Who were the singers with Glenn Miller's band?

Answer 1

The individual vocalists most associated with the civilian band were Marion Hutton and Ray Eberle, along with Tex Beneke who also played 1st Saxophone; they were later joined by the Modernaires vocal group.

Other singers included Kathleen Lane, Kay Starr, Dorothy Claire, and Skip Nelson. Musicians Ernie Caceres and Jack Lathrop also contributed a few tracks.

The major vocalists with the AAF Band were Johnny Desmond along with Artie Malvin and the Crew Chiefs. Drummer Ray McKinley also sang from time to time, and the band was joined by any number of guest singers such as Bing Crosby, Irene Manning, Dinah Shore, and others.

Answer 2

As was true of all dance bands in the Swing era, musicians tended to move from one orchestra to another fairly often so it's not really possible to give a list of personnel except at a specific point in time. However, some of the most important musicians to play with the original civilian band include the following. Not all of the people listed were with the band at the same time. I've put a * next to names of people who were with the band for the majority of its existence from 1939 to 1942.

Trombone: Paul Tanner*, James Priddy*, Frank D'Annolfo

Trumpet: John Best*, Clyde Hurley*, Billy May, Bobby Hackett, Zeke Zarchy*, Ray Anthony

Reeds: Tex Beneke*, Al Klink*, Skip Martin, Ernie Caceres, Wilbur Schwartz*

Piano: Chummy MacGregor*

Drums: Maurice Purtill*

Bass: Herman "Trigger" Alpert

Guitar: Jack Lathrop, Bobby Hackett (also tpt)

Male vocals: Ray Eberle*

Female vocals: Marion Hutton*

Vocal group: The Modernaires* (Paula Kelly, Chuck Goldstein, Bill Conway, Hal Dickenson)

Because members of the Army Air Force Orchestra were "employed" by Uncle Sam, its lineup was a lot more stable. Names marked with a * were also in the civilian band.

Trombone: Nat Peck, John Halliburton, James Priddy*, Larry Hall

Trumpet: Whitey Thomas, James Steele, Zeke Zarchy*, Bernie Privin, Bobby Nichols

Reeds: Hank Freeman, Michael "Peanuts" Hucko, Fred Guerra, Jack Ferrier, Vince Carbone, Chuck Gentry

Drums: Ray McKinley, Frank Ippolito

Piano: Mel Powell

Bass: Trigger Alpert*

French Horn: Addison Collins

Violins: George Ockner, Harry Katzman, Ernest Kardos, Earl Cornwell, Gene Bergen, Dave Sackson, Philip Cogliano, Richard Motylinski, Carl Swanson, Nat Kaproff, Milt Edelson, Fred Ostrovsky, Joseph Kowalewski, Dave Herman

Violas: Dave Schwartz, Stan Harris, Henry Brynan, Emmanual Wishnow

Cellos: Morris Bialkin, Robert Ripley

Guitar: Carmen Mastren

Male vocals: Johnny Desmond, Arthur Malvin

Female vocals: none; guest stars only due to military restrictions of the time.

Vocal group: The Crew Chiefs (Art Malvin, Steve Steck, Gene Steck, Lynn Allison, Murray Kane)

Answer 3

I am from Australia and a friend of mine, Surname goodwin, claims his uncle played Drums in the Glenn Miller Band.

Can anybody confirm ?.

Drummers were

Maurice Purtill, Ray McKinley, Frank Ippolito

Ray and Frank were drummers in Glenn's AAF band during the war

Answer 4

Howard Smith briefly played piano in the 1937 band. He was replaced in mid-year by Chalmers "Chummy" MacGregor who remained with the band until it broke up in September, 1942.

The Air Force Band featured pianist Mel Powell, drafted from Benny Goodman's orchestra.

Answer 5

The Modernaires sang with the civilian band.

The Crew Chiefs sang with the AAF Orchestra.

During the civilian band's early days they were the backup group for the Andrews Sisters on several radio shows.

Answer 6

The most famous singers with the civilian band were Marion Hutton and Ray Eberle. In addition Tex Beneke contributed a lot of novelty vocals. The band also featured the Modernaires vocal group composed of Paula Kelly, Hal Dickinson, Chuck Goldstein, Bill Conway, and Ralph Brewster.

Others who sang with the band briefly included Kay Starr and Skip Nelson, as well as occasional novelty tunes sung by band members Jack Lathrop and Ernie Caceres. In the band's two movies, Lynn Bari's vocals were dubbed by Pat Friday and the Modernaires were joined by Six Hits and A Miss to provide a stronger sound for the comparatively primitive stage microphones of the time.

The Army Air Forces Orchestra mainly featured lead vocalist Johnny Desmond along with Artie Malvin who led the "Crew Chiefs" vocal group consisting of Murray Kane, Gene Steck, Steve Steck, and Lynn Allison. Drummer Ray McKinley supplied many of the novelty vocals, essentially filling the same role Tex Beneke had done with the civilian band.

Tony Martin was the AAF Orchestra's original vocalist but was replaced by Johnny Desmond when Martin left for OCS. The band also featured many guest vocalists including Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, Opera star Irene Manning, and British singer Beryl Davis.

Answer 7

There were many famous musicians in both of his primary orchestras. A complete listing would be very long; this is just recounting of some of the most influential

Among those in the so-called "civilian band" (1938-42):

• Tex Beneke, tenor sax
• Al Klink,tenor sax
• John Best, trumpet
• Billy May, trumpet
• Ernie Caceres, reeds
• Wilbur Schwartz, Clarinet
• Buddy Hackett, cornet and guitar
• Chalmers "Chummy" MacGregor, piano
• Moe Purtill, drums
• Herman "Trigger" Alpert, bass (also in the AAF band)
• Frank D'Annolfo, trombone
• Paul Tanner, trombone
• Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton, The Modernaires - vocalists

The Army Air Forces Orchestra was much larger and included almost two dozen string players

• Bernie Privin, trumpet
• Whitey Thomas, trumpet
• Steve Steck, trumpet
• Bobby Nichols, trumpet

• Michael "Peanuts" Hucko, clarinet
• Hank Freeman, sax
• Vince Carbone, sax
• Fred Guerra, sax
• Larry Hall, trombone
• John Halliburton, trombone
• Jimmy Priddy, trombone

• Herman "Trigger" Alpert, bass (also in the civilian band)
• Ray McKinley, drums
• Mel Powell, piano
• Phil Cogliano, strings
• George Ockner, strings
• Maurice Bialkin, strings
• Earl Cornwell
• Addison Collins, French horn
• Johnny Desmond, The Crew Chiefs - vocals

Answer 8

Ray Noble and Joseph Shillinger

Answer 9

texbeneke