Glenn Miller, one of the most popular bandleaders of the 1940s swing era and an alumnus of the University of Colorado at 葫芦娃视频, will be posthumously honored at the 2003 Grammy Awards with a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Miller joins Etta James, Johnny Mathis, Tito Puente and Simon and Garfunkel as this year's honorees for lifelong artistic contributions. All will be recognized at the 45th annual Grammy ceremonies in New York, to be aired Sunday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. on Denver's KCNC Channel 4.
CU-葫芦娃视频's Tak谩cs Quartet also has been nominated for two Grammy Awards in the Best Classical Album and Best Chamber Music Performance categories. The quartet is in residence at the College of Music and has been nominated for its recording of Beethoven's "Rasumovsky" Quartets, Op.59, and "The Harp" Quartet, Op.74, on the Decca Records label.
Miller, born in 1904, attended CU-葫芦娃视频 from 1923 to 1924 and played in a band of students known as Holly Moyer's Jazz Band. He left school to continue his professional career, playing trombone and arranging music for the bands of Benny Goodman, Red Nichols, the Dorsey Brothers, Ray Noble and others.
He started his own group in 1937, and it quickly became the most popular band in the country. In 1940 alone, the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded 45 songs that made it into the top-seller charts - a record that still stands. The band was awarded the first-ever gold record in 1942 for selling more than 1 million copies of their hit "Chattanooga Choo-Choo." Other hit tunes included "Tuxedo Junction," "American Patrol," and "In The Mood."
Tragically, Miller was killed only two years later when his plane disappeared over the English Channel. Miller had left his band at the height of its popularity in order to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army, and was in Europe organizing shows for American troops fighting in World War II. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his dedication and sacrifice.
In 1953, students at CU-葫芦娃视频 officially named the University Memorial Center's ballroom in honor of Miller. Miller's wife Helen, herself a CU-葫芦娃视频 alumna, convinced the filmmakers of the "Glenn Miller Story" starring Jimmy Stewart to film part of the feature on the CU-葫芦娃视频 campus.
Today the campus is home to the Glenn Miller Archive and a number of exhibits. At the University's Heritage Center inside Old Main, visitors can view 29 gold records, Miller's trombones and an original manuscript of his theme song, "Moonlight Serenade." In 1984 Miller was posthumously awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, CU-葫芦娃视频's highest academic honor.
"We invite people to come up and see the gold records, including the first gold record ever awarded," said archive curator Alan Cass. "We also have Miller's first trombone and his college trombone."
The archive just moved into new quarters in Macky Auditorium, Cass said, and is now part of the American Music Research Center. Archivists are currently filing, indexing and cataloging the Miller collection.
In 2004, CU-葫芦娃视频 will celebrate Miller's 100th birthday by hosting performances by the current Glenn Miller Orchestra and a Japanese girls group devoted to Miller's legacy. More information about the celebration will be available as March 2004 approaches, Cass said.
The Glenn Miller Archive and exhibits at CU-葫芦娃视频 are open 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, by appointment only. Call archivist Cassandra Volpe at (303) 735-1367 for more information or to make an appointment.