'The Kids will be dancing to it for years and years.....' - The Glenn Miller Story (1954) Discussion

[–] SealordJohn 14 years ago

The Glenn Miller band did continue to tour the country for approximately 5 years after Glenn Miller's disappearance. Then it broke up until 1956 when a new orchestra was formed. According to their web site, they have been making approximately 300 appearances each year, and continue to do so at the present time. So although the "kids" may be a lot more older now, they are still dancing to the Glenn Miller sound.

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[–] Chesterfield_Invincible 14 years ago

"So although the 'kids' may be a lot older now, they are still dancing to the Glenn Miller sound".

You've missed my point entirely! When I said "kids", I meant "kids", not older folks (like myself) who still listen to and dance to the Miller sound. Let those kids have their rap and rock & roll and Britney Spears and Hannah Montana.

[PS--Let's not forget the John Miller Orchestra, led by Glenn's nephew]

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[–] thefabslv 14 years ago

The music has found new fans thoroughout the years, though. My parents - who progressed from style-to-style and loved it all - shared big band with me. And in 1975, my high school drama department presented "Marathon 33," which featured "String of Pearls" and "In The Mood" among other tunes. I fell in love with that genre all over again then.

I've been married twice and both my current and ex-husband are fans, too. Although I haven't researched today's kids with regards to big band, a lot of them are Beatles fans (like me) for example, so it's not so far-fetched to hold out hope for ALL great and timeless music. :-)

And now for something completely different...

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[–] thefabslv 14 years ago

And well, here ya go!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001895/board/nest/19117470?p=1

I also thought of another bit of proof that his music lives on... There's a whole swing dance revolution among young people. One regular venue for them to enjoy live big band and dancing - Disneyland, Anaheim. :-)

And now for something completely different...

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[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

Call me pessimist but I have yet to see a group of average youngsters playing or/and dancing Big Band music.
Sure, there are some young lads and girls who likes it, but most people under the age of 30 have only heard Big Band music because their parents or grandparents used to play Glen Miller (et al) LP's.

Big Band music won't die anytime soon but it ain't really popular anymore. Sad but true.

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[–] deltascorch90 12 years ago

"Kid" here born in 1990. There's nothing particularly admirable about embracing only something from one era and scorning everything that happened afterwords. Think about if you grew up in swinging London during the 60s ... I'm sure the music produced there would be something which you would cherish and think to be superior to what came after it.

I love Big Band music. My favorite vocalist is Helen Forrest, and even predating your time there, I like Annette Hanshaw and those early jazz bands from the 1920s as well. Yet that isn't to say I don't like rock n roll, because I do: I embrace the full spectrum of music from way before my time as well as my time, and I'll continue to do it for the future. That's the real admirable approach.

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[–] rabates 12 years ago

Agreed

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[–] mojoman3061 12 years ago

What chesterfield invincible was trying to get at in the original post, I think, was that big-band music isn't the first choice the way it was in Glenn Miller's time. Big bands were all over the radio, they sold millions of records, they were written about in mainstream magazines, they were in movies, they toured, etc.

In other words, people could hear this music by chance. The kids today don't have the same opportunity (for that matter, neither do adults). They have to go to some trouble to find it for themselves, or someone has to present it to them. Kids who are involved with music have the best chance. Many schools in the USA have jazz bands, and many universities have jazz studies programs.

I hope I haven't misrepresented where the OP was coming from.

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[–] bgbvette 10 years ago

About 30 years ago I was driving through the Bronx and I noticed this beat up old bus from the 50's with the "Glenn Miller Band" written on the side; smoke was belching from it. Not sure where it was headed, but I didn't realize that the band was still playing at the time!

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[–] Frin 10 years ago

This went platinum in the UK in 1989, so he wasn't completely wrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoi5sVsJqCY

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