A Tribute to Glenn Miller

A Tribute to Glenn Miller includes four of the most popular hits by the Glenn Miller orchestra. The arrangement was written by Henry Gass (see below) in 1954.

Glenn Miller and His Orchestra were an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody (the so-called “Miller Sound”), and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and commercially successful dance orchestra of the swing era and one of the greatest singles charting acts of the 20th century.

Glenn Miller (1904 – 1944) began professionally recording in New York City as a sideman in the hot jazz era of the late 1920s. With the arrival of virtuoso trombonists Jack Teagarden and Tommy Dorsey, Miller focused more on developing his arranging skills. Writing for contemporaries and future stars such as Artie Shaw, and Benny Goodman, Miller gained prowess as an arranger by working in a variety of settings.

In February 1937, Miller started an orchestra that briefly made records for Decca. With this group, Miller used an arrangement he wrote for British bandleader Ray Noble's American band in an attempt to form a clarinet-reed sound. This style developed over time, and eventually became known as the Glenn Miller sound. Frustrated with his agency over playing inconsistent bookings and lacking broad radio exposure, Miller gave the band notice in December 1937. Less than three months later, he was looking for members and forming a new band.

Miller began a partnership with Eli Oberstein, which led directly to a contract with Victor subsidiary Bluebird Records. Gaining notoriety at such engagements as the Paradise Restaurant and Frank Dailey–owned Meadowbrook and their corresponding nationwide broadcasts, Miller’s new swing band developed enormous popularity playing the Glen Island Casino in the summer of 1939. The casino's radio broadcast antenna ensured the Miller band was heard around the country. By late August, the end of their summer season, they had nationwide attention. From late 1939 to mid-1942, Miller’s was the number-one band in the country, with few true rivals. Only Harry James’ band began to equal Miller's in popularity as he wound down his career with the advent of the Second World War. A musicians’ union strike prevented Miller from making any new recordings in the last two months of his band’s existence, and they formally disbanded at the end of September 1942. Though Miller formed the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra during the war in Europe, his death in a flight over the English Channel in December 1944 prevented the return of the orchestra after the war. Various re-incarnations of the orchestra have formed and are still performing.

Miller's short-term chart successes have seldom been duplicated and his group's unprecedented dominance of early Your Hit Parade and Billboard singles charts resulted in 16 number-one singles and 69 Top Ten hits.

“Tuxedo Junction”, the first song in our medley, was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, becoming a No. 1 hit in 1940. The music was written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash. Erskine explained that the Junction was a whistle stop on the “Chitlin’ Circuit”, a collection of performance venues found throughout the eastern, southern, and upper midwest which provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers when they were prohibited from many venues.

The second song in the medley, “Jersey Bounce” was written by Tiny Bradshaw, Eddie Johnson, and Bobby Plater with lyrics by Buddy Feyne who used the pseudonym Robert B. Wright. It hit No. 1 for four weeks in 1942 as an instrumental recorded by Benny Goodman and his orchestra. It also charted that same year by Jimmy Dorsey (No. 9) and Shep Fields (No. 15). Versions of “Jersey Bounce” were performed by Jimmy Dorsey, Shep Fields, Glenn Miller, Harry James, Red Norvo, Jan Savitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Mae Morse, and The King Sisters.

The next song in the medley, “American Patrol”, originated as a popular march written by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham in 1885. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded a swing version of the song on April 2, 1942, while his band was in Hollywood filming the 20th Century-Fox musical film Orchestra Wives in a big band arrangement by Jerry Gray. The song was released as a Victor 78 single, backed with “Soldier, Let Me Read Your Letter”. The record reached no. 15 on Billboard in 1942.

The last song in the medley, “Little Brown Jug” was song written in 1869 by Joseph Eastburn Winner. It was originally a drinking song. It remained well known as a folk song into the early 20th century. Like many songs which make reference to alcohol, it enjoyed new popularity during the Prohibition era. In 1939, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released a swing version of the song on RCA Bluebird, as the A side of a 78 single in a new arrangement by Bill Finegan, backed with “Pavanne”. The recording was an early chart hit for Glenn Miller. The song was performed in Glenn Miller's Carnegie Hall concert that year and became a staple of the Glenn Miller Orchestra repertoire, and a classic of the Big Band era.

Arranger Henry Gass (1929 – 2014) studied music at Ithaca College, after which he enlisted in the Air Force, where he became the chief arranger for the Air Force radio programs “Serenade in Blue” and “Time for Defense”.

Henry studied and taught music for the next several years before embarking on a successful tax law practice. During this time, he also worked extensively as an arranger and conductor with the Reading Philharmonic Orchestra, the Reading Symphony and Pops, and the Philadelphia Senior Orchestra, working with notable musicians including Gerry Mulligan and Mark O'Connor.

In addition to his legal and musical careers, he and his family spent many summers on their farm in northern Berks County, Pennsylvania, raising beef cattle. After retirement, Henry continued his music teaching career for several more years, teaching adult education Jazz History classes at the Academy in Wilmington, Delaware.

The music for A Tribute to Glenn Miller was provided for the band by Jubilee Naturals of Sumner and Enumclaw (previously), recognizing musicians for promoting good health.