Glenn Miller Trivia Quiz

Answer: Clarinda, Iowa

Glen Miller was born on a farm March first, 1904, in Clarinda, Iowa. Sadly, his brilliant career ended when he was only 40.

Answer: Benny Goodman

Miller was playing with Ben Pollack's band in 1928 when he and Benny Goodman wrote "Room 1411". Miller and Goodman also played together in the pit orchestra for the Broadway shows "Strike Up the Band" and "Girl Crazy".

Answer: The plane he was in disappeared over the English Channel on 12/15/44

The service band he conducted during WWII contained many outstanding musicians of the time. Many used their experience with the Miller organization as a springboard to careers of their own.

Answer: Trombone

Like many professional musicians, Miller played more than one instrument, but he specialized in the trombone. When he was conducting he usually had it in hand, ready to play when the trombone solo came.

Answer: The Dorsey Brothers

During the Big Band Era musicians often shifted back and forth between bands but being a member one of these was the important step that enhanced Miller's career.The Dorsey brothers, Tommy and Jimmy, started together and during this period Glenn played trombone for them. When they split into separate organizations, Glenn went with Tommy.

Answer: 1937

Forming a band meant getting commitments from a steady group of musicians that could achieve a distinctive "sound" together. The distinctive "sound" of the Miller band was, many think, the quality that catapulted him to the heights his career reached.

His music was instantly recognizable to his fans. Nobody used clarinets exactly like he did. He did a lot of his own arrangements but when other musicians in his organization did arrangements, they always stuck to the "Miller sound".

Answer: Moonlight Serenade

A band's theme song is its signature tune. Miller wrote "Moonlight Serenade" in 1923, long before he formed his own band. "Moonlight Serenade" is not as well known as Miller's hits like "In the Mood", "Little Brown Jug" or "Pennsylvania 6-5000". But it does have the distinctive "Miller sound".

Answer: New Rochelle, New York

This was not the first venue in which the band appeared, but their performance there drew huge crowds on a regular basis. Their first steady performances as a band were at Frank Daley's Meadowbrook in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. But they started to draw the big crowds when they began appearing regularly at the Glen Island Casino.

Answer: Sun Valley Serenade

Glenn was in "The Big Broadcast of 1936" but the first film in which the orchestra appeared was "Sun Valley Serenade", in 1941, which also featured some spectacular skating by Sonja Henie. The following year the band made their second film together - "Orchestra Wives".

Answer: Chattanooga Choo Choo

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" was part of the soundtrack for "Sun Valley Serenade", and was released as a single by RCA. It stayed at the top of the US pop charts for nine weeks in 1941.