February 18, 1942

AMERICA AT WAR

Glenn Miller’s February 18, 1942, date at RCA Bluebird was a very patriotic recording session. Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the band’s December 8, 1941, recording session was subdued if determined, mixing evocative ballads with vigorous instrumentals (see “On the Record,” December 8, 1941). But by February 18, the United States had caught its bearings and a shaken America at War had started its arduous but decisive road to wartime victory. Likewise, Glenn Miller redoubled his efforts on behalf of his nation and fellow citizens. He moved his USO Sunset Serenade broadcasts from NBC to Mutual in January. Meanwhile, as musical co-chair of President Roosevelt’s Birthday Ball Committee, he convinced friend Irving Berlin to pen At the President’s Birthday Ball. Mr. Berlin dedicated the tune to the commander-in-chief and his infantile paralysis (or, March of Dimes) campaign (see my “FDR vs. Polio” Op-Ed).

A PATRIOTIC RECORDING SESSION

Among other Miller’s other January 1942 Bluebird records, the recording took on a decidedly patriotic tone. Among the rallying cries was a lively rejuvenation of Mr. Berlin’s Let’s Have Another Cup of Coffee. However, Miller also kept his eye squarely on the Billboard Top Ten with soon-to-be hit records of Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark, Always in My Heart and When the Roses Bloom Again. America’s number one band completed their fourth engagement at their de-facto home base, the Cafe Rouge of Hotel Pennsylvania. Moreover, they were naturally booked for an October 1942 return. Meanwhile, they opened their fourth popular engagement at New York’s Paramount Theater, where they held sway through February 17. Therefore, the following morning, Glenn and the band were able to gather at RCA’s New York Victor Studios for a most patriotic recording session.

GLENN MILLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA
RCA BLUEBIRD RECORDING SESSION
FEBRUARY 18, 1942
10:00 a. m. – 4:00 p. m.
VICTOR STUDIO #1
155 EAST 24TH STREET
NEW YORK, NY

PERSONNEL

Trumpets: Johnny Best, Steve Lipkins, Billy May, Dale McMickle|
Trombones: Alton Glenn Miller (director), Frank D’Annolfo, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner
Reeds: Gordon “Tex” Beneke (tenor saxophone, clarinet, vocalist), Ernie Caceres (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, clarinet), Al Klink (tenor saxophone), Skip Martin (alto saxophone, clarinet), Wilbur Schwartz (clarinet, alto saxophone)
Rhythm: Maurice Purtill (drums), Doc Goldberg (string bass), Bobby Hackett (guitar, cornet), Chummy MacGregor (piano)
Vocalists: Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, The Modernaires (Ralph Brewster, Bill Conway, Hal Dickinson, Chuck Goldstein)

TIMELY LYRICS

All five of the tunes recorded by Glenn Miller on February 18, 1942, contained timely and sentimental wartime lyrics. Moreover, the vault masters are beautifully represented in these new, pristine transfers. Although not reissued or widely known among post big-band era listeners, Shh! It’s A Military Secret is an energetic example of the early wartime spirit. But Glenn Miller featured it regularly on his CBS Chesterfield Moonlight Serenade series, and it closely previews the forthcoming 1942 Miller record That’s Sabotage. New York disc jockey Alan Courtney, who went on to become a postwar Miami Beach radio institution, co-wrote the tune. But it was the tune that followed that became a major hit that is immortally identified with Glenn Miller and World War II.  

WARTIME CLASSIC

Dear Arabella, an October 1941 Miller record, was a cute prequel to the second song Miller recorded on February 18, 1942. Firstly, Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree, was featured in the 1942 film Private Buckaroo, in which Harry James and his Music Makers appeared. However, the James band had not yet reached the point it would during 1942 as a challenger to Miller’s #1 status. Nor could anyone foresee the future developments that would connect Miller with James the following September. But also in the forgettable film were the Andrews Sisters. Meanwhile, in December 1939, they were the vocal group Chesterfield paired with Glenn Miller for insurance when launching the Moonlight Serenade series. Therefore, the Andrews Sisters waxed the wartime classic for Decca (without Harry James). Consequently, the Glenn Miller and Andrews Sisters records became competitive best-sellers.

SENTIMENTAL FAVORITES

However, as uplifting and swinging as playfully romantic wartime novelties were, the horror of going to war and not returning home was quite serious for young Americans. Moreover, as the war would savagely continue and dreaded casualty telegrams arrived in American homes, sentimental ballads eventually dominated record sales and the airwaves. Subsequently, Mom, home, and the aroma of apple pie waft all over She’ll Always Remember. Therefore, as many worried American mothers would soon display Gold Stars in their living room windows, this song deeply resonates. Likewise, the lovely ballad and major Miller classic, Hoagy Carmichael’s Lamplighter’s Serenade is a sentimental escape to peacefully romantic images of a long-ago, the perhaps turn-of-the-century small town America that resembles Hoagy’s native Indiana, rather than the America of February 18, 1942. Likewise, Bill Finegan’s beautiful ballad arrangements ooze understated grace with Chummy MacGregor’s piano clearly audible tinkling along with Moe Purtill’s brush.      

UPDATED WARHORSE

Echoes of the American Civil War round out the February 18, 1942, session. Firstly, When Johnny Comes Marching Home dates to 1863. Likewise, Americans dusted off the popular warhorse in 1898, 1917 and again in 1942. However, the Glenn Miller version is a modernization unlike any other. Not only are the band and singers in top form as Bill Finegan pulls out all the stops with his powerful arrangement. Moreover, Hal Dickinson and Bill Conway do their usual creative job with Finegan to adapt fresh and relevant lyrics for this tour-de-force.       

HOLE IN ONE

In conclusion, RCA Victor decided to upgrade Glenn Miller from its 35-cent Bluebird label to the 50-cent Victor label. Consequently, February 18, 1942, was Miller’s final session for Bluebird, ending a spectacular and quite mutually successful three-year run. Moreover, the Miller band would head west following the February 18 session. But before they headed west, Glenn gave the band a well-deserved four days off. Meanwhile, he and his manager Don Haynes headed to Southern Pines, North Carolina for a few days of relaxation at the Pinehurst Golf Links. Then Glenn scored a hole-in-one with a 3-iron at the ninth hole of the Pinehurst number three course. Finally, arriving in nervous wartime California on March 17, 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra started work on Orchestra Wives, their second motion picture for Twentieth Century-Fox. Likewise, the first Miller recording session for Victor would be on April 2 in Hollywood.

Dennis M. Spragg of the Glenn Miller Collections at the American Music Research Center, University of Colorado Boulder is Glenn Miller’s authorized biographer, archivist and author of the critically praised Glenn Miller Declassified. He is also Historian of the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society. Discover Glenn Miller: