Glenn Miller and his big band were at the height of their fame when World War Two began. Two years after volunteering to serve in the Army Air Force, a plane the trombonist was traveling in disappeared over the English Channel. Despite the fact that its namesake was lost at sea, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is still touring the country today. SDPB’s Jim Kent caught up with the orchestra’s current leader and a number of long-time fans at the Homestake Opera House in Lead to explore what makes this decades-old music still put folks “In The Mood”.
The house is packed as I step backstage at the Homestake Opera House and make my way down a narrow flight of stairs to meet Nick Hilscher. The current music director of one of the Swing Era’s most successful bands also serves as its male vocalist.
“The band was so popular that after the war, even though Glenn went missing in action on December 15, 1944, the band continued on as the Glenn Miller Orchestra,” explains Hilscher. “Actually, it was formed in 1946 under the direction of one of Glenn’s tenor saxophonists and singers, Tex Beneke.”
Tex Beneke led the Glenn Miller Orchestra til the early 1950s when its popularity waned. But the 1954 film “The Glenn Miller Story”…starring Jimmy Stewart…sparked interest in Miller’s music once again. The band was re-formed in 1956, says Nick Hilscher, and has been going strong ever since.
But the audience, says Nick Hilscher, is changing.
“When I first started with the band…this was in the late 90s…1998…I was 21 years old,” Hilscher recalls. “Most of our audience members of course were The Greatest Generation. It has changed as time goes on. Most of our audience members now…on average…are Baby Boomers. And a lot of them are coming out of honor of their parents…respect for their parents. I meet a lot of them at the end of shows and they’ll say to me… ‘We came in remembrance of our parents and now you’ve made us fans.”
Notwithstanding the number of Baby Boomers who may now attend the Orchestra’s performances, we’re going to spend time in a quiet corner of the Opera House with 4 members of The Greatest Generation before tonight’s show starts.
Women from The Greatest Generation -
“Jenny Hayes…and I grew up in this area.”
"Dolly Rizzi. I…too…grew up in this area…was a great fan of Glenn Miller. I’m 83 also.”
“I’m Maxine Morcum and I’m 89. And I listened to Glenn Miller on the radio. You know…before World War Two.”
“I’m Evelyn Murdy and I grew up in Lead and we went down to the air base and danced to Glenn Miller and Vaughan Monroe. I’m 88…almost 89.”
“When I was in high school, Lead had a nice pavilion…a dance pavilion,” recalls Jenny. “Spearfish had a nice dance pavilion. And those orchestras played a lot of the Glenn Miller type sound. And that was special then and it’s still special to me.”
“I loved his sound,” declares Dolly. “Plus the fact of growing up with it…my husband was in a dance band for 16 years and he LOVED Glenn Miller and his music so…so did I. Moonlight Serenade…you can’t be that one. Oh, I think of the wonderful times and the wonderful friends that used to be here and that used to enjoy dancing too.”
“We always went to the St. Onge dances and if the 3 Whitewood boys came…boy…that was great,” comments Maxine.
“Who were the 3 Whitewood boys?” asks Kent.
“Well, there was Bub and there was…Jack and…I can’t remember the third one,” Maxine replies with a laugh. “But…anyhow…they were great dancers.”
“Oh…so it was strictly for the dancing that it was great?” observes Kent.
“Oh...yeah…yeah,” Maxine responds.
”Well…it was on the radio…of course,” she continues. “And if a friend came over we danced on the linoleum. I grew up on a ranch. We had no electricity. So…the radio ran on a battery. So…you better hope the battery held up while the music was playing.
“Did it ever stop midway through Pennsylvania 6-5-0-0-0?” Kent asks.
“Okay,” replies Maxine, with a laugh. “Ah…no I don’t think so.”
“More important…do you get up and dance?” Kent asks the women.
“I would…if I could,” responds Evelyn Murdy, laughing along with her friends.
“I’m with Maxine,” Evelyn continues. “The music today is not music. Back then they had singers…you understood them. It was just a great time in our...in my life. And we danced a million miles to a lot of the bug bands.”
As The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra takes to the stage younger members of the audience take to the dance floor to log in their share of those million miles. And whether it’s in Lead, Tuxedo Junction or somewhere across the United States, Nick Hilscher sees no end in sight for music that he refers to as part of The Great American Songbook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPXwkWVEIIw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDSHuVAr52Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOG89TrL4Vk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X8sz_wgrSc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_muFwwTSMs&list=RDm_muFwwTSMs#t=2