and richness so distinctive that none of the later Miller imitators could ever accurately reproduce the Miller sound." With this new sound combination, Miller found a way to differentiate his band's style from that of many bands that existed in
3657-621: A series of musical programs over the AEFP under BBC technical supervision. The programs included: "The American Band of the AEF" (full orchestra), "Swing Shift" (T/Sgt. Ray McKinley dance orchestra), "Uptown Hall" (Sgt. Mel Powell jazz quartet), "Strings with Wings" (Sgt. George Ockner, concertmaster and the string section), "Song by Sgt. Johnny Desmond" (vocalist with orchestra directed by M/Sgt. Norman Leyden) and "Piano Parade" (piano solos by Pvt. Jack Rusin and Sgt. Mel Powell). The orchestra also appeared for
3816-474: A surplus at the end of the Christmas holiday season. Recalling a boyhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery, company founder Morrill Worcester donated 5,000 wreaths to the cemetery to honor the cemetery's dead with the help of volunteers and a local trucking company. In 2005, after 13 years of similar donations, a photo of snowy gravestones covered with wreaths at the cemetery received widespread circulation on
3975-548: A young Bob Hope as the announcer. Big band remotes on the major radio networks spread the music from ballrooms and clubs across the country during the 1930s and 1940s, with remote broadcasts from jazz clubs continuing into the 1950s on NBC's Monitor . Radio increased the fame of Benny Goodman , the "Pied Piper of Swing". Others challenged him, and battle of the bands became a regular feature of theater performances. Similarly, Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians Orchestra also achieved widespread notoriety for nearly half
4134-936: Is engraved as Major Alton Glenn Miller, US Army (Air Corps) on his Government-issued (G.I.) memorial headstone in Memorial Section H at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. His last military unit has a memorial tree in section 13 on Wilson Drive. The American Holly was dedicated on December 15, 1994, the 50th anniversary of Miller's death, for the veterans of the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra. He attended grade school in North Platte in western Nebraska. In 1915, his family moved to Grant City, Missouri . Around this time, he had made enough money from milking cows to buy his first trombone and played in
4293-415: Is generally configured so lead parts are seated in the middle of their sections and solo parts are seated closest to the rhythm section. The fourth trombone part is generally played by a bass trombone. In some pieces the trumpets may double on flugelhorn or cornet , and saxophone players frequently double on other woodwinds such as flute , piccolo , clarinet , bass clarinet , or soprano saxophone . It
4452-436: Is not unlikely." Louis Armstrong thought enough of Miller to carry around his recordings, transferred to seven-inch tape reels when he went on tour. "[Armstrong] liked musicians who prized melody, and his selections ranged from Glenn Miller to Jelly Roll Morton to Tchaikovsky ." Jazz pianist George Shearing 's quintet of the 1950s and 1960s was influenced by Miller: "with Shearing's locked hands style piano (influenced by
4611-524: Is useful to distinguish between the roles of composer, arranger and leader. The composer writes original music that will be performed by individuals or groups of various sizes, while the arranger adapts the work of composers in a creative way for a performance or recording. Arrangers frequently notate all or most of the score of a given number, usually referred to as a "chart". Bandleaders are typically performers who assemble musicians to form an ensemble of various sizes, select or create material for them, shape
4770-481: The 56th United States Congress appropriated $ 75,000 (equivalent to $ 2,746,800 in 2023) to settle the U.S. government's debts to them. With limited space but large numbers of KIAs from World War II , Korean War , Vietnam War , along with natural deaths from high-ranking military officials, the need for additional burial space at Arlington Cemetery became a challenge and priority to the U.S. government. On May 30, 1929, U.S. President Herbert Hoover conducted
4929-625: The Cotton Club in Harlem. Fletcher Henderson 's career started when he was persuaded to audition for a job at Club Alabam in New York City, which eventually turned into a job as bandleader at the Roseland Ballroom . At these venues, which themselves gained notoriety, bandleaders and arrangers played a greater role than they had before. Hickman relied on Ferde Grofé, Whiteman on Bill Challis . Henderson and arranger Don Redman followed
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5088-616: The Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York. According to author Gunther Schuller , the Glen Island performance attracted "a record-breaking opening-night crowd of 1800..." The band's popularity grew. In 1939, Time magazine noted: "Of the 12 to 24 discs in each of today's 300,000 U.S. jukeboxes, from two to six are usually Glenn Miller's." In 1940, the band's version of " Tuxedo Junction " sold 115,000 copies in
5247-796: The Library of Congress film collection. Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System , one of two maintained by the United States Army . Over 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia . Arlington National Cemetery was established on May 13, 1864, during the American Civil War after Arlington Estate,
5406-566: The List of Billboard number-one singles of 1942 . In four years, Miller scored 16 number one records and 69 top 10 hits, more than Elvis Presley (40) and the Beatles (35) in their careers. His musical legacy includes multiple recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame . His work has been performed by swing bands, jazz bands, and big bands worldwide for over 75 years. Miller is considered to be
5565-914: The Military Women's Memorial , and Arlington Memorial Bridge , was listed on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1802, George Washington Parke Custis , the grandson of George Washington 's wife Martha through her first marriage, began building Arlington House at the present-day Arlington National Cemetery on land that he inherited from John Parke Custis , his natural father, following his death. Custis went to live at Mount Vernon where George Washington and Martha raised him as their own son. In 1804, Custis married Mary Lee Fitzhugh . They had four children, but only one, Mary Anna Randolph Custis , survived into adulthood. On June 30, 1831, she married future Confederate States Army general Robert E. Lee . In 1818, Arlington House
5724-693: The National Park Service -controlled Arlington House and 2001, 37 acres (15 ha) of land in 1999 from the DoD that was the site of the Navy Annex building, 8 acres (3.2 ha) of land in 1999 from the Department of the Army that was part of Fort Myer , 4 acres (1.6 ha) of land from Arlington County's Southgate Road right-of-way in 2004, and just under 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land from Fort Myer in 2005. On September 23, 1996,
5883-772: The Seventh Service Command at Omaha as a captain in the Army Specialist Corps . Following a one-month ASC training course at Fort Meade, Maryland, he transferred to the Army Air Forces (AAF) on November 25, 1942, by order of General Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold . Miller was initially assigned to the AAF Southeast Flying Training Command at Maxwell Field, Alabama for orientation as assistant special service officer, traveling to different AAF training bases in
6042-629: The United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery ) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Arlington County Board and the Department of the Army to expand the cemetery even further. Under the tentative plan, Arlington County would give up the easement for Southgate Road (which lies between the Navy Annex property and the cemetery's 2012 boundary), and obtain a narrow easement along
6201-655: The hairpin turn in Columbia Pike straightened, to provide a safer, more natural exit from S. Washington Blvd. onto Columbia Pike. Although exact acreages were not specified and the plan depended upon the Commonwealth of Virginia's cooperation, the MOU if implemented would have created a more contiguous plot of land for the cemetery. On March 12, 2013, the Corps of Engineers released a revised environmental assessment for
6360-627: The 1930s, Earl Hines and his band broadcast from the Grand Terrace in Chicago every night across America. In Kansas City and across the Southwest, an earthier, bluesier style was developed by such bandleaders as Bennie Moten and, later, by Jay McShann and Jesse Stone . By 1937, the "sweet jazz band" saxophonist Shep Fields was also featured over the airways on the NBC radio network in his Rippling Rhythm Revue, which also showcased
6519-671: The 1960s and '70s, Sun Ra and his Arketstra took big bands further out. Ra's eclectic music was played by a roster of musicians from ten to thirty and was presented as theater, with costumes, dancers, and special effects. As jazz was expanded during the 1950s through the 1970s, the Basie and Ellington bands were still around, as were bands led by Buddy Rich , Gene Krupa , Lionel Hampton , Earl Hines , Les Brown , Clark Terry , and Doc Severinsen . Progressive bands were led by Dizzy Gillespie , Gil Evans , Carla Bley , Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin , Don Ellis , and Anthony Braxton . In
Glenn Miller - Misplaced Pages Continue
6678-401: The 1960s and 1970s, big band rock became popular by integrating such musical ingredients as progressive rock experimentation , jazz fusion , and the horn choirs often used in blues and soul music , with some of the most prominent groups including Chicago ; Blood, Sweat and Tears ; Tower of Power ; and, from Canada, Lighthouse . The genre was gradually absorbed into mainstream pop rock and
6837-626: The AAFTTC. Miller's recommendation for an AAFTTC bands program was approved. Detached to the AAF Training Center at Atlantic City, New Jersey, Miller screened personnel for assignment to various AAF base bands across the nation and recruited many for an elite unit that he would direct himself. The AAF had established its First Radio Production Unit and Orchestra to broadcast from Hollywood, commanded by Maj. Eddie Dunstedter with musical director M/Sgt. Felix Slatkin. Miller would form and direct
6996-650: The Arlington Cemetery grounds. On December 9, 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Lee's favor in United States v. Lee , concluding that the U.S. government seized Arlington Cemetery and its surrounding grounds without affording Lee due process. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Congress abided by the Supreme Court ruling, and returned the estate to Lee. By this time, however, Lee
7155-684: The Army Bureau of Public Relations and Army Air Forces. On August 12, 1942, Miller sent a three-page letter to General Charles Young of the Army Service Forces, outlining his interest in "streamlining modern military music" and to express his "sincere desire to do a real job for the Army that is not actuated by any personal draft problem." General Young forwarded Miller's letter to Gen. Brehon Somervell, commander of Army Service Forces who approved Miller's application. The Army notified Miller of his commission on September 8, 1942. He received
7314-638: The Army could find a successor. In December 2016, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328) authorized the Secretary of the Army to expand the cemetery by acquiring from Arlington County and the Commonwealth of Virginia by condemnation and other means properties near the cemetery that contain the Southgate Road, South Joyce Street and Washington Boulevard right-of-ways, including
7473-723: The Blitz of 1940–41. In Bedford, the Miller unit would use facilities developed for Sir Adrian Boult and the BBC Symphony. Prior to the band's arrival, Miller met with SHAEF and BBC officials to coordinate broadcasting plans, including the BBC Director of the new Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme (AEFP), Maurice Gorham, SHAEF Director of Broadcasting, American Col. Edward Kirby, and deputy director of SHAEF Broadcasting, British Lt. Col. David Niven (the famous actor). They became Miller's chain of command. His distinguished orchestra
7632-556: The Civil War still ongoing, the Union acquired Arlington Cemetery for $ 26,800, equivalent to $ 522,087 in 2023, after the property was placed for tax sale. Mrs. Lee did not appear in person for the tax sale, but sent an agent, who attempted to pay the $ 92.07 allegedly owed in property taxes, equivalent to $ 1,794 in 2023, which had been assessed on the estate. The Union government, however, turned her agent away, and refused to accept
7791-725: The Custis-Lee Mansion, was passed on to her eldest grandson, George Washington Custis Lee . In April 1861, following the Confederate States Army bombing of Fort Sumter in the Battle of Fort Sumter and the Union Army 's subsequent surrender of the fort, the American Civil War was launched, and Virginia promptly seceded from the Union . On April 15, realizing that Fort Sumter's fall left
7950-469: The DoD $ 84 million to plan, design and construct the Millennium Project. The legislation additionally appropriated to the DoD $ 19 million to study, plan and design a future expansion of the cemetery's burial space. On June 5, 2013, after reviewing 100 public comments that it had received on the revised environmental assessment, the Corps of Engineers released a final EA and a signed FONSI for
8109-570: 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
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#17327805901018268-684: The Glenn Miller Orchestra in their two films, Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives , with Lynn Bari lip-synching. Miller and his band appeared in two Twentieth Century Fox films. In 1941's Sun Valley Serenade they were major members of the cast, which also featured comedian Milton Berle , and Dorothy Dandridge with the Nicholas Brothers in the show-stopping song-and-dance number, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The Miller band returned to Hollywood to film 1942's Orchestra Wives , featuring Jackie Gleason playing
8427-465: The Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, was even better. Miller and two others died at sea when their plane crashed into the English Channel on the flight headed from England to France on Friday, December 15, 1944. After an official investigation, the three missing Army Air Forces casualties received the "Finding of Death" of December 15, 1944. Glenn Miller and his Orchestra was
8586-418: The Millennium Project. The revised environmental assessment included copies of a number of public comments on the draft that criticized the project and parts of the assessment while proposing alternative locations for new military burials near the cemetery and elsewhere. However, the Department of Forestry of the Commonwealth of Virginia found that, based on information in the draft environmental assessment,
8745-402: The Millennium Project. The Final EA and the FONSI retained Alternative E as the preferred alternative. The final environmental assessment stated that, of the 905 trees to be removed, 771 trees were healthy native trees that had diameters between six and 41 inches. The project involved removing approximately 211 trees from a less than 2.63 acres (1.06 ha) area containing a portion of
8904-422: The Miller unit resumed the "I Sustain The Wings" series when they returned from the European Theater in August 1945. The Miller unit also recorded V-Discs at RCA Victor studios, and recorded broadcasts for the Office of War Information and Armed Forces Radio Service, including “Music from America” and “Uncle Sam Presents." In addition to the full concert orchestra, Miller's AAF Training Command organization included
9063-438: The Mood ", " Pennsylvania 6-5000 " (printed as "Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand" on record labels), " A String of Pearls ", " Moonlight Cocktail ", " At Last ", " (I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo ", " American Patrol ", " Tuxedo Junction ", " Elmer's Tune ", " Little Brown Jug ", and " Anvil Chorus ". Including "Chattanooga Choo Choo", five songs played by Miller and His Orchestra were number one hits for most of 1942 and can be found on
9222-404: The National Capital Planning Commission approved the site and building plans for the Millennium Project. In August 2015, the U.S. Army removed Lechner as superintendent of the cemetery after a performance review "called into question his ability to serve successfully as a senior leader". The Army declined to elaborate further and appointed Hallinan to be the temporary Cemetery superintendent until
9381-409: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104–201) authorized the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army all of the land in Section 29 that was within an "Arlington National Cemetery Interment Zone" and some of the land in the Section that was within a "Robert E. Lee Memorial Preservation Zone". On March 5, 1998, the National Park Service,
9540-447: The National Park Service published a Federal Register notice, announcing the availability of an environmental assessment for the transfer. The EA stated that the Interment Zone contained the oldest and largest tract of climax eastern hardwood forest in Arlington County. This forest was the same type that once covered the Arlington estate, and had regenerated from trees that were present historically. A forestry study determined that
9699-480: The Nicholas Brothers , who would appear with Miller again in two movies for Twentieth Century Fox in 1941 and 1942. In 1937, Miller compiled several arrangements and formed his first band. After failing to distinguish itself from the many bands of the time, it broke up after its last show at the Ritz Ballroom in Bridgeport, Connecticut on January 2, 1938. Benny Goodman said in 1976: In late 1937, before his band became popular, we were both playing in Dallas. Glenn
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#17327805901019858-461: The Office of War Information's Voice of America European outlet. The American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) broadcast daily to occupied Europe and Germany. One of its German language programs was "Music for the Wehrmacht", in which Miller made announcements in phonetic German scripts with a German-speaking announcer named "Ilse", who was actually ABSIE announcer Gloria Wagner. Sgt. Johnny Desmond sang vocals in German on this series. In England,
10017-453: The Second AAF Radio Production Unit and Orchestra, broadcasting and recording from New York. Miller's unit was authorized on March 20, 1943, and billeted at the AAF Training School at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Its personnel were a talented mix of jazz musicians from major big bands and musicians from leading symphony orchestras. Miller would successfully attempt to fuse jazz, popular music and light classics, including strings, which
10176-459: The Second Herd emphasized the saxophone section of three tenors and one baritone. In the 1950s, Stan Kenton referred to his band's music as "progressive jazz", "modern", and "new music". He created his band as a vehicle for his compositions. Kenton pushed the boundaries of big bands by combining clashing elements and by hiring arrangers whose ideas about music conflicted. This expansive eclecticism characterized much of jazz after World War II. During
10335-457: The Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army jurisdiction over the Interment Zone, which is the plan in Alternative 3. Adoption of any of the other alternatives would require legislative action to amend the existing law." In 1998, a Congressional proposal to expand the cemetery onto land that the Navy Annex and Fort Myer then occupied led to concerns that Arlington County officials had not been properly consulted, leading to
10494-437: The Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the Secretary of the Army within 30 days the approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha) Interment Zone. The transfer therefore involved the entire 12 acres (4.9 ha) of NPS land that the 1995 agreement and Alternative 3 in the 1999 EA had described. The 2001 legislation required the Secretary of the Army to use the Interment Zone for in-ground burial sites and columbarium . In addition,
10653-417: The Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, asked the U.S. Army's Quartermaster General to close the village on the grounds that people living in it had been taking trees at night from the cemetery for use as firewood. The Quartermaster General and the Secretary of War then approved Commerford's request. In 1874, George Washington Custis Lee sued the U.S. federal government , claiming ownership of
10812-454: The Supply Division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , overseeing the equipping security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan . Since 2010, he served as executive officer and deputy superintendent of the cemetery under Hallinan. In September 2008, environmentalists expressed concerns that the agreement would result in the partial destruction of the 24-acre (9.7 ha) remnant of a historically important stand of native trees. A historical marker near
10971-462: The U.S. Army a part of Arlington Woods, which was located in Section 29 of the National Park Service at Arlington National Cemetery between Arlington House and Fort Myer . The property transfer, which involved 12 acres (4.9 ha) of NPS land, was intended to permit Metzler to start expanding the cemetery beyond its existing boundaries. In September 1996, Arlington Cemetery received the authority to transfer 12 acres (4.9 ha) of woodland from
11130-418: The US Navy but was turned down. At the time, the Navy was dealing with a scandal concerning celebrity commissions in exchange for draft avoidance. This had nothing to do with Miller, but it prevented the Navy from acting on his application. Miller then applied to the US Army with whom he had privately explored the possibility of enlisting. During a March 1942 visit to Washington, Miller had met with officials of
11289-508: The Union from Arlington and neighboring Alexandria . On May 7, 1861, however, the Confederate-aligned Virginia militia captured Arlington and Arlington House. With Confederate forces occupying the high ground of Arlington, the neighboring national capital in Washington, D.C. was left vulnerable to Confederate Army attack. Despite not wanting to leave Arlington House, Mary Lee believed her estate would soon be recaptured by Union soldiers. On May 14, she buried many of her family treasures on
11448-600: The Union. On May 13, 1864, William Henry Christman was buried at Arlington Cemetery, close to what is now the northeast gate in Section 27, even though Meigs did not formally authorize establishment of burials until the following month, on June 15, 1864. Consistent with the practices of many cemeteries in the late 19th century, Arlington Cemetery maintained segregated burial practices. On July 26, 1948, however, U.S. president Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which formally reversed this practice. In 1864, with
11607-558: The United States, and the personnel often had to perform having had little sleep and food. Apart from the star soloists, many musicians received low wages and would abandon the tour if bookings disappeared. Sometimes bandstands were too small, public address systems inadequate, pianos out of tune. Bandleaders dealt with these obstacles through rigid discipline (Glenn Miller) and canny psychology ( Duke Ellington ). Big bands raised morale during World War II . Many musicians served in
11766-638: The Virginia Native Plant Society recognized the woodland as being one of the best examples of old growth terraced gravel forest remaining in Virginia. On December 12, 2012, the United States Army Corps of Engineers asked for comments on a draft environmental assessment that described a further expansion of Arlington National Cemetery as part of the Millennium Project. The 2012 draft environmental assessment
11925-697: The Washington Boulevard-Columbia Pike interchange. The Army then informed the Arlington County government in June 2017 that the Army would no longer pursue a land exchange with the county. The Army told the County that the Army would use the entire Navy Annex site to expand the cemetery and would acquire for the cemetery about 5 acres (2.0 ha) of public land that Arlington County then owned. The Army would also acquire for
12084-488: The absence of their original leaders. Although big bands are identified with the swing era, they continued to exist after those decades, though the music they played was often different from swing. Bandleader Charlie Barnet 's recording of " Cherokee " in 1942 and "The Moose" in 1943 have been called the beginning of the bop era. Woody Herman 's first band, nicknamed the First Herd, borrowed from progressive jazz, while
12243-593: The arrangement of lead clarinet over four saxophones that became a characteristic of his big band. Members of the Noble band included Claude Thornhill , Bud Freeman , and Charlie Spivak . Miller made his first movie appearance in The Big Broadcast of 1936 as a member of the Ray Noble Orchestra performing "Why Stars Come Out at Night". The film included performances by Dorothy Dandridge and
12402-697: The band followed aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth , which was serving as a troopship. Upon arrival in London, the unit was initially billeted at Sloane Court, Chelsea. This was a temporary assignment because Miller had previously arranged for permanent quarters in Bedford. Because of the V-1 flying bomb assault that was underway, SHAEF determined it better to house the band where the BBC had moved operations during
12561-454: The band kept an extensive schedule of personal appearances at primarily American air bases. Visiting American celebrities Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore appeared on their radio programs. Shore joined Miller for a recording session at Abbey Road Studios, where the orchestra recorded their ABSIE German language programs. Military service personnel of all ranks enjoyed the band. Their concert at Eighth Air Force Headquarters at Wycombe Abbey, England,
12720-631: The bands of Guy Lombardo and Paul Whiteman. A distinction is often made between so-called "hard bands", such as those of Count Basie and Tommy Dorsey, which emphasized quick hard-driving jump tunes, and "sweet bands", such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Shep Fields Rippling Rhythm Orchestra who specialized in less improvised tunes with more emphasis on sentimentality, featuring somewhat slower-paced, often heart-felt songs. By this time
12879-846: The bandstand, but once the band struck up its theme, audiences were done for: throats clutched, eyes softened. Can any other record match 'Moonlight Serenade' for its ability to induce a Pavlovian slaver in so many for so long?" Schuller notes, "[The Miller sound] was nevertheless very special and able to penetrate our collective awareness that few other sounds have..." He compares it to "Japanese Gagaku [and] Hindu music" in its purity. Schuller and Giddins do not take completely uncritical approaches to Miller. Schuller says that Ray Eberle's "lumpy, sexless vocalizing dragged down many an otherwise passable performance." But Schuller notes, "How much further [Miller's] musical and financial ambitions might have carried him must forever remain conjectural. That it would have been significant, whatever form(s) it might have taken,
13038-579: The beginning, he was the main trombone soloist of the band, but when Jack Teagarden joined Pollack's band in 1928, Miller found that his solos were cut drastically. He realized that his future was in arranging and composing. He had a songbook published in Chicago in 1928 entitled 125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone by the Melrose Brothers. During his time with Pollack, he wrote several arrangements. He wrote his first composition, " Room 1411 ", with Benny Goodman , and Brunswick Records released it as
13197-503: The best-selling recording band from 1939 to 1942. Miller's civilian band did not have a string section as his military unit did, but it did have a slap bass in the rhythm section . It was also a touring band that played multiple radio broadcasts nearly every day. Their best-selling records include Miller's theme song – " Moonlight Serenade " – and the first gold record ever made, " Chattanooga Choo Choo ". The following tunes are also on that best-seller list: " In
13356-403: The big band was such a dominant force in jazz that the older generation found they either had to adapt to it or simply retire. With no market for small-group recordings (made worse by a Depression-era industry reluctant to take risks), musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines led their own bands, while others, like Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, lapsed into obscurity. Even so, many of
13515-457: The cemetery grounds into burial space in 2006 and 2007 to allow an additional 26,000 graves and 5,000 inurnments . The Millennium Project expanded the cemetery's physical boundaries for the first time since the 1960s, and was the largest expansion of burial space at the site since the U.S. Civil War. Several environmental and historical preservation groups criticized Metzler's plans, as did the NPS and
13674-783: The cemetery's management controversy began to end, the Army appointed Patrick K. Hallinan the acting superintendent of the cemetery in June 2010. He was promoted permanently to the position in October 2010. Hallinan had previously worked for the Office of Field Programs in the National Cemetery Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs . In that capacity, Hallinan had oversight of 131 national cemeteries, national cemetery policy, procedures, and operations. Hallinan
13833-594: The distinction between these roles can become blurred. Billy Strayhorn , for example, was a prolific composer and arranger, frequently collaborating with Duke Ellington , but rarely took on the role of bandleader, which was assumed by Ellington, who himself was a composer and arranger. Typical big band arrangements from the swing era were written in strophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times. Each iteration, or chorus, commonly follows twelve bar blues form or thirty-two-bar (AABA) song form . The first chorus of an arrangement introduces
13992-660: The early to mid-1930s, Miller worked as a trombonist, arranger, and composer for the Dorsey Brothers , first, when they were a Brunswick studio group and later, when they formed an ill-fated orchestra. Miller composed the songs " Annie's Cousin Fanny ", " Dese Dem Dose ", " Harlem Chapel Chimes ", and " Tomorrow's Another Day " for the Dorsey Brothers Band in 1934 and 1935. In 1935, he assembled an American orchestra for British bandleader Ray Noble , developing
14151-508: The entire band then memorizing the way they are going to perform the piece, without writing it on sheet music. During the 1930s, Count Basie 's band often used head arrangements, as Basie said, "we just sort of start it off and the others fall in." Head arrangements were more common during the period of the 1930s because there was less turnover in personnel, giving the band members more time to rehearse. Before 1910, social dance in America
14310-421: The entire group came across. Big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones , trumpets , trombones , and a rhythm section . Big bands originated during the early 1910s and dominated jazz in the early 1940s when swing was most popular. The term "big band" is also used to describe
14469-463: The estate and receiving schooling and occupational training, both during the Civil War and after its end. In May 1864, the Union Army suffered large fatalities in the Battle of the Wilderness . Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs ordered a review of eligible sites for the establishment of a large and new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate
14628-590: The evaluation of environmental impacts....., no significant impacts would be expected from the Proposed Action; therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be prepared and a Finding of No Significant Impact will be prepared and signed." In January 2013, the county manager of Arlington County, Virginia, and the executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries (consisting of Arlington National Cemetery and
14787-453: The father of the modern US military bands. In 1942, he volunteered to join the US military to entertain troops during World War II and ended up in the US Army Air Forces . Their workload was just as heavy as the civilian band's had been. With a full string section added to a big band, the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra was the forerunner of many US military big bands. Miller went missing in action (MIA) on December 15, 1944, on
14946-479: The first gold record for " Chattanooga Choo Choo ". The Miller orchestra performed "Chattanooga Choo Choo" with his singers Gordon "Tex" Beneke , Paula Kelly and the Modernaires . Other singers with this orchestra included Marion Hutton , Skip Nelson, Ray Eberle and (to a smaller extent) Kay Starr , Ernie Caceres , Dorothy Claire and Jack Lathrop. Pat Friday dubbed for Lynn Bari by singing her part in
15105-474: The first bands to accompany the new rhythms was led by a drummer, Art Hickman , in San Francisco in 1916. Hickman's arranger, Ferde Grofé , wrote arrangements in which he divided the jazz orchestra into sections that combined in various ways. This intermingling of sections became a defining characteristic of big bands. In 1919, Paul Whiteman hired Grofé to use similar techniques for his band. Whiteman
15264-607: The first national Memorial Day ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. In October 1991, John C. Metzler Jr. , Arlington Cemetery's superintendent, implemented a $ 1.4 million plan to clear a former 13-acre (5.3 ha) parking lot to create additional space that would accommodate approximately 9,000 additional grave sites. In 1992, the Worcester Wreath company in Harrington, Maine , had
15423-530: The first week. Miller's success in 1939 culminated with an appearance at Carnegie Hall on October 6, with Paul Whiteman , Benny Goodman, and Fred Waring also on the schedule. From December 1939 to September 1942, Miller's band performed three times a week during a quarter-hour broadcast for Chesterfield cigarettes on CBS radio—for the first 13 weeks with the Andrews Sisters and then on its own. On February 10, 1942, RCA Victor presented Miller with
15582-849: The following year, on June 1, 1862, Lee was appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia , the Confederate Army's primary military force. When the Civil War commenced, American military personnel who died in battle near Washington, D.C. , were buried at the United States Soldiers' Cemetery in Washington, D.C., or Alexandria Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia . By late 1863, however, both cemeteries were nearly full. On May 3, 1861, General Winfield Scott ordered Brigadier General Irvin McDowell to clear all troops not loyal to
15741-455: The form include modulations and cadential extensions. Some big ensembles, like King Oliver 's, played music that was half-arranged, half-improvised, often relying on head arrangements. A head arrangement is a piece of music that is formed by band members during rehearsal. They experiment, often with one player coming up with a simple musical figure leading to development within the same section and then further expansion by other sections, with
15900-468: The form of the "rhythm sextet ". These ensembles typically featured three or more accordions accompanied by piano, guitar, bass, cello, percussion, and marimba with vibes and were popularized by recording artists such as Charles Magnante , Joe Biviano and John Serry . Twenty-first century big bands can be considerably larger than their predecessors, exceeding 20 players, with some European bands using 29 instruments and some reaching 50. In
16059-421: The grounds, and then left for her sister's estate at Ravensworth in present-day Fairfax County, Virginia . Some of the personal property she buried included family portraits that were stolen by Union soldiers. McDowell occupied Arlington without opposition on May 24. On July 16, 1862, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for
16218-499: The hot jazz of Benny Goodman and Count Basie to commercial novelty instrumentals and vocal numbers. After Miller died, the Miller estate maintained an unfriendly stance toward critics who derided the band during his lifetime. Miller was often criticized for being too commercial. His answer was, "I don't want a jazz band." Many modern jazz critics harbor similar antipathy. In 1997, on a website administered by JazzTimes magazine, Doug Ramsey considers him overrated. "Miller discovered
16377-534: The impending D-Day invasion of northwest Europe, the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) was establishing a combined allied radio broadcasting service. Eisenhower cited the Miller organization as the "only organization capable of performing the mission required." The Army Air Forces approved the deployment under the condition that the unit remain under AAF control. Miller and radio producer Sgt. Paul Dudley flew to London on June 19 and
16536-645: The instrumentation of the big bands. Examples include the Vienna Art Orchestra , founded in 1977, and the Italian Instabile Orchestra , active in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, there was a swing revival in the U.S. The Lindy Hop became popular again and young people took an interest in big band styles again. Big bands maintained a presence on American television, particularly through the late-night talk show, which has historically used big bands as house accompaniment . Typically
16695-441: The internet. Thousands of people called Worcester Wreath Company, wanting to replicate the wreath-laying service at their own veteran cemeteries. In 2014, volunteers were able to place wreaths in all sections of the cemetery for the first time. On February 22, 1995, officials of the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of the Army signed an agreement to transfer from Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, to
16854-473: The investigation commenced. In March 2011, as a result of the problems discovered, Kathryn Condon, the recently appointed executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries, announced that the cemetery's staff had been increased from 102 to 159. She added that the cemetery was also acquiring additional equipment because, "They didn't have the proper equipment to do the job really to the standard they needed to do." The mismanagement controversy included
17013-497: The jazz rock sector. Other bandleaders used Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music with big band instrumentation, and big bands led by arranger Gil Evans, saxophonist John Coltrane (on the album Ascension from 1965) and bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius introduced cool jazz , free jazz and jazz fusion, respectively, to the big band domain. Modern big bands can be found playing all styles of jazz music. Some large contemporary European jazz ensembles play mostly avant-garde jazz using
17172-540: The land on which the cemetery was built, was confiscated by the U.S. federal government from the private ownership of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee 's family following a tax dispute over the property. The cemetery is managed by the U.S. Department of the Army . As of 2024, it conducts approximately 27 to 30 funerals each weekday and between six and eight services on Saturday. In April 2014, Arlington National Cemetery Historic District, including Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington House , Memorial Drive,
17331-865: The late 1920s and early 1930s, Miller worked as a freelance trombonist in several bands. On a March 21, 1928, Victor Records session, he played alongside Tommy Dorsey , Benny Goodman, and Joe Venuti in the All-Star Orchestra directed by Nat Shilkret . He arranged and played trombone on several significant Dorsey brothers sessions for OKeh Records , including "The Spell of the Blues", "Let's Do It", and "My Kinda Love", all with Bing Crosby on vocals. On November 14, 1929, vocalist Red McKenzie hired Miller to play on two records: "Hello, Lola" and "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight". Beside Miller were saxophonist Coleman Hawkins , clarinetist Pee Wee Russell , guitarist Eddie Condon , and drummer Gene Krupa. In
17490-419: The late 1930s, Shep Fields incorporated a solo accordion, temple blocks , piccolo , violins and a viola into his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra. Paul Whiteman also featured a solo accordion in his ensemble. Jazz ensembles numbering eight ( octet ), nine ( nonet ) or ten ( tentet ) voices are sometimes called "little big bands". During the 1940s, somewhat smaller configurations of the big band emerged in
17649-467: The late 1930s. Miller talked about his style in the May 1939 issue of Metronome magazine. "You'll notice today some bands use the same trick on every introduction; others repeat the same musical phrase as a modulation into a vocal ... We're fortunate in that our style doesn't limit us to stereotyped intros, modulations, first choruses, endings, or even trick rhythms. The fifth sax, playing the clarinet most of
17808-488: The late 1940s and early 1950s use some Miller musicians. Trigger Alpert, a bassist from the civilian band, Zeke Zarchy for the Army Air Forces Orchestra and Willie Schwartz, the lead clarinetist from the civilian band back up Sinatra on many recordings. It was a surprise that clarinetist Buddy DeFranco took on the job of leading the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the late 1960s and early 1970s. De Franco
17967-548: The legislation required the Secretary of the Interior to manage the remainder of Section 29 "in perpetuity to provide a natural setting and visual buffer for Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial." In 2007, Metzler implemented the Millennium Project, a $ 35 million expansion plan to begin utilizing the Arlington woodland, Fort Myer, and Navy Annex land. The project also included converting 40 acres (16 ha) of unused space and 4 acres (16,000 m ) of maintenance property on
18126-900: The manager of Arlington House. On June 9, 2010, United States Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh reprimanded the cemetery's superintendent, John C. Metzler, Jr., and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham, after a DOD inspector general 's report revealed that cemetery officials had placed the wrong headstones on tombs, buried coffins in shallow graves, and buried bodies on top of one another. Metzler, who had already announced his intention to retire on July 2, 2010, admitted some mistakes had been made but denied allegations of widespread or serious mismanagement. The investigation also found that cemetery employees were burdened in their day-to-day work by "dysfunctional management, lack of established policy and procedures, and an overall unhealthy organizational climate." Both Metzler and Higgenbotham retired soon after
18285-466: The melody and is followed by choruses of development. This development may take the form of improvised solos, written solo sections, and " shout choruses ". An arrangement's first chorus is sometimes preceded by an introduction, which may be as short as a few measures or may extend to a chorus of its own. Many arrangements contain an interlude, often similar in content to the introduction, inserted between some or all choruses. Other methods of embellishing
18444-541: The middle of the decade. Bridging the gap to white audiences in the mid-1930s was the Casa Loma Orchestra and Benny Goodman's early band. The contrast in commercial popularity between "black" and "white" bands was striking: between 1935 and 1945 the top four "white" bands had 292 top ten records, of which 65 were number one hits, while the top four "black" bands had only 32 top ten hits, with only three reaching number one. White teenagers and young adults were
18603-402: The military and toured with USO troupes at the front, with Glenn Miller losing his life while traveling between shows. Many bands suffered from loss of personnel during the war years, and, as a result, women replaced men who had been inducted, while all-female bands began to appear. The 1942–44 musicians' strike worsened the situation. Vocalists began to strike out on their own. By the end of
18762-419: The more literal 4 of early jazz. Walter Page is often credited with developing the walking bass , although earlier examples exist, such as Wellman Braud on Ellington's Washington Wabble (1927). This type of music flourished through the early 1930s, although there was little mass audience for it until around 1936. Up until that time, it was viewed with ridicule and sometimes looked upon as
18921-411: The most common seating for a 17-piece big band, each section is carefully set-up in a way to optimize the bands sound. For the wind players, there are 3 different types of parts: lead parts (including first trumpet, first trombone, and first alto sax), solo parts (including second or fourth trumpet, second trombone, and the first tenor sax), and section members (which include the rest of the band). The band
19080-776: The most popular big bands of the swing era cultivated small groups within the larger ensemble: e.g. Benny Goodman developed both a trio and a quartet, Artie Shaw formed the Gramercy Five, Count Basie developed the Kansas City Six and Tommy Dorsey the Clambake Seven. The major "black" bands of the 1930s included, apart from Ellington's, Hines's, and Calloway's, those of Jimmie Lunceford , Chick Webb , and Count Basie. The "white" bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields and, later, Glenn Miller were more popular than their "black" counterparts from
19239-402: The most prominent shows with the earliest time slots and largest audiences have bigger bands with horn sections while those in later time slots go with smaller, leaner ensembles. Many college and university music departments offer jazz programs and feature big band courses in improvisation, composition, arranging, and studio recording, featuring performances by 18 to 20 piece big bands. During
19398-719: The music's dynamics, phrasing, and expression in rehearsals, and lead the group in performance often while playing alongside them. One of the first prominent big band arrangers was Ferde Grofé , who was hired by Paul Whiteman to write for his “symphonic jazz orchestra”. A number of bandleaders established long-term relationships with certain arrangers, such as the collaboration between leader Count Basie and arranger Neil Hefti . Some bandleaders, such as Guy Lombardo , performed works composed by others (in Lombardo's case, often by his brother Carmen ), while others, such as Maria Schneider , take on all three roles. In many cases, however,
19557-504: The national capital of Washington, D.C. highly vulnerable to Confederate attack and occupation, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers from around the Union to help defend it. Five days after Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the national capital, on April 20, Robert E. Lee , embracing the cause of Virginia's separation from the Union , resigned his U.S. Army commission to lead Virginia's separatist armed forces;
19716-406: The peak of his civilian career in 1942, Miller decided to join the armed forces, which meant forsaking an income of about $ 20,000 per week from his civilian band, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (equivalent to $ 330,000 per week in 2022). At 38, married and needing corrective eyeglasses, Miller was classified 3-A for the draft and unlikely to be called to service. He first applied for a commission in
19875-509: The plot. Shep Fields appeared with his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra in a playful and integrated animated performance of "This Little Ripple Had Rhythm" in the musical extravaganza The Big Broadcast of 1938 . Fictionalized biographical films of Glenn Miller , Gene Krupa , and Benny Goodman were made in the 1950s. The bands led by Helen Lewis, Ben Bernie , and Roger Wolfe Kahn's band were filmed by Lee de Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process in 1925, in three short films which are in
20034-504: The preferred alternative (Alternative 1) would transfer to the cemetery approximately 9.6 acres (3.9 ha), comprising most of the Interment Zone and the northern tip of the Preservation Zone. Another alternative (Alternative 3) would transfer to the cemetery the 12 acres (4.9 ha) Interment Zone, while keeping the 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) Preservation Zone under NPS jurisdiction. The EA concluded: "Public Law 104-201 directed
20193-431: The principal fans of the big bands in the late 1930s and early 1940s. They danced to recordings and the radio and attended live concerts. They were knowledgeable and often biased toward their favorite bands and songs, and sometimes worshipful of famous soloists and vocalists. Many bands toured the country in grueling one-night stands. Traveling conditions and lodging were difficult, in part due to segregation in most parts of
20352-527: The project would not have a significant adverse impact on the Commonwealth's forest resources. The revised EA did not change the preferred alternative (Alternative E) or the Army's plans to prepare and sign the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that the draft EA had described. On March 26, 2013, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 ( Public Law 113–6) appropriated to
20511-559: The property for use as part of the cemetery, while requiring the Secretary of the Army to incorporate the Annex property into the cemetery. On December 28, 2001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107-107) repealed the "obsolete" part of Public Law 104-201 that had authorized the transfer of portions of Section 29 to the Secretary of the Army. The new legislation required
20670-444: The purpose of burying military dead, and placed the U.S. Army Quartermaster General in charge of this program. Beginning in 1863, the federal government used the southern portion of the land now occupied by the cemetery as a settlement for freed slaves, giving the land the name "Freedman's Village". The government constructed rental houses that 1,100 to 3,000 freed slaves eventually occupied while farming 1,100 acres (450 ha) of
20829-636: The region to learn the mission of the training command. There, he appeared on the nationwide NBC "Army Hour" broadcast, originated from WSFA, Montgomery. He also appeared over WAPI radio Birmingham, performing with the Rhythmaires, a 15-piece base band. Effective January 1, 1943, Miller was assigned to the headquarters of the AAF Technical Training Command (TTC) at Knollwood Field, Southern Pines, North Carolina. Reporting to Gen. Walter R. Weaver, Miller became director of bands for
20988-664: The southwest border of the Navy Annex site for a new Southgate Road. In exchange, the Department of Defense would give the Navy Annex parking lot to the county. The Army would also transfer land west of South Joyce Street to Columbia Pike to Arlington County. Additionally, the Commonwealth of Virginia would convey to the cemetery roughly the northern half of the Virginia Department of Transportation land bounded by South Joyce Street, Columbia Pike, and South Washington Boulevard . The cloverleaf interchange between Columbia Pike and S. Washington Blvd. would be eliminated, and
21147-475: The template of King Oliver , but as the 1920s progressed they moved away from the New Orleans format and transformed jazz. They were assisted by a band full of talent: Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone, Louis Armstrong on cornet, and multi-instrumentalist Benny Carter , whose career lasted into the 1990s. Swing music began appearing in the early 1930s and was distinguished by a more supple feel than
21306-514: The tendered payment. The Washington Chronicle described the Freedmen's Village at Arlington in an article published in September 1864 and recorded at that time, "This cemetery is at present divided into the upper yard and the lower yard. The upper yard contains fourteen hundred graves, and the lower twelve hundred. These graves are marked with wooden slabs, with the exception of one marble slab in
21465-652: The time he graduated from high school in 1921, he had decided to become a professional musician. He missed his own graduation because he was performing out of town. His mother gladly received his diploma for him. In 1923, Miller entered the University of Colorado at Boulder , where he joined Sigma Nu fraternity. He spent most of his time away from school, attending auditions and playing any gigs he could get, including with Boyd Senter's band in Denver. After failing three out of five classes, he dropped out of school to pursue
21624-538: The time, lets you know whose band you're listening to. And that's about all there is to it." In September 1938, the Miller band began recording for Bluebird , a subsidiary of RCA Victor . Cy Shribman, a prominent East Coast businessman, financed the band. In the spring of 1939, the band's fortunes improved with a date at the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey , and more dramatically at
21783-583: The town orchestra. He played cornet and mandolin, but he switched to trombone by 1916. In 1918, Miller and his family moved to Fort Morgan , Colorado, where he went to Fort Morgan High School . In the fall of 1919, he joined the F.M.H.S. Maroons, the high school football team that won the Northern Colorado American Football Conference in 1920. He was named Best Left End in Colorado in 1921. For two years, Miller
21942-721: The unit from England to France. By this time, SHAEF had relocated to Versailles. It was determined that reliable radio broadcasting could be accomplished from Paris and that the Miller orchestra could be seen in person at Paris-area hospitals and by ground troops on leave from the front lines. The move was set for mid-December. As a precaution, the Miller organization had to prerecord eighty hours of broadcasts prior to moving, in addition to their normal schedule. Meanwhile, preparations in France were behind schedule. On December 11, 1944, Niven ordered Miller to replace his executive officer, Lt. Donald Haynes, to fly ahead and complete arrangements before
22101-475: The upper and one in the lower yard. As we passed by it, a cortege of five ambulances, containing nine coffins, moved by. Some of the coffins were draped with our colors. The cemetery is as yet enclosed with a wooden fence." In 1866, The Old Bell Church , led by Rev. Robert S. Laws , was founded. After Freedman's Village became part of a military reservation, the government asked the villagers to leave. In 1887, however, some still remained, and John A. Commerford,
22260-699: The vibes of Lionel Hampton . The popularity of many of the major bands was amplified by star vocalists, such as Frank Sinatra and Connie Haines with Tommy Dorsey , Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly with Jimmy Dorsey , Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb , Billie Holiday and Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie , Kay Starr with Charlie Barnet , Bea Wain with Larry Clinton , Dick Haymes , Kitty Kallen and Helen Forrest with Harry James , Fran Warren with Claude Thornhill , Doris Day with Les Brown , and Peggy Lee and Martha Tilton with Benny Goodman . Some bands were "society bands" which relied on strong ensembles but little on soloists or vocalists, such as
22419-425: The voicing of Miller's saxophone section) in the middle [of the quintet's harmonies]". Frank Sinatra and Mel Tormé held the orchestra in high regard. Tormé credited Miller with giving him helpful advice when he first started his singing and songwriting career in the 1940s. Tormé met Miller in 1942, the meeting facilitated by Tormé's father and Ben Pollack. Tormé and Miller discussed " That Old Black Magic ", which
22578-421: The war, swing was giving way to less danceable music, such as bebop . Many of the great swing bands broke up, as the times and tastes changed. Many bands from the swing era continued for decades after the death or departure of their founders and namesakes, and some are still active in the 21st century, often referred to as " ghost bands ", a term attributed to Woody Herman, referring to orchestras that persist in
22737-484: The withdrawal of the proposal. However, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106–65), which was enacted into law during October 1999, subsequently required the Secretary of Defense to transfer administrative jurisdiction of the 36 acres (15 ha) Navy Annex property to the Secretary of the Army. The Act required the Secretary of Defense to demolish the Annex's buildings and prepare
22896-546: The woodland notes that, while visiting Arlington House in 1825, Marquis de Lafayette , the French volunteer to the Continental Army who ultimately became one of George Washington 's long-standing friends, warned Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis , wife of George Washington Parke Custis , "Cherish these forest trees around your mansion. Recollect how much easier it is to cut a tree than to make one grow." The marker notes that
23055-562: Was already a veteran of bands like Gene Krupa and Tommy Dorsey in the 1940s. He was also a major exponent of modern jazz in the 1950s. He never saw Miller as leading a swinging jazz band, but DeFranco is extremely fond of certain aspects of the Glenn Miller style. "I found that when I opened with 'Moonlight Serenade', I could see men and women weeping as the music carried them back to years gone by." De Franco says, "the beauty of Glenn Miller's ballads ... caused people to dance together." At
23214-614: Was an evolutionary step beyond his civilian band. Broadcasting and recording from New York, the Miller unit broadcast I Sustain the Wings . This weekly series was first carried by CBS starting on June 5, 1943, and then by NBC from September 18, 1943, through June 10, 1944. Miller's unit was succeeded on the series by the AAFTC orchestra directed by M/Sgt. Harry Bluestone, when the Miller band deployed overseas. After Miller died in December 1944,
23373-441: Was attached to SHAEF in London, and was quartered at Milton Ernest near Bedford, England. When the band arrived in London, they were quartered in a BBC Radio office at 25 Sloane Court. Unfortunately, this was in the middle of "Buzz Bomb Alley", an area of sleepless nights because of the constant barrage of German flying V-1 bombs. Miller arranged for new quarters and transportation to move to Bedford on July 2, 1944. The next morning,
23532-418: Was completed. Custis initially intended the house to serve as a home and memorial to George Washington , his foster father, but Washington died on December 14, 1799. Custis' will granted a life inheritance of the house to his wife, allowing her to live at and run Arlington House for the rest of her life but prohibiting her from selling any portion of it. Following his wife's death, Arlington House, then known as
23691-509: Was dominated by steps such as the waltz and polka . As jazz migrated from its New Orleans origin to Chicago and New York City , energetic, suggestive dances traveled with it. During the next decades, ballrooms filled with people doing the jitterbug and Lindy Hop . The dance duo Vernon and Irene Castle popularized the foxtrot while accompanied by the Europe Society Orchestra led by James Reese Europe . One of
23850-515: Was educated in classical music, and he called his new band's music symphonic jazz. The methods of dance bands marked a step away from New Orleans jazz. With the exception of Jelly Roll Morton , who continued playing in the New Orleans style, bandleaders paid attention to the demand for dance music and created their own big bands. They incorporated elements of Broadway , Tin Pan Alley , ragtime , and vaudeville . Duke Ellington led his band at
24009-705: Was filmed by American Forces Network on July 29, 1944. General James H. Doolittle, Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force, showed his appreciation as he famously announced, "Captain Miller, next to a letter from home, your band is the greatest morale booster in the European Theater." This film is now in the care of the National Archives. (RG 342-USAF-49520 (film), NARA; Eighth Air Force, 520.071, A5835, AFHRA). During November 1944, Miller and Niven sought and received approval to move
24168-473: Was intended to implement conversion into burial space of the 17 acres (6.9 ha) of Fort Myer grounds and 10 acres (4.0 ha) of Section 29 woodland. The draft described seven alternatives. The preferred alternative (Alternative E) called for the removal of about one-half of the 1,700 trees with a diameter of 6 inches (15 cm) or greater on the site. About 640 of the trees were within a 135-year-old portion of Arlington Woods. The draft concluded, "Based on
24327-492: Was just emerging as a new song by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen . Miller told Tormé to pick up every song by Mercer and study it and to become a voracious reader of anything he could find, because "all good lyric writers are great readers." In an interview with George T. Simon in 1948, Sinatra lamented the inferior quality of music he was recording in the late '40s, in comparison with "those great Glenn Miller things" from eight years earlier. Frank Sinatra's recording sessions from
24486-405: Was less interested in obtaining the property than in receiving cash compensation for it. On March 3, 1883, Custis Lee sold it back to the U.S. government for $ 150,000 (equivalent to $ 4,161,818 in 2023) at a signing ceremony with then Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln . The land then became a U.S. military reservation. In 1900, the last remaining residents of the village departed after
24645-769: Was not recoverable, Miller was allowed to have a memorial headstone placed at the US Army-operated Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. In February 1945, he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal . The son of Mattie Lou (née Cavender) Miller and Lewis Elmer Miller, Alton Glen Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa . He added the second n to "Glenn" during high school. Like his father (Lewis Elmer) and his siblings (Elmer Deane, John Herbert and Emma Irene), Miller went by his middle name, Glenn. As Dennis Spragg of
24804-492: Was one of the editors of his own high school yearbook, "Memories". In each of the yearbooks he edited, his name was spelled both Glen with one n, and Glenn with a double n. During his senior year, he became so interested in dance band music that he formed a band with some classmates. The high school orchestra was an after school activity, but he played there too. For a time, classes in harmony, piano, violin, and music appreciation were full, but classes were discontinued. However, by
24963-429: Was pretty dejected and came to see me. He asked, "What do you do? How do you make it?" I said, "I don't know, Glenn. You just stay with it." Discouraged, Miller returned to New York. He realized that he needed to develop a unique sound and decided to make the clarinet play a melodic line with a tenor saxophone holding the same note, while three other saxophones harmonized within a single octave. George T. Simon discovered
25122-507: Was promoted to executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries upon the retirement of Kathryn Condon in spring 2014. In May 2014, Hallinan stepped down and was replaced by Jack E. Lechner, Jr. as superintendent of the cemetery. Lechner had been a funeral director for 10 years in the private sector before joining the U.S. Army. He rose to the rank of colonel, and retired in November 2011 after having spent 2008 to 2010 as chief of
25281-491: Was the most suitable property in the area. The property was located at a relatively high elevation and was typically free from floods capable of unearthing graves, and it was aesthetically pleasing. An additional factor in its selection was likely that it was the residence of Robert E. Lee, a leader in the Confederate States Army, and denying Lee use of his home during and following the war was advantageous to
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