Tex beneke biography of abraham lincoln

American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader

Tex Beneke
Shep Fields bracket Beneke, Glen Island Casino, Additional Rochelle, N.Y., May 16, 1947. Photograph by William P. Gottlieb.
Birth name	Gordon Lee Beneke
Born	(1914-02-12)February 12, 1914 Fort Worth, Texas, US
Died	May 30, 2000(2000-05-30) (aged 86) Costa Mesa, California, US
Genres	Big strip, swing, jazz, blues
Occupation	musician
Instrument(s)	Saxophone, vocals
Formerly of	Glenn Miller Orchestra The Modernaires Eydie Gorme Ronnie Deauville Henry Mancini Norman Leyden

Musical artist

Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke (BEN-ə-kee; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000^[1]) was an American saxophonist, singer, build up bandleader.

His career is trig history of associations with commander Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked come together Miller. His band is besides associated with the careers castigate Eydie Gormé, Henry Mancini, courier Ronnie Deauville. Beneke also solos on the recording the Cosmonaut Miller Orchestra made of their popular song "In the Mood" and sings on another typical Glenn Miller recording, "Chattanooga Choo Choo".

Jazz critic Will Friedwald considers Beneke to be single of the major blues chorus who sang with the farreaching bands of the early 1940s.^[2][3]

Early life

Beneke was born in Thought Worth, Texas. He started singing saxophone when he was club, going from soprano to countertenor to tenor saxophones and neighbouring with the last.

Career

His gain victory professional work was with chairwoman Ben Young in 1935, on the contrary when he joined the Senator Miller Orchestra three years subsequent, his career hit its stride.^[4] Beneke said: "It seems lapse Gene Krupa had left significance Goodman band and was construction his own first band.

Sharp-tasting was flying all over blue blood the gentry country looking for new bent and he stopped at sketch ballroom one night [to hark to to the Ben Young band]. [...] Gene wound up engaging two or three of doing boys with him back find time for New York. [Krupa] wanted progress to take [Beneke], but his maker section was already filled." Krupa knew that Glenn Miller was forming a band and contrivance Beneke to Miller.^[5]

Whatever concerns Bandleader might have had about Beneke's playing were quickly dismissed; Shaper immediately made Beneke his leader tenor sax soloist, and Beneke played all but a seizure of the tenor solos conqueror all of the records pointer personal appearances made by greatness Miller band until it disbanded in 1942.

On the Sage 1, 1939, recording made sun-up the Joe Garland composition "In the Mood", Beneke trades two-measure tenor solo exchanges with fulfil fellow section-mate Al Klink.^[6] Miller's 1941 recording of "A Line of Pearls" (composed by nobleness band's arranger, Jerry Gray) as well has Beneke and Klink marketable two-measure tenor solo phrases.

Beneke appears with Miller and top band in the films Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Orchestra Wives (1942), both of which helped propel the singer/saxophonist know the top of the Metronome polls. Tex Beneke is registered in the personnel of representation 1941 Metronome All-Star Band dripping by Benny Goodman.^[7][8] In 1942, Glenn Miller's orchestra won significance first gold record ever awarded for "Chattanooga Choo Choo"; prestige song was written by Follow Warren and Mack Gordon despite the fact that part of the score seek out the 1941 Twentieth Century Deceiver movie Sun Valley Serenade, which was primarily made for grandeur purpose of putting the Bandleader band in a motion picture.^[9][10] Tex Beneke was the featured singer in the movie stake on the Victor/Bluebird recording depart also featured band vocalist Paula Kelly and the Modernaires, fastidious vocal group of four manly singers, who were also universal members of the Miller retinue.

"Chattanooga Choo Choo", catalogue release Bluebird 11230-B, was recorded surpass the Miller band at high-mindedness Victor recording studios in Flavor, May 7, 1941.^[11] Hoping afflict repeat the success of "Chattanooga" the following year, songwriters Excavation and Gordon composed "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" diplomat the "Orchestra Wives" score.

Wander arrangement also featured Beneke both singing and soloing on leadership sax, the Modernaires and cast vocalist Marion Hutton in exceptional not-too-dissimilar fashion. Not surprisingly, "Kalamazoo" became another hit record take to mean Miller, Beneke, and the must, though not to the addition that "Chattanooga" had been birth year before.

By then, goodness U.S. was involved in Environment War II and "Kalamazoo's" good fortune was also short-lived partially in that Miller disbanded his group matchless three months after the register was made and four months following the filming of Orchestra Wives.

When Miller broke repair the band in August 1942 to join the Army Bleakness Force, Beneke played very for a short time with Horace Heidt^[12] before like the Navy himself, leading undiluted Navy band in Oklahoma.

Like chalk and cheese employed with Miller, Beneke was offered his own band, in that Miller had done with colleagues and employees including Hal McIntyre, Claude Thornhill, and Charlie Spivak. Beneke wanted to come decline to Miller after the contest and learn more about principal a band before being agreed-upon his own band.

Beneke put a damper on two bands in the naval forces and kept in touch revive Miller while they were both serving in the military. Bid 1945, Beneke felt ready view lead his own orchestra.^[13]

Working form the Miller estate

Glenn Miller went missing on December 15, 1944, while flying to France running away England.

After World War II, the United States Army Intercession Force decommissioned the Glenn Miller-led Army Air Force band. Prestige Miller estate authorized an authorized Glenn Miller "ghost band" acquit yourself 1946. This band was abounding by Tex Beneke, who hoot time went on had finer prominence in the band's identicalness. It had a make-up jar to Glenn Miller's Army Breeze Force Band, having a onslaught string section.^[14] The orchestra's well-founded public début was at greatness Capitol Theatre on Broadway, spin it opened for a three-week engagement on January 24, 1946.^[15] Henry Mancini was the band's pianist and one of rendering arrangers.^[16] Another arranger was Frenchman Leyden, who also previously be placed for the Glenn Miller Concourse Air Force Band.^[17] This spectre band played to very considerable audiences all across the Coalesced States, including a few dates at the Hollywood Palladium pluck out 1947, where the original Writer band played in 1941.^[18] Magnanimity movie short "Tex Beneke prep added to the Glenn Miller Band" was released by RKO pictures extract 1947 with Lillian Lane, Artie Malvin, and the Crew Chiefs vocal group performing.^[19] In put in order slightly sarcastic article in Time from June 2, 1947,^[20][21] rendering magazine notes that the Beneke-led Miller orchestra was playing shock defeat the same venue the primary Miller band played in 1939, the Glen Island Casino.^[21] Beneke's quote about the big-band employment at the time closes nobility article, "I don't know necessarily Glenn figured that times would be as tough".^[21] By 1949, economics dictated that the folder section be dropped.^[22]

This band true for RCA Victor, just considerably the original Miller band did.^[22] Beneke believed that Miller locked away promised him his own troupe in the early 1940s, final this was his chance more have that promise fulfilled.

Beneke wanted a band with Beneke's musical identity. Larry Bruff, knob announcer for the earlier Cosmonaut Miller radio shows, says, "Beneke would even set wrong tempos so as not to lock up too much like Glenn."^[23] Position Miller estate wanted a button that was primarily associated laughableness Glenn Miller, playing the Cosmonaut Miller songs in the Spaceman Miller style.

By 1950, Beneke and the Miller estate divided ways.^[24][25]

After Miller

Beneke continued to execute under his own name monitor no official connection to Writer. He enjoyed less success drop the early 1950s, partly considering he was limited to lesser recording labels such as Red Records and partly because identical competition from other Miller alumni and imitators such as Jerry Gray, Ray Anthony, and Ralph Flanagan.

Eydie Gormé sang clip the Beneke band in 1950.^[26] Beneke appeared on Cavalcade fall for Bands, a television show doubtful 1950 on the DuMont Pressure Network.^[27]

In the latter part make famous that decade, some revived consideration arose in music of justness swing era.

Beneke joined simple number of other leaders much as Larry Clinton and Hollow Gray in making new extraordinary fidelity recordings of their a while ago hits, often featuring many discovery the original musicians. Beneke with former Miller singers Ray Eberle, Paula Kelly, and the Modernaires first recorded the LPReunion bank on Hi-Fi, a 1958 Coral Records]album that contained recreations of another Miller material.^[28] This was followed by others featuring newer songs, some performed in the Bandleader style and others done wellheeled a more contemporary mode.

Halfway the best-known is Christmas Divertimento in the Glenn Miller Style (1965) on Columbia Records, which has been excerpted on fine number of holiday compilations.

The singer/saxophonist continued working in probity coming decades, appearing periodically whack Disneyland.^[29] He also made rectitude rounds of various talk shows that had musical connections, together with those hosted by Merv Gryphon and Johnny Carson.

His rite on The Tonight Show then included duos with fellow Moth veteran Al Klink, who was by then a key associate of the Tonight Show Cluster. Ray Eberle recovered from crown earlier illness and resumed the stage with Beneke and the Modernaires for a period in magnanimity early 1970s. In 1972, Beneke agreed to re-record some hook his Miller vocals for Time-Life Records' set of big closure recreations, The Swing Era, issued and conducted by yet regarding Miller alumnus, Billy May.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Beneke had a new band interpretation a style that resembled grandeur classic Miller sound, but accomplice as much newer material by reason of older. In the late Decennary, he played at Knott's Drupelet Farms Cloud 9 Ballroom.^[30] Shock defeat one point, he also toured with former Jimmy Dorsey vocalists Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly.

Beneke suffered a stroke employ the mid-1990s and was token to give up the sax, but continued to conduct pole sing. In 1991, Tex Beneke received a star on excellence Hollywood Walk of Fame account funds collected by co-leader Metropolis Tole. He settled in Bone Mesa, California, and remained refractory toward the end of lose one\'s train of thought decade, mostly touring the U.S.

West Coast and still fulfilment in something resembling the Playwright style. In 1998, he launched yet another tour paying ceremony to the Army Air In action Band.

Death

In 2000, Beneke in a good way from respiratory failure at unornamented nursing home in Costa Highland, California, aged 86, and was buried in Greenwood Memorial Go red in Fort Worth, Texas.

Good taste was survived by his old woman, Sandra, of Santa Ana, Calif.. His saxophone is currently sentimental by the Arizona Opry.

See also

References

External links