Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (1 March 1904[citation needed]; disappeared 15 December 1944; declared dead 16 December 1945) 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 were 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.
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was the best-selling recording band from 1939 to 1942. Miller's civilian band did not have a string section as his military unit did, but it did have a slap bass in the rhythm section. It was also a touring band that played multiple radio broadcasts nearly every day. Their best-selling records include Miller's theme song – "Moonlight Serenade" – and the first gold record ever made, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The following tunes are also on that best-seller list: "In the Mood", "Pennsylvania 6-5000" (printed as "Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand" on record labels), "A String of Pearls", "Moonlight Cocktail", "At Last", "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo", "American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer's Tune", "Little Brown Jug", and "Anvil Chorus". Including "Chattanooga Choo Choo", five songs played by Miller and His Orchestra were number one hits for most of 1942 and can be found on the List of Billboard number-one singles of 1942. In four years, Miller scored 16 number one records and 69 top 10 hits, more than Elvis Presley (40) and the Beatles in their careers.
His musical legacy includes multiple recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame. His work has been performed by swing bands, jazz bands, and big bands worldwide for over 75 years.
The son of Mattie Lou (née Cavender) Miller and Lewis Elmer Miller, Alton Glen Miller was born in Clarinda, Iowa. He added the second n to "Glenn" during high school.
Like his father (Lewis Elmer) and his siblings (Elmer Deane, John Herbert and Emma Irene), Miller went by his middle name, Glenn.
As Dennis Spragg of the Glenn Miller Archives confirms, "Miller's use of his first name, Alton, was necessary for legal and military purposes, which is logically why it shows up in formal documents such as his military documents, driver’s licenses, tax returns, etc.
He is listed as Alton G. Miller in the Army Air Forces section of the Tablets of the Missing in Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Cambridge, England. His name is engraved as Major Alton Glenn Miller, US Army (Air Corps) on his Government-issued (G.I.) memorial headstone in Memorial Section H at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. His last military unit has a memorial tree in section 13 on Wilson Drive. The American Holly was dedicated on December 15, 1994, the 50th anniversary of Miller's death, for the veterans of the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra.
