The Orchestra's euphonious brand of bigband swing dominated the airwaves, and for its founder decades more of media celebrity seemed to beckon.
Then Pearl Harbor happened. The Japanese bombing of an American naval base in Hawaii in December 1941 drew the US into the war, prompting Miller to offer his services to the military effort. Initially rejected by the Navy, by September 1942 he had persuaded the Army to offer him a commission. He would, he promised, 'put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men and a little more joy in their hearts'.
And that he did, with the same irrepressible energy that had made the original Glenn Miller Orchestra so successful. Within months of enlisting with the Army Air Forces (AAF), Miller had formed a band which broadcast weekly concerts from New York. The ensemble was subsequently sent to Europe to play for the troops. 'Next to a letter from home, Captain Miller,' commented General James Doolittle, his commander, 'your organisation is the greatest morale builder in the European Theater of Operations.'
But a fateful turn to Miller's life was looming. In June 1944 he was sent to London, tasked with providing broadcast entertainment to the D-Day forces in their onward push to reclaim territory in Europe. Miller, as ever, approached his new assignment with gusto, and five months later received approval to billet his AAF musicians closer to the action in liberated Paris.
This story is from the December 2023 edition of BBC Music Magazine.
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This story is from the December 2023 edition of BBC Music Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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