Tex Beneke

The name Tex Beneke is inevitably linked to that of Glenn Miller, despite the fact that Beneke outlived Miller by over a half century. As the most popular member of Miller's pre-World War II orchestra, featured on songs such as "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree," Beneke became a major fixture in the popular culture of the period, and following Miller's death in December of 1944, and the reforming of The Glenn Miller Orchestra after World War II, he accepted the offer to lead the new band.



Beneke, however, had a lot to offer the music world beyond his vocals on some fondly remembered hit songs. He began playing the saxophone at age nine, first with the alto and then with the tenor, and played in local and regional bands in Oklahoma and Texas during the early and middle 1930's. A gig playing with a band led by Ben Young brought him to Detroit, where he was spotted by Sam Donahue, then a saxman in Gene Krupa's band--Krupa was unable to hire Beneke but informed a friend of his in New York of this promising new player. The friend was Glenn Miller, who'd recently begun forming a band of his own, and Beneke was hired, joining the orchestra in the spring of 1938--it was with Miller's band that Beneke picked up the nickname "Tex."

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