Tex Beneke
Encyclopedia
Gordon Lee Beneke professionally known as Tex Beneke, was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller
and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gorme
and Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Glenn Miller Orchestra
made of their popular song, "In The Mood
" and sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo
". Jazz critic Will Friedwald
considers Beneke to be one of the major blues singers that sang with the big bands of the early 1940s.
when he was nine, going from soprano to alto to tenor saxophones and staying with the latter. His first professional work was with bandleader Ben Young
in 1935, but it was when he joined Miller three years later that his career hit its stride. Beneke said: "It seems that Gene Krupa
had left the Goodman band and was forming his own first band. He was flying all over the country looking for new talent and he stopped at our ballroom one night [to listen to the Ben Young band]. [...] Gene wound up taking two or three of our boys with him back to New York. [Krupa] wanted to take [Beneke] but his sax section was already filled." Krupa knew that Glenn Miller was forming a band and recommended Beneke to Miller.
On August 1, 1939, Tex Beneke solos on the recording the Glenn Miller band made of the Andy Razaf song, "In The Mood". Beneke appears with the Miller band in the films Sun Valley Serenade
(1941) and Orchestra Wives
(1942), both of which helped propel the singer/saxophonist to the top of the Metronome
polls. Tex Beneke is listed in the personnel of the 1941 Metronome All-Star Band led by Benny Goodman
. In 1942, Glenn Miller's orchestra won the first Gold Record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo", a song written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. The band first performed this song in the 1941 Twentieth Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade." Tex Beneke was the lead singer on this song with Paula Kelly and the Modernaires vocal group. "Chattanooga Choo Choo", catalogue number Bluebird 11230-B, was recorded by the Miller band at the Victor recording studios in Hollywood, California, May 7, 1941.
When Miller broke up the band in late 1942 to join the Army Air Force
, Beneke played very briefly with Horace Heidt
before joining the Navy
himself, leading a Navy band in Oklahoma
. While employed with Miller, Beneke was offered his own band, as Miller had done with colleagues and employees like Hal McIntyre
, Claude Thornhill
and Charlie Spivak
. Beneke wanted to come back to Miller after the war and learn more about leading a band before being given his own band. Beneke lead two bands in the navy and kept in touch with Glenn Miller while they were both serving in the military. By 1945, Beneke felt ready to lead his own orchestra.
was the band's pianist and one of the arrangers. Another arranger was Norman Leyden
, who also previously arranged for the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. This ghost band played to very large audiences all across the United States, including a few dates at the Hollywood Palladium
in 1947, where the original Miller band played in 1941. The movie short Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Band was released by RKO pictures in 1947 with Lillian Lane, Artie Malvin
and The Crew Chiefs
vocal group performing. In a slightly sarcastic article in Time magazine from June 2, 1947, the magazine notes that the Beneke led Miller orchestra was playing at the same venue the original Miller band played in 1939, the Glen Island Casino. Beneke's quote about the big band business at the time closes the article, "I don't know whether Glenn figured that times would be as tough". By 1949, economics dictated that the string section be dropped.
This band recorded for RCA Victor, just as the original Miller band did. Beneke felt that Glenn Miller promised him his own band in the early 1940s and this was his chance to have that promise fulfilled. Beneke wanted a band with Beneke's musical identity. Larry Bruff, an announcer for the earlier Glenn Miller radio shows says, "Beneke would even set wrong tempos so as not to sound too much like Glenn." The Miller estate wanted a band that was primarily associated with Glenn Miller, playing the Glenn Miller songs in the Glenn Miller style. By 1950, Beneke and the Miller estate parted ways.
and partly because of competition from other Miller alumni and imitators such as Jerry Gray
, Ray Anthony
and Ralph Flanagan
. Eydie Gorme
sang with the Beneke band in 1950. Beneke appeared on Cavalcade of Bands
, a television show in 1950 on the DuMont Television Network
.
In the latter part of that decade there was some revived interest in music of the swing
era. Beneke joined a number of other leaders such as Larry Clinton
and Glen Gray
in making new high fidelity
recordings of their earlier hits, often featuring many of the original musicians. Beneke and former Miller singers Ray Eberle
, Paula Kelly
, and The Modernaires
first recorded the LP
Reunion in Hi-Fi, which contained recreations of original Miller material. This album was followed by others featuring newer songs, some performed in the Miller style and others done in a more contemporary mode. The singer/saxophonist continued working in the coming decades, appearing periodically at Disneyland. He also made the rounds of various talk shows that had musical connections, including those hosted by Merv Griffin
and Johnny Carson
. His appearances on The Tonight Show
sometimes included duos with fellow Miller veteran Al Klink
who was by then a key member of the Tonight Show Band. Ray Eberle recovered from his earlier illness and resumed performing with Beneke and the Modernaires for a period in the early 1970s. In 1972, Beneke agreed to re-record some of his Miller vocals for Time-Life
Records' set of big band recreations, The Swing Era, produced and conducted by yet another Miller alumnus, Billy May
.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Beneke had a new band playing a style that resembled the classic Miller sound but with as much newer material as older. At one point he also toured with former Jimmy Dorsey
vocalists Helen O'Connell
and Bob Eberly
. Beneke suffered a stroke in the mid-1990s and was forced to give up the saxophone but continued to conduct and sing. In 1992, Tex Beneke received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
with funds collected by co-leader Gary Tole. He settled in Costa Mesa, California
and remained active toward the end of that decade, mostly touring the U.S. West Coast and still playing in something resembling the Miller style. In 1998 he launched yet another tour paying tribute to The Army Air Force Band. In 2000 Beneke died from respiratory failure at Costa Mesa, California, aged 86 and was buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas. His saxophone is currently used by the Arizona Opry.
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. His band is also associated with the careers of Eydie Gorme
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé is an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She has earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy...
and Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller Orchestra
The Glenn Miller Orchestra was originally formed in 1938 by Glenn Miller. It was arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, while three other saxophones played the harmony...
made of their popular song, "In The Mood
In the Mood
"In the Mood" is a big band era #1 hit recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. Joe Garland and Andy Razaf arranged "In the Mood" in 1937-1939 using a previously existing main theme composed by Glenn Miller before the start of the 1930s...
" and sings on another popular Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chattanooga Choo Choo
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...
". Jazz critic Will Friedwald
Will Friedwald
Will Friedwald is an American author and music critic. He has written for such newspapers as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Newsday, The New York Observer, and The New York Sun, and for such magazines as Entertainment Weekly, Oxford American, New York, Mojo, BBC Music Magazine, Stereo...
considers Beneke to be one of the major blues singers that sang with the big bands of the early 1940s.
Early life
Beneke was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He started playing saxophoneSaxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
when he was nine, going from soprano to alto to tenor saxophones and staying with the latter. His first professional work was with bandleader Ben Young
Ben Young
Ben Young is an Anglo-American artist based in London.Young was born in Amersham, England, to an American mother and British father...
in 1935, but it was when he joined Miller three years later that his career hit its stride. Beneke said: "It seems that Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
had left the Goodman band and was forming his own first band. He was flying all over the country looking for new talent and he stopped at our ballroom one night [to listen to the Ben Young band]. [...] Gene wound up taking two or three of our boys with him back to New York. [Krupa] wanted to take [Beneke] but his sax section was already filled." Krupa knew that Glenn Miller was forming a band and recommended Beneke to Miller.
On August 1, 1939, Tex Beneke solos on the recording the Glenn Miller band made of the Andy Razaf song, "In The Mood". Beneke appears with the Miller band in the films Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade
Sun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
(1941) and Orchestra Wives
Orchestra Wives
Orchestra Wives is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second and last film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and is notable among the many swing era musicals because its plot is more serious and...
(1942), both of which helped propel the singer/saxophonist to the top of the Metronome
Metronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
polls. Tex Beneke is listed in the personnel of the 1941 Metronome All-Star Band led by Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
. In 1942, Glenn Miller's orchestra won the first Gold Record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo", a song written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon. The band first performed this song in the 1941 Twentieth Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade." Tex Beneke was the lead singer on this song with Paula Kelly and the Modernaires vocal group. "Chattanooga Choo Choo", catalogue number Bluebird 11230-B, was recorded by the Miller band at the Victor recording studios in Hollywood, California, May 7, 1941.
When Miller broke up the band in late 1942 to join the Army Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, Beneke played very briefly with Horace Heidt
Horace Heidt
Horace Heidt was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television through the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:Born in Alameda, California, Heidt attended Culver...
before joining the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
himself, leading a Navy band in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. While employed with Miller, Beneke was offered his own band, as Miller had done with colleagues and employees like Hal McIntyre
Hal McIntyre
Hal McIntyre was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader....
, Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader...
and Charlie Spivak
Charlie Spivak
Charlie Spivak was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s.-Biography:...
. Beneke wanted to come back to Miller after the war and learn more about leading a band before being given his own band. Beneke lead two bands in the navy and kept in touch with Glenn Miller while they were both serving in the military. By 1945, Beneke felt ready to lead his own orchestra.
Working with the Miller estate
Glenn Miller went missing on December 15, 1944 while flying to France from England. After World War Two, the United States Army Air Force decommissioned the Glenn Miller-led Army Air Force band. The Miller estate authorized an official Glenn Miller "ghost band" in 1946. This band was led by Tex Beneke who as time went on had more prominence in the band's identity. It had a make up similar to Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band: it had a large string section. The orchestra's official public début was at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway where it opened for a three week engagement on January 24, 1946. Henry ManciniHenry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
was the band's pianist and one of the arrangers. Another arranger was Norman Leyden
Norman Leyden
Norman Fowler Leyden is an American, conductor, arranger, and clarinetist. He has worked in film and television and is perhaps best known as the conductor of the Oregon Symphony Pops orchestra...
, who also previously arranged for the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. This ghost band played to very large audiences all across the United States, including a few dates at the Hollywood Palladium
Hollywood Palladium
The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an 11,200 square foot dance floor with room for up to 4,000 people.-History:...
in 1947, where the original Miller band played in 1941. The movie short Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Band was released by RKO pictures in 1947 with Lillian Lane, Artie Malvin
Artie Malvin
Artie Malvin was a composer and vocalist who was the baritone member of The Crew Chiefs, and he also sang with Glenn Miller's band....
and The Crew Chiefs
The Crew Chiefs
The Crew Chiefs were a vocal group popular in the 1940s, known for accompanying Tex Beneke, Glenn Miller, and Ray McKinley. Member Artie Malvin co-wrote the song "I'm Headin' For California" with Glenn Miller in 1944.-Appearances:...
vocal group performing. In a slightly sarcastic article in Time magazine from June 2, 1947, the magazine notes that the Beneke led Miller orchestra was playing at the same venue the original Miller band played in 1939, the Glen Island Casino. Beneke's quote about the big band business at the time closes the article, "I don't know whether Glenn figured that times would be as tough". By 1949, economics dictated that the string section be dropped.
This band recorded for RCA Victor, just as the original Miller band did. Beneke felt that Glenn Miller promised him his own band in the early 1940s and this was his chance to have that promise fulfilled. Beneke wanted a band with Beneke's musical identity. Larry Bruff, an announcer for the earlier Glenn Miller radio shows says, "Beneke would even set wrong tempos so as not to sound too much like Glenn." The Miller estate wanted a band that was primarily associated with Glenn Miller, playing the Glenn Miller songs in the Glenn Miller style. By 1950, Beneke and the Miller estate parted ways.
After The Glenn Miller Association
Beneke continued to perform under his own name with no official connection to Miller. He enjoyed less success in the early 1950s, partly because he was limited to smaller recording labels such as Coral RecordsCoral Records
Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....
and partly because of competition from other Miller alumni and imitators such as Jerry Gray
Jerry Gray
Jerry Don Gray is a former American Football cornerback who played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1985 to 1991, the Houston Oilers in 1992, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1993. He is currently the defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans.-Playing career:Jerry Gray was a two-time All American...
, Ray Anthony
Ray Anthony
Ray Anthony is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor.- Biography :...
and Ralph Flanagan
Ralph Flanagan
Ralph Flanagan , was a famed big band leader, conductor, pianist, composer, and arranger for the orchestras of Hal McIntyre, Sammy Kaye, Blue Barron, Charlie Barnet, and Alvino Rey.-Biography:He was educated at Lorain High School, where he was a member of the National Honors...
. Eydie Gorme
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé is an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She has earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy...
sang with the Beneke band in 1950. Beneke appeared on Cavalcade of Bands
Cavalcade of Bands
The Cavalcade of Bands is one of many competitive band organizations in the United States and is one of several major circuits in the mid-Atlantic states . CBA was founded in the late 50's by the members of the Mid-Atlantic Judges Association and its member high schools...
, a television show in 1950 on the DuMont Television Network
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
.
In the latter part of that decade there was some revived interest in music of the swing
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
era. Beneke joined a number of other leaders such as Larry Clinton
Larry Clinton
Larry Clinton was a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader.-Biography:Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York. He became a versatile musician, capable of playing trumpet, trombone, and clarinet...
and Glen Gray
Glen Gray
Glen Gray Knoblauch, better known as Glen Gray, was a jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra....
in making new high fidelity
High fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
recordings of their earlier hits, often featuring many of the original musicians. Beneke and former Miller singers Ray Eberle
Ray Eberle
Raymond "Ray" Eberle was a vocalist during the Big Band Era. Eberle sang with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.-Career:...
, Paula Kelly
Paula Kelly (singer)
Paula Kelly was an American big band singer.Born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, in her early career, she sang with orchestras led by Dick Stabile, Artie Shaw, and Al Donahue...
, and The Modernaires
The Modernaires
The Modernaires are an American vocal group, best known for performing in the 1940s alongside Glenn Miller- Career :The Modernaires began in 1935 as a trio of schoolmates from Lafayette High School in Buffalo, New York...
first recorded the LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
Reunion in Hi-Fi, which contained recreations of original Miller material. This album was followed by others featuring newer songs, some performed in the Miller style and others done in a more contemporary mode. The singer/saxophonist continued working in the coming decades, appearing periodically at Disneyland. He also made the rounds of various talk shows that had musical connections, including those hosted by Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
and Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
. His appearances on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
sometimes included duos with fellow Miller veteran Al Klink
Al Klink
Al Klink was an American swing jazz tenor saxophonist.Klink played with Glenn Miller from 1939 to 1942, and is heard trading solos with Tex Beneke on the most well-known version of "In the Mood". When Miller started playing in the U.S...
who was by then a key member of the Tonight Show Band. Ray Eberle recovered from his earlier illness and resumed performing with Beneke and the Modernaires for a period in the early 1970s. In 1972, Beneke agreed to re-record some of his Miller vocals for Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
Records' set of big band recreations, The Swing Era, produced and conducted by yet another Miller alumnus, Billy May
Billy May
William E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Beneke had a new band playing a style that resembled the classic Miller sound but with as much newer material as older. At one point he also toured with former Jimmy Dorsey
Jimmy Dorsey
James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
vocalists Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell was an American singer, actress, and dancer.Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell joined the Jimmy Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early 1940s with "Green Eyes", "Amapola," "Tangerine" and "Yours"...
and Bob Eberly
Bob Eberly
Bob Eberly was a big band vocalist, best-known for his association with Jimmy Dorsey and his duets with Helen O'Connell....
. Beneke suffered a stroke in the mid-1990s and was forced to give up the saxophone but continued to conduct and sing. In 1992, Tex Beneke received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
with funds collected by co-leader Gary Tole. He settled in Costa Mesa, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and remained active toward the end of that decade, mostly touring the U.S. West Coast and still playing in something resembling the Miller style. In 1998 he launched yet another tour paying tribute to The Army Air Force Band. In 2000 Beneke died from respiratory failure at Costa Mesa, California, aged 86 and was buried in Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas. His saxophone is currently used by the Arizona Opry.
External links
- Tex Beneke. - at Big Band Buddies.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_XnTZD6g0.- Tex Beneke recorded with the Miller ghost band in July 1946.