Glenn Miller and His Orchestra discography | |
---|---|
Singles | 266 |
V-Discs | 24 |
EPs | 37 |
Soundtracks | 2 |
Box sets | 6 |
Between 1938 and 1944, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released 266 singles on the monaural ten-inch shellac 78 rpm format. Their studio output comprised a variety of musical styles inside of the Swing genre, including ballads, band chants, dance instrumentals, novelty tracks, songs adapted from motion pictures, and, as the Second World War approached, patriotic music.
Non-instrumental songs featured Miller's various vocalists, generally Ray Eberle or Marion Hutton before 1940, with Tex Beneke, vocal group The Modernaires, and Skip Nelson all making studio vocal appearances after the turn of the decade. Beginning with An Album of Outstanding Arrangements in 1945, this collection has been repackaged into various album formats over time with release on 78 rpm, 10 and 12 inch LP, 7 inch 45 rpm, compact cassette, 8-track, compact disc (CD), and digital formats.
Before his popularity, in the late 1920s, Miller played or wrote arrangements for many hot jazz groups, including a stint as a trombonist-arranger for Red Nichols’ famed Five Pennies recordings.
Chart is sorted by order of individual song debut date.
Year | Single | Peak chart position | Total weeks charted | Background |
---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. [1] [2] | ||||
1938 | "My Reverie" | 11 | 3 | Recorded September 27, 1938, with vocals by Ray Eberle, "My Reverie" was the first release by the reformed Glenn Miller Orchestra on Victor Bluebird. Larry Clinton released a popular version of it the same year with Bea Wain on vocals, writing lyrics to Claude DeBussy's Reverie. [3] According to George Simon, the original arrangement was to be an instrumental, but a producer at RCA Victor wanted Glenn Miller to play a solo trombone a'la Tommy Dorsey, with a Ray Eberle vocal. [4] The B side was "King Porter Stomp". |
1939 | "Moonlight Serenade" | 3 | 15 | Instrumental. Miller's theme song, and a favorite of the swing era. Composed by Miller himself, as "Now I Lay Me Down to Weep", out of a Joseph Schillinger exercise, it was number three for 1 week. |
"Sunrise Serenade" | 7 | 11 | Instrumental. Flip side of "Moonlight Serenade" and Frankie Carle's composition and theme song. | |
"Wishing (Will Make It So)" | 1 | 14 | Vocal by Ray Eberle, written by Buddy G. DeSylva, from the RKO movie Love Affair. Number one for four weeks. [5] | |
"The Lady's In Love With You" | 2 | 12 | Call and response vocal by Glenn Miller and Ray Eberle. Number two for 1 week. | |
"My Last Goodbye" | 13 | 2 | ||
"Runnin' Wild" | 12 | 1 | An instrumental, arranged by Bill Finegan and recorded by Miller in 1939. [6] It was also a standard that ended up twenty years later in the United Artists movie Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe, directed by Billy Wilder. [7] | |
"Stairway To The Stars" | 1 | 13 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Number one for 4 weeks. | |
"Little Brown Jug" | 10 | 7 | Instrumental. Traditional, although the songwriting credit is sometimes assigned to Joseph Eastburn Winner, [8] who published a version in 1869. [9] Arranged by Bill Finegan, it was recorded April 10, 1939. [10] The Glenn Miller Story takes dramatic license and gives the date of the arrangement as 1944, as a surprise for Helen Miller for a Christmas Day broadcast by the Army Air Force band from Europe. [11] | |
"Moon Love" | 1 | 16 | Vocal by Ray Eberle, Based on Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.5 in E Minor, Op.64. Number one for 4 weeks. | |
"Cinderella (Stay In My Arms)" | 16 | 2 | ||
"Back To Back" | 8 | 5 | Vocal by Marion Hutton. [12] | |
"Ain't Cha Comin' Out?" | 8 | 2 | ||
"Over The Rainbow" | 1 | 15 | Vocal by Ray Eberle, from the MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Number one for 7 weeks. | |
"Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" | 17 | 2 | Vocal by Marion Hutton, from the MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Flip side of "Over the Rainbow". | |
"The Little Man Who Wasn't There" | 7 | 11 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Halloween song. Flip side of "The Man With the Mandolin". | |
"The Man With The Mandolin" | 1 | 10 | Vocal by Marion Hutton. Number one for 3 weeks. | |
"Blue Orchids" | 1 | 12 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Number one for 1 week. | |
"My Isle Of Golden Dreams" | 15 | 1 | Instrumental. | |
"In The Mood" | 1 | 28 | Instrumental. Number one for 13 weeks. "In The Mood" had a long history, even before Glenn Miller recorded it. Composition was credited to Jerry Gray, but fragments of the song had been found in earlier recordings dating back to the early 1930s. [13] The 1939 Bluebird recording was also released as V-Disc 123B in February 1944. A version was also released as V-Disc 842B in May 1948 by Glenn Miller and Overseas Band by the U.S. War Department. | |
"Melancholy Lullaby" | 15 | 3 | ||
"My Prayer" | 3 | 7 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Number three for 1 week. | |
"Speaking Of Heaven" | 8 | 7 | ||
"(Why Couldn't It Last) Last Night" | 7 | 3 | ||
"Bluebirds In The Moonlight (Silly Idea)" | 9 | 2 | ||
1940 | "Vagabond Dreams" | 16 | 1 | |
"This Changing World" | 8 | 6 | ||
"Careless" | 2 | 11 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Number two for 9 weeks. | |
"Indian Summer" | 8 | 10 | ||
"Faithful Forever" | 5 | 3 | ||
"The Gaucho Serenade" | 7 | 2 | ||
"Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)" | 17 | 2 | Instrumental. An adaptation of Londonderry Air, "Danny Boy" was arranged by Glenn Miller and Chummy MacGregor. The Bluebird 78 single made Billboard's chart in 1940, staying for 2 weeks. | |
"Ooh! What You Said" | 13 | 6 | ||
"Tuxedo Junction" | 1 | 17 | Instrumental. Selling a reported 110,000 pressings the first week of its availability, "Tuxedo Junction" was number one for nine weeks on Billboard's Juke Box chart. Buddy Feyne added lyrics. Glenn Miller copyrighted his arrangement of the song on February 8, 1940. [14] | |
"In An Old Dutch Garden (By An Old Dutch Mill)" | 8 | 2 | ||
"It's A Blue World" | 14 | 4 | ||
"When You Wish Upon A Star" | 2 | 7 | ||
"Say "Si Si" (Para Vigo Me Voy)" | 14 | 4 | Vocal by Marion Hutton. | |
"Starlit Hour" | 10 | 1 | ||
"The Woodpecker Song" | 1 | 14 | Vocal by Marion Hutton, written by Eldo Di Lazzaro and Harold Adamson. Number one for 5 weeks. [16] | |
"The Sky Fell Down" | 16 | 2 | ||
"Boog It" | 7 | 5 | ||
"Alice Blue Gown" | 18 | 2 | ||
"I'm Stepping Out With A Memory Tonight" | 7 | 6 | ||
"Say It" | 7 | 4 | ||
"Imagination" | 2 | 8 | Vocal by Ray Eberle, Number two for 2 weeks. | |
"Slow Freight" | 9 | 3 | ||
"Hear My Song, Violetta" | 9 | 8 | ||
"Shake Down The Stars" | 10 | 1 | ||
"Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)" | 3 | 7 | Vocal by Ray Eberle, written by Johnny Mercer and Rube Bloom. | |
"Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand" | 5 | 6 | Featuring a band chant vocal, written by Jerry Gray and Carl Sigman, Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand reached number five on Billboard's charts on August 31, 1940; Retrospectively one of Miller's most popular and enduring songs. | |
"Devil May Care" | 16 | 2 | ||
"The Nearness Of You" | 5 | 8 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Written by Hoagy Carmicheal, lyrics by Ned Washington. "The Bluebird label recording was a moderate success, appearing on the pop charts at the end of June [1940]..." [17] | |
"Sierra Sue" | 17 | 1 | ||
"Blueberry Hill" | 2 | 14 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Number two for 4 weeks. Later became Fats Domino's most popular hit. | |
"I'll Never Smile Again" | 17 | 1 | ||
"When the Swallows Come Back To Capistrano" | 10 | 1 | ||
"Crosstown" | 9 | 1 | Vocal by Jack Lathrop. Written by James Cavanaugh, John Redmond, and Nat Simon, [18] "Crosstown" reached number nine on the Billboard Best Sellers chart on October 5, 1940. | |
"Our Love Affair" | 8 | 2 | ||
"The Call Of The Canyon" | 10 | 1 | ||
"Beat Me Daddy, Eight To A Bar" | 15 | 1 | Vocal by Vocal by Jack Lathrop. Written by Don Raye, Hughie Prince, and Ray McKinley, under his wife's maiden name Eleanore Sheehy; Ray McKinley would later lead the official tribute Glenn Miller Orchestra. | |
"A Handful Of Stars" | 10 | 2 | ||
"A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" | 2 | 6 | Vocal by Ray Eberle. Number two for 2 weeks. | |
1941 | "Anvil Chorus, Part One / Anvil Chorus, Part Two" | 3 | 10 | Instrumental. Arranged by Jerry Gray, adapted from the Giuseppe Verdi opera Il Trovatore. |
"Five O'Clock Whistle" | 6 | 2 | ||
"Along The Santa Fe Trail" | 7 | 4 | ||
"Frenesi" | 18 | 2 | Instrumental. | |
"Song Of The Volga Boatmen" | 1 | 8 | Instrumental. Based on a Russian folk song; Number one for 1 week on the Billboard Best Sellers chart in 1941. | |
"I Dreamt I Dwelt In Harlem" | 3 | 4 | Instrumental. Music written by Jerry Gray, Ben Smith and Leonard Ware, lyrics by Robert B. Wright, the pseudonym of Buddy Feyne, who also wrote the lyrics to "Tuxedo Junction". The single reached number three on the Billboard Best Sellers chart on April 5, 1941, staying five weeks total. | |
"Perfidia" | 13 | 4 | Vocal by Dorothy Claire and The Modernaires. [19] Written by Milton Leeds and Alberto Dominguez, Victor released two performances, one the Bluebird studio recording from February 19, 1941 and the other from June 3, 1941 at the Pacific Square Ballroom in San Diego, California, [20] with Paula Kelly replacing Dorothy Claire. | |
"Boulder Buff" | 19 | 2 | ||
"The Booglie Wooglie Piggy" | 7 | 5 | ||
"Adios" | 17 | 4 | Instrumental. | |
"You And I" | 4 | 6 | ||
"The Cowboy Serenade" | 17 | 2 | ||
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" | 1 | 23 | Vocal by Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly and the Modernaires. Number one for nine weeks. Recorded for the soundtrack of Sun Valley Serenade and then recorded on May 7, 1941 for Victor Bluebird in Hollywood, California. [21] The song also acts as a 39 second teaser in 1942's Orchestra Wives . [22] [23] Released as V-Disc 281A in October 1944 with Sgt. Ray McKinley and the Crew Chiefs on vocals with Glenn Miller and the AAFTC Orchestra. | |
"Elmer's Tune" | 1 | 15 | Vocal by Ray Eberle and the Modernaires, music written by Elmer Albrecht. Number one for 1 week. | |
"It Happened In Sun Valley" | 20 | 1 | Vocal in Sun Valley Serenade by The Modernaires, and Six Hits and a Miss. [24] [25] Also recorded separately by the band for Bluebird in New York City on August 11, 1941 and released as a Bluebird B-11263-A. [26] [27] The single reached number 18 on the Billboard chart in 1941, staying on for one week. | |
"I Know Why" | 19 | 1 | ||
"I'm Thrilled" | 20 | 1 | ||
"Jingle Bells" | 5 | 2 | Vocal by Tex Beneke, Ernie Caceres and the Modernaires. | |
1942 | "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover" | 6 | 7 | |
"A String Of Pearls" | 1 | 18 | ||
"Ev'rything I Love" | 7 | 4 | Vocal by Ray Eberle and Choir. | |
"This Is No Laughing Matter" | 17 | 1 | ||
"Moonlight Cocktail" | 1 | 10 | Vocal by Ray Eberle and The Modernaires, Number one for 10 weeks, it was written by James Kimball "Kim" Gannon and Charles Luckey Roberts. [34] | |
"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)" | 2 | 13 | Vocal by Marion Hutton, Tex Beneke and The Modernaires. Number two for 2 weeks. | |
"Skylark" | 7 | 11 | ||
"The Story Of A Starry Night" | 19 | 1 | ||
"Always In My Heart" | 10 | 1 | ||
"American Patrol" | 19 | 1 | Instrumental, composed in 1885 by F.W. Meacham. [35] First Glenn Miller hit after his Orchestra was upgraded to full-price Victor label. | |
"(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo" | 1 | 18 | Vocal by Tex Beneke, Marion Hutton and the Modernaires. Number one for 7 weeks. The biggest hit from Orchestra Wives , [36] it was recorded at RCA Victor's studios in Hollywood, [37] pressed as Victor 27934-A, and was number one for 7 weeks on the Billboard Best Sellers chart in 1942. [38] | |
"Sweet Eloise" | 14 | 8 | Vocal by Ray Eberle and the Modernaires. Recorded April 2, 1942. Written by Mack David, bandleader Russ Morgan, and arranged by Jerry Gray. [39] | |
"Serenade in Blue" | 2 | 15 | Vocal by Ray Eberle and the Modernaires. Number two for 1 week. Featured in Orchestra Wives with Pat Friday ghost singing. [30] | |
"At Last" | 14 | 8 | Envisioned as a major song for Sun Valley Serenade with an arrangement by Jerry Gray and Bill Finegan, "At Last" was sung off-screen by Pat Friday [30] with actor John Payne. However, the song was mostly deleted from the release print; The audio portion survives and has been issued many times. [40] Reintroduced in an alternative arrangement the next year, with dual vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday, [30] its musical motif was played throughout the movie during dramatic and romantic scenes. Eberle sang it solo for the Victor 78. [41] Glenn Miller was the first to record "At Last", reaching fourteen on the Billboard in 1942 and his recording became the first in a long history of popular versions. "At Last" subsequently became a standard covered by Nat King Cole [42] and Etta James [43] in the 1950s and 1960s, the Etta James version reaching number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the R&B chart in 1961, Ray Anthony, who reached number two on Billboard with a remake in 1952, Lou Rawls, Celine Dion, Diana Krall, Eva Cassidy, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Bing Crosby, Aretha Franklin, the Oak Ridge Boys, Cyndi Lauper, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Michael Bolton, Dianne Reeves, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, and Beyoncé in 2008. By the 2000s, Etta James' version seemed to have eclipsed Miller's. Miller's version, however, appeared in Till There Was You (1997). Beyoncé also sang it at one of the Inaugural Balls for President Barack Obama in 2009. [44] | |
"Juke Box Saturday Night" | 7 | 8 | ||
"Moonlight Becomes You" | 5 | 8 | Vocal by Skip Nelson and the Modernaires. | |
"Dearly Beloved" | 5 | 4 | Vocal by Skip Nelson. | |
1943 | "Moonlight Mood" | 16 | 2 | Vocal by Skip Nelson and the Modernaires. |
"That Old Black Magic" | 1 | 14 | Vocal by Skip Nelson and the Modernaires, number one for 1 week. Written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, it was the last Glenn Miller number one hit. | |
"Rhapsody In Blue" | 15 | 6 | ||
"Blue Rain" (re-issue) | 9 | 3 | Reissue B-side "Caribbean Clipper" written by arranger Jerry Gray. | |
1944 | "It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)" | 12 | 8 | |
"Sunrise Serenade" (re-issue) | 18 | 1 | ||
"A String of Pearls" (re-issue) | 18 | 1 | ||
"Here We Go Again" | 20 | 1 | ||
1948 | "Adios" (re-issue) | 20 | 1 | |
Harry Warren and Mack Gordon songs for Sun Valley Serenade and Orchestra Wives :Harry Warren and Mack Gordon were songwriters under contract with Twentieth Century Fox from 1940 to 1943. [57] During that time period they composed the songs for Miller's movies for Fox.
Radio format:
In sharing air time with the Andrews Sisters for the early Chesterfield Shows, the Miller band had nine minutes to present its music. Miller instituted medleys of Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue into the band's broadcasts to enable it to play as much as possible. [63] This medley tradition continued into both later programs and the I Sustain The Wings radio broadcasts of the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra (March 20, 1943 to January 15, 1946).
Sample Glenn Miller medley, June 19, 1940, Cincinnati, Ohio, Chesterfield show with a Jerry Gray arrangement of all tracks:
Old – "The Touch of Your Hand" (Generally an older song)
New – "Basket Weaver Man" (A way to introduce a new song, written by Joe McCarthy and Walter Donaldson)
Borrowed – "The Waltz You Saved For Me" (Themes or songs made famous by other bands/bandleaders; Borrowed from bandleader Wayne King, written by King, Gus Kahn and Emil Flindt)
Blue – "Blue Danube" ("Blue" in title, written by Johann Strauss Jr., 1867) [64]
The first authenticated recordings made by Glenn Miller were in 1926. In the fall of 1926, Earl Baker, a cornetist, made recordings on cylinders using the Edison Standard Phonograph recording device, making the first recordings of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Fud Livingston. Miller and Goodman were both in the Ben Pollack and his Californians band at that time. The Ben Pollack band was in Chicago, Illinois, to make studio recordings for Victor. The Baker cylinders are available on the album "The Legendary Earl Baker Cylinders", released by the Jazz Archives record label as JA43 in 1979. The songs performed included "Sleepy Time Gal", "Sister Kate", "After I Say I'm Sorry", and "Sobbin' Blues". [65]
Year | Single | Group | Role | Peak chart position | Totalweeks charted | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sideman | Arranger | Leader | US [1] | ||||
1928 | "Sweet Sue – Just You" | Ben Pollack and His Californians | 3 | 7 | |||
1929 | "Sally Of My Dreams" | Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra | 17 | 2 | |||
"Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)" | Bing Crosby (with Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra) | 9 | 4 | ||||
"Yellow Dog Blues" | Ben's Bad Boys | 20 | 1 | ||||
"Indiana" | Red Nichols and His Five Pennies | 19 | 1 | ||||
1930 | "Strike Up the Band" | Red Nichols and His"Strike Up The Band" Orchestra | 7 | 7 | |||
"I Want to Be Happy" | Red Nichols and His Five Pennies | 19 | 1 | ||||
"China Boy" | 18 | 1 | |||||
"Embraceable You" | 3 | 9 | |||||
"It Had to Be You" | 19 | 1 | |||||
"I Got Rhythm" | 5 | 8 | |||||
"Fine and Dandy" | The Travelers | 18 | 1 | ||||
1931 | "He's Not Worth Your Tears" | Benny Goodman and His Orchestra | 20 | 1 | |||
"Blue Again" | Red Nichols and His Five Pennies | 10 | 6 | ||||
"Walkin' My Baby Back Home" | The Charleston Chasers | 15 | 4 | ||||
"Corrine Corrina" | Red Nichols and His Five Pennies | 18 | 1 | ||||
"Basin Street Blues" | The Charleston Chasers | 14 | 5 | ||||
"Say A Little Prayer For Me" | Smith Ballew and His Orchestra | 15 | 2 | ||||
"You Rascal You" | Red Nichols and His Five Pennies | 17 | 1 | ||||
"Little Girl" | Joe Venuti and His Orchestra | 4 | 6 | ||||
"Fan It" | Red Nichols and His Five Pennies | 20 | 1 | ||||
"What Is It?" | Smith Ballew and His Orchestra | 17 | 2 | ||||
"Time on My Hands (You In My Arms)" | 6 | 6 | |||||
"You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)" | 12 | 4 | |||||
"Ooh That Kiss" | Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra | 18 | 1 | ||||
1932 | "Was That the Human Thing to Do?" | The Boswell Sisters ( w/ Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra) | 7 | 4 | |||
1934 | "You Oughta Be in Pictures(My Star Of Stars)" | 17 | 1 | ||||
"Lost In A Fog" | Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra | 15 | 2 | ||||
"I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" | 20 | 1 | |||||
"What A Diff'rence A Day Made" | 5 | 7 | |||||
"You're The Top" | 17 | 2 | |||||
"It's Dark On Observatory Hill" | 16 | 3 | |||||
"If It's Love" | 18 | 1 | |||||
1935 | "Clouds" | Ray Noble and His Orchestra | 5 | 9 | |||
"It's Bad For Me" | 15 | 2 | |||||
"Flowers for Madame" | 11 | 9 | |||||
"Lullaby of Broadway" | Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra | ① | 11 | ||||
"Paris in Spring" | Ray Noble and His Orchestra | ① | 11 | ||||
"Let's Swing It" | ① | 7 | |||||
"Solo Hop" | Glenn Miller and His Orchestra(Studio group) | 7 | 5 | ||||
"Chinatown, My Chinatown" | Ray Noble and His Orchestra | 14 | 2 | ||||
"Top Hat" | 4 | 6 | |||||
"Double Trouble" | 12 | 10 | |||||
"Mad About The Boy" | 19 | 1 | |||||
"The Piccolino" | 14 | 2 | |||||
"Where Am I (Am I In Heaven?)" | 16 | 4 | |||||
1936 | "Dinner For One Please, James" | 7 | 10 | ||||
"I Built A Dream One Day" | 19 | 1 | |||||
"A Beautiful Lady In Blue" | 13 | 3 | |||||
"It's Great To Be In Love" | 20 | 1 | |||||
"The Touch of Your Lips" | 12 | 4 | |||||
"When I'm With You" | 15 | 4 | |||||
"But Definitely" | 20 | 1 | |||||
"Thru' The Courtesy of Love" | Ben Pollack and His Orchestra | 19 | 1 | ||||
"I've Got You Under My Skin" | Ray Noble and His Orchestra | 3 | 13 | ||||
"Easy To Love" | 7 | 9 | |||||
1937 | "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" | 3 | 9 | ||||
1938 | "Every Day's A Holiday" | Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (Brunswick Records predecessor band) | 17 | 1 | |||
Navy V-Discs featured different color schemes than standard V-Discs.
Year released | V-Disc type | No. | Songs | Group | Background |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1943 | V-Disc | 12 | "At Last" / "Moonlight Mood" | Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | |
39 | "Moonlight Serenade" / "My Melancholy Baby" | ||||
65 | Spoken Introduction "Stardust" / "St. Louis Blues March" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra | "Stardust": The civilian band's arrangement by Glenn Miller and Bill Finegan was recorded in 1940 for Bluebird. [49] The Army Air Force band uses a completely different arrangement making use of its string section and includes a French horn solo. A version was released as V-Disc 65A in December, 1943 with a spoken message by Glenn Miller: "This is Captain Glenn Miller speaking for the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra and we hope that you soldiers of the Allied forces enjoy these V-Discs that we're making just for you."
| ||
1944 | V-Disc | 91 | "Stormy Weather" / "Buckle Down, Winsocki", "El Capitan" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra | "Stormy Weather": Released as V-Disc 91A in January 1944 as a "Sweet" side by Captain Glenn Miller and the AAFTC Orchestra. "El Capitan": Released as the flip side, by the 418th AAFTC Band Under the Direction of Captain Glenn Miller as a "March" side; composed by John Philip Sousa and originally recorded by his band in 1895. |
V-Disc | 123 | "Going Home", "Honeysuckle Rose", I Sustain the Wings (uncredited)→ "My Blue Heaven" / "In the Mood" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | "Going Home": Written by Antonín Dvořák, arranged by Harry Katzman, and broadcast on June 2, 1944 on the I Sustain the Wings radio program. [67] "I Sustain the Wings": The 1943 NBC radio program theme was co-written by Glenn Miller and was used to introduce some V-Discs. Released as V-Disc 123A in February 1944 as an "Orchestral" side by Capt. Glenn Miller and the AAFTC Orchestra. | |
V-Disc | 144 | "The Squadron Song", "Tail End Charlie" / "Don't Be That Way", "Blue Champagne" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra | "Tail End Charlie": Written by Bill Finegan. Released as V-Disc 144A in March 1944 as a "Swing" side by Captain Glenn Miller and the AAFTC Orchestra. | |
V-Disc | 183 | "Embraceable You", "G.I. Jive" / "Sophisticated Lady", "Azure" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Duke Ellington and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 21 January 1944. V-Disc released May, 1944. | |
V-Disc | 201 | "Moon Dreams" / "Sleepy Town Train" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | "Moon Dreams": Vocal by Johnny Desmond and the Crew Chiefs, was recorded with the Glenn Miller AAF Band and released as V-Disc 201A in October, 1944 and Navy V-Disc 114B. The music was written by Chummy MacGregor and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. [68] [69] Gil Evans was also a main arranger for the Claude Thornhill orchestra in the forties, which was financed by Miller. [70] As such, Glenn Miller had a very slight relationship with modern jazz, tangential nonetheless. Incidentally, Miles Davis did not like Thornhill's interpretations of some bebop songs that Evans arranged, like "Donna Lee", calling them "mannered". Despite this, Evans and Davis were best friends and collaborators for the rest of their lives. The Miles Davis Nonet recorded a live performance of "Moon Dreams" in 1948 in New York. Martha Tilton also recorded a version in 1942. [71] Jazz historian Richard Jessen has also proposed that Miller's recording of "Wham" from August 1, 1939, predates the same phrasing used in famed bebop track "Salt Peanuts" by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in 1944. [72]
| |
V-Disc | 223 | "Everybody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don't Love Me)", "Stompin' at the Savoy" / "Stealin' Apples" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 21 January and 20 May 1944. V-Disc released July, 1944. | |
Navy V-Disc | 3 | ||||
V-Disc | 242 | "A Fellow On A Furlough", "Guns In The Sky" / "Poinciana" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra | Recorded 20 May 1944. V-Disc released August, 1944. | |
Navy V-Disc | 22 | ||||
V-Disc | 281 | "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "Sun Valley Jump" / "It Had to Be You", "Special Delivery Stomp" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Artie Shaw and His Gramercy Five | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 3 June 1944. V-Disc released October, 1944. | |
Navy V-Disc | 61 | ||||
V-Disc | 302 | "These Foolish Things Remind Me of You", "Hallelujah" / "In the Gloaming", "Deep Purple" | Benny Goodman and His V-Disc All-Star Band // and His V-Disc Quartette / Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 20 May 1944. V-Disc released November, 1944. | |
Navy V-Disc | 82 | ||||
V-Disc | 334 | "My Buddy", "Farewell Blues" / "Theme", "Lover" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / David Rose and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 10 June 1944. "Farewell Blues": written by Elmer Schoebel, Paul Mares, and Leon Roppolo of The New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922. Released as Bluebird 10495-B in 1939 and V-Disc 334A issued December, 1944. | |
1945 | V-Disc | 352 | "(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings", "Singin' in the Rain" / "Missouri Waltz", "Alice Blue Gown" | Guy Lombardo and His Orchestra / Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded by civilian band in 1940 for Victor Bluebird. V-Disc released January, 1945. |
V-Disc | 381 | "I've Got A Heart Filled With Love For You Dear" / "Sleigh Ride in July", "I Can't Tell Why I Love You But I Do" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Dinah Shore | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 13 May 1944. V-Disc released March, 1945. | |
V-Disc | 421 | "Holiday for Strings" / "Sleepy Lagoon", "Hora Staccato" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Paul Baron and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 3 June 1944. V-Disc released July, 1945. | |
V-Disc | 466 | "Bye Bye Blues", "Wang Wang Blues" / "Too Marvelous for Words" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Harry James and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 13 May and 3 June 1944. V-Disc released July, 1945. | |
Navy V-Disc | 246 | ||||
V-Disc | 482 | "I Can't Give You Anything But Love Baby", "Little Brown Jug" / "I Can't Get Started", "Keep the Home Fires Burning" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 13 and 27 May 1944. V-Disc released August, 1945. | |
V-Disc | 504 | "The Army Air Corps Song", "I Hear You Screaming" / "A Kiss Goodnight", "Northwest Passage" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Woody Herman and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 13 May and 3 June 1944. V-Disc released September, 1945. | |
Navy V-Disc | 264 | ||||
V-Disc | 522 | "St. Louis Blues" / "Dinah" | Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Sam Donahue And The Navy Dance Band | "St. Louis Blues March" recorded 29 October 1943. Reissue of B-side of V-Disc 65, 522 was released October, 1945. | |
V-Disc | 533 | "Songs My Mother Taught Me" / "Peggy, The Pin Up Girl", "My Melancholy Baby" | Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra / Sam Donahue And The Navy Dance Band | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 29 April and 6 May 1944. V-Disc released November, 1945. | |
1946 | V-Disc | 587 | "Why Dream", "Passage Interdit" / "Beale Street Blues" | Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces Overseas Orchestra / Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra | Glenn Miller tracks recorded 27 October and 10 November 1945. V-Disc released February, 1946. |
V-Disc | 601 | "Symphony"/ "I Got Rhythm" | Major Glenn Miller's AAF Overseas Orchestra / The Benny Goodman Sextet | Glenn Miller track recorded 27 October 1945. V-Disc released March, 1946. | |
1948 | V-Disc | 842 | "Indian Love Call", "Ramblin' Rose" / "In the Mood", "University Of Minnesota March" | Tony Pastor with All-Star Band / Glenn Miller and Overseas Band, Bert Hirsch and V-Disc Band | Glenn Miller track recorded 17 November 1945. V-Disc released May, 1948. |
Other popular tracks, not recorded for or unreleased as V-Discs were:
Songs that were in the civilian band and Army Air Force band libraries include: [74]
Songs that were prepared for but went unreleased on V-Disc include:
A disc released in 2010 is called "The Final - His Last Recordings" [86] and collects Miller's last known recorded performances (November, 1944) plus bonus spoken bits for the radio program "Music for the Wehrmacht", starring Major Miller with German speaker Ilse Weinberger. The album also contains a September 1944 interview and - as final track - the BBC radio announcement of Miller's disappearance.
Year | Album | Original release format(s) | Peak chart position | Total weeks charted | Sales certifications |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1943 | Red Nichols Jazz Classics, Vol. One (Five Pennies compilation) | 78 rpm shellac | – | – | – |
Chicago Jazz Classics (Benny Goodman's Boys compilation) | |||||
1944 | Up Swing | 4 | 3 | – | |
1945 | Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | ①16 | 130 | RIAA: Gold | |
1947 | Glenn Miller Masterpieces, Volume II | ①6 | 32 | – | |
1949 | Starlight Serenades | 5 | 10 | ||
1951 | Glenn Miller Concert, Vol. One | 33⅓ rpm vinyl 45 rpm vinyl | 2 | 27 | |
Glenn Miller Concert, Vol. Two | 6 | 8 | |||
Glenn Miller Concert, Vol. Three | – | – | – | ||
This Is Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | |||||
This Is Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, Vol. Two | |||||
1953 | Limited Edition | 3 | 3 | – | |
Glenn Miller Plays Selections From the Film "The Glenn Miller Story" | ①11 | 78 | RIAA: Gold | ||
1954 | Juke Box Saturday Night | – | – | – | |
Sun Valley Serenade | |||||
Orchestra Wives | |||||
Limited Edition, Vol. Two | 4 | 16 | – | ||
Sunrise Serenade | – | – | – | ||
1955 | Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band | ||||
1956 | Second Pressing (Repressing of Limited Edition) | ||||
The Sound of Glenn Miller | |||||
This Is Glenn Miller and His Orchestra (Expanded version of 1951 LP) | |||||
Glenn Miller Plays Selections From the Film "The Glenn Miller Story" And Other Hits (Expanded version of 1954 LP) | |||||
Glenn Miller Concert (Combination of Volume One and Three of earlier "Concert" series) | 33⅓ rpm vinyl | ||||
1957 | Marvelous Miller Moods (Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band) | 16 | 6 | – | |
1958 | Marvelous Miller Medleys | – | – | – | |
The Glenn Miller Carnegie Hall Concert | 19 | 3 | – | ||
Original Film Soundtracks | – | – | – | ||
1959 | For the Very First Time | ||||
1960 | Yesterday – The Authentic Sound of Glenn Miller | ||||
1963 | On the Air – Volume One | 33⅓ rpm vinyl compact cassette | |||
On the Air – Volume Two | |||||
On the Air – Volume Three | |||||
The Great Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | 33⅓ rpm vinyl compact cassette 8-track cartridge | ||||
1964 | The Original Recordings By Glenn Miller and His Orchestra | ||||
1966 | The Best of Glenn Miller, Volume Two | ||||
Blue Moonlight | |||||
1967 | The Nearness of You | ||||
The Chesterfield Broadcasts, Volume 1 | |||||
1968 | The Chesterfield Broadcasts, Volume 2 | ||||
The One and Only Glenn Miller | |||||
The Unforgettable Glenn Miller | – | – | RIAA: Platinum | ||
1969 | The Best of Glenn Miller, Vol. III | – | – | – | |
1970 | A Memorial: 1944-1969 | – | – | RIAA: Gold | |
1972 | Sunrise Serenade | – | – | – | |
The Original Big Band Hits, Vol. 1 | |||||
The Original Big Band Hits, Vol. 2 | |||||
1973 | String of Pearls | ||||
1974 | A Legendary Performer | 115 | 9 | – | |
Golden Hour of Glenn Miller | – | – | BPI: Silver | ||
His Original Recordings of Greatest Hits | BVMI: Gold | ||||
1975 | Pure Gold | RIAA: Gold | |||
1975-80 | The Complete Glenn Miller (LP releases) | – | – | – | |
1976 | Collection | – | – | BPI: Gold | |
1977 | The Unforgettable Glenn Miller | – | – | – | |
1989 | The Popular Recordings (1938-1942) | compact cassette compact disc | |||
1991 | The Complete Glenn Miller (13x CD set) | ||||
1993 | The Ultimate Glenn Miller | ||||
The Essential Glenn Miller | compact disc digital | – | – | – | |
1996 | Greatest Hits (RCA Victor imprint) | compact cassette compact disc | |||
1996 | The Lost Recordings | – | – | BMG Music; BPI: Gold | |
1996 | Secret Broadcasts (RCA Victor) | compact disc | |||
1999 | Candlelight Miller | compact disc | |||
The Fabulous Glenn Miller | |||||
2003 | Platinum Glenn Miller | compact disc digital | |||
2004 | Centennial Collection | ||||
2005 | The Essential Glenn Miller (Reissue) | ||||
2008 | The Best of Glenn Miller 1938–1942(RCA Original Masters series) |
Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller 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, the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra, was also popular and successful.
"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 & His Orchestra in 1938.
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song that was written by Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade. It was the first song to receive a gold record, presented by RCA Victor in 1942, for sales of 1.2 million copies.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band that was formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, 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. As of 2024, Ray Anthony is the last surviving member of the orchestra.
Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gormé, Henry Mancini and Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Glenn Miller Orchestra made of their popular song "In The Mood" and sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Jazz critic Will Friedwald considers Beneke to be one of the major blues singers who sang with the big bands of the early 1940s.
John Chalmers MacGregor, better known as Chummy MacGregor, a musician and composer, was the pianist in The Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1936 to 1942. He composed the songs "Moon Dreams", "It Must Be Jelly ", "I Sustain the Wings", "Doin' the Jive", "Sold American", "Cutesie Pie" in 1932 with Bing Crosby and Red Standex, and "Slumber Song".
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 American musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by the Nicholas Brothers. It also features Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996, and was awarded the first Gold Record for sales of 1.2 million. Studio 20th Century Fox re-released the film in 1946 and in 1954 to tie-in with the biopic The Glenn Miller Story.
"Moonlight Serenade" is an American swing ballad composed by Glenn Miller with subsequent lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was an immediate phenomenon when released in May 1939 as an instrumental arrangement, though it had been adopted and performed as Miller's signature tune as early as 1938, even before it had been given the name "Moonlight Serenade". In 1991, Miller's recording of "Moonlight Serenade" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
"Sunrise Serenade" is a jazz song written by Frankie Carle with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. It was first recorded in 1939 by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra with Carle on piano as Decca 2321. It soon became Carle's signature piece. Glenn Miller released a famous recording of it a few months later, arranged by Bill Finnegan, with "Moonlight Serenade" on the backside.
"Moonlight Cocktail" is a 1941 big band song recorded by Glenn Miller during World War II. The music was composed by Luckey Roberts and the lyrics by Kim Gannon.
"Doin' the Jive" is a 1938 song composed by Glenn Miller and pianist Chummy MacGregor. The song was released as a 78 single by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on Brunswick.
"I'm Headin' For California" is a 1944 song composed by Glenn Miller and Arthur Malvin and performed for radio broadcast. The song was released in 1946 as a 78 single by the Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke. The song was Glenn's last composition.
Community Swing is a swing jazz instrumental composed and recorded by Glenn Miller and released as a Brunswick 78 single in 1937 by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.
"7-0-5" or "Seven-O-Five" or "705" is an instrumental composed by Glenn Miller in 1943. The instrumental was performed by the Army Air Force Orchestra under the leadership of Capt. Glenn Miller in 1943-1944 and in 1945 under Sgt. Jerry Gray.
"I Sustain the Wings" is a 1943 big band and jazz instrumental co-written by Glenn Miller. The instrumental was the theme for the eponymous radio program broadcast on CBS and NBC from 1943 to 1945.
"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem" is a 1941 jazz and pop song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was released as a 78 single on RCA Bluebird by Glenn Miller.
"It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)" is a 1942 jazz and pop song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was released as an RCA 78 single by Glenn Miller in 1944. Woody Herman also released the song as a single and as a V-Disc.
"Here We Go Again" is a swing jazz instrumental recorded by Glenn Miller. The song was released as a 78 single. It was Glenn Miller's last Top 40 hit during his lifetime, peaking at #25.
"I Know Why " is a 1941 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song appeared in the 20th Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade. The song was also released as an RCA Bluebird 78 single.
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