A Tribute to Glenn Miller; Part 2
- Program
- A Tribute to Glenn Miller
- Segment
- Part 2
- Producing Organization
- WXXI Public Broadcasting Council
- WXXI-FM (Radio station : Rochester, N.Y.)
- Contributing Organization
- The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-230808342e1
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip-230808342e1).
- Description
- Program Description
- "Glenn Miller, America's best-known band leader, left London on December 15, 1994 on a brief flight to Paris. He never arrived, and no trace of Miller of his plane has ever been found. WXXI-AM and independent producer Ed Ferland produced 'Glenn Miller Remembered' to mark the 50th anniversary of that event. "Working with station Program Director Ernest 'Bud' Lowell, Ferland conducted more than 22 hours worth of interviews with surviving band members and friends of the great band leader. Working between February and December 1994, Ferland edited, wrote and crafted a personal documentary tribute to Miller and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The numerous interviews were supplemented with archival material from Ferland's own collection, and from Miller biographer/historian Ed Polich. "The planned two-hour program was expanded to three in recognition of the depth of the subject, and the amount of material collected. It's a unique compilation of private experiences and anecdotes from Miller's friends and colleagues, plus the class Glenn Miller sound. A copy of the program will be placed in the Glenn Miller Museum in Clarinda, Iowa."--1994 Peabody Awards entry form. The first segment of the three-hour program introduces Glenn Miller through his early life and the beginning of his musical career in the 'big band' era. It includes excerpts from various songs written and/or performed by Glenn Miller and his band. It includes interviews from George Simon, Bill Finegan, and Tex Beneke who were members of his band. The second portion includes a segment of Glenn Miller receiving The United States' first gold record for 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo' and continues with Ed Ferland's interview with Tex Beneke. It continues with an interview from Paul Tanner about how he joined the band and life in the band in its heyday. Ferland also interviews Johnny Best and Billy May and speaks of the time he met the band in 1942 during May's interview. Excerpts of Miller's songs are, of course, included. The third portion concerns itself primarily with Miller's transition to military life in 1942. Ferland interviews Trigger Alpert and Ray Eberle, focusing on how they came to join Miller's civilian band. Ferland also explores Miller's radio show before he enlisted in WWII which includes an interview with Tom Sheales. The program goes on to discuss Miller's struggle to serve his country with his music as he butted heads with higher-ups before being allowed to update the military's music and eventually travel overseas to serve on the front with his band. Hank Freeman, Zeke Zarchy, Bob Ripley, and Vince Carbone discuss what it was like to work with Glenn Miller in his military days. The tape cuts out shortly into an interview with Ray McKinley. Songs "Tuxedo Junction" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berekley Square," "Elmer's Tune," "Pennsylvania 6-5000," "Jukebox Saturday Night" are featured. Ray McKinley's interview continues onto the fourth part which is concerned primarily with the beginnings of the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band up until the time that they leave the United States for Britain. Other interviews in this segment include Mel Powell, George Voutsas, Peanuts Hucko, Bernie Privin, Ed Polic, and Tony DeLucia. Voutsas and DeLucia discuss what it was like to produce Miller's radio show "I Sustain the Wings." Polic discusses his part in Glenn Miller scholarship and the methods that he used to collect information for his books. The songs featured in this program are "St. Louis Blues," Hucko and Privin's impersonation of Louis Armstrong's "I Can't Give You Anything but Love," the "I Sustain the Wings" theme, "Over There," and as always, Miller's signature theme, "Moonlight Serenade." The fifth part of this program focuses on Glenn Miller and his orchestra while they were overseas in Britain and stops just before the circumstances that lead to Miller's death. It includes interviews with George Simon, Norman Leyden, Trigger Alpert, Bob Ripley, Peanuts Hucko, Zeke Zarchy, and Vince Carbone. It also includes fragments of a BBC interview with Miller, himself. Jerry Gray's arrangement of "Oranges and Lemons" is featured. The role of the band in WWII is discussed as well as the multiple programs they found themselves on such as "Uptown Hall," "Strings with Wings," and even Miller's appearance in Allied Propaganda with German soldiers as their target audience.
- Broadcast Date
- 1994-12-15
- Asset type
- Program
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:27:13.632
- Credits
-
-
Producing Organization: WXXI Public Broadcasting Council
Producing Organization: WXXI-FM (Radio station : Rochester, N.Y.)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the
University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-c0929f4a4a4 (Filename)
Format: 1/4 inch audio cassette
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “A Tribute to Glenn Miller; Part 2,” 1994-12-15, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 24, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-230808342e1.
- MLA: “A Tribute to Glenn Miller; Part 2.” 1994-12-15. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 24, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-230808342e1>.
- APA: A Tribute to Glenn Miller; Part 2. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-230808342e1