at least sixteen musicians have died on planes
Glenn Miller, Buddy Holly, Aaliyah too
The Big Bopper went down due to torrential rains
The loss of such marvelous talent makes me feel blue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
vacant control tower hisses in static~
a Morse code signaling the absence of departing flights.
B-24s dissolve into prairie stars,
fuel streaks fading like old film burns.
Midnight mechanics still roll toolbox shadows
across tarmacs swallowed by Kansas crabgrass.
a windsock flaps—empty, always empty~
counting dead radio waves as prayer beads.
barracks hum with old Glenn Miller,
though the record needle’s been stuck for decades.
midnight taxi lights still trace the runway,
guiding no one home.
airfield ghosts wear leather bomber jackets,
not shrouds, sighing at how quietly war forgets.
We had;
The face behind
the mask and
Chattanooga
choo, choo.
A boy and his dog and
Bill and Coo.
We three and
Gaslight.
The black cat and
Dead of the night.
A string of pearls and
Bambi.
Candid Camera and
Hop along Cassidy.
Moonlight cocktail
And Dumbo.
Java jive and
Pinocchio.
Paper doll and
Shoo, shoo, baby.
Blueberry hill and
Yankee doodle dandy.
Glenn Miller and
Doris Day.
Linda and
Dorian Gray.
Dead man's eyes and
Ed Sullivan Show.
Jekyll and Hyde and
Abbott and Costello.
In the mood and
The Lone Ranger.
Frank Sinatra and
A woman to remember.
Cat people and
Citizen Cane.
Fantasia and
John Wayne.
Turbo1904?
Some called the radio station demanding they throw them out of the studio.
Others called to brag about their talents, their arrangements, their sass.
Boswell sisters had been singing together since their Vaudeville days as teens.
Connee played sax and trombone,
Vet played banjo and guitar and Martha held down the piano.
They were popular in their hometown of New Orleans, playing with big bands.
Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman all knew them.
These sisters blended “blackness” and “whiteness”, natural for them.
They loved to rework and rearrange popular songs; they were musicians.
They appeared in a film with Bing Crosby and Cab Calloway.
This led to thirteen appearances on the Bing Crosby Show.
Ella Fitzgerald patterned her style after Connee Boswell.
As did the Andrew Sisters a few years later.
The Boswells had a profound effect; incorporating scat, jazz and swing.
Was just a young'un in the big band era
But it seems just like yesterday
Listening to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey
Still love it right to this day
Miller's Modernaires, and Dorsey's Pied Pipers
With their smooth harmonic blend
Chattanooga Choo-Choo and The Trolley Song
Brought me so much pleasure no end
Guess I was influenced by my older sisters
Was not even ten at the time
It just goes to show the impact they had made
For those long ago days I still pine
It wasn't until Elvis debuted in fifty-six
When Rock'n Roll took over
The Big Band era came quickly to a halt
And ended it's popular exposure
Don't even know what is popular today
Or even if they've given it a name
Guess I'm just an old guy living in the past
Progress is the name of the game
I’ve got a girl in Kalamazoo,
sing Miller, Swing Miller, Ding Miller doo…
Moonlight cocktail anyone?
Glenn’s orchestra is on the run.
come on down. Let’s have some fun!
boogie Doogie Moogie Hoogie. Choo Choo Choo
Chattanooga if you want to know.
play something spunky and jazzy, please nothing slow.
American big band king
take those dolls and make ‘em swing
from thirty nine to forty two,
no one was finer or more fun than the likes of you!
an Iowan, like me, I am proud to say.
that old black magic has had her say.
swing Miller, sing Miller, play play play!
you are just as current as you ever were "back in the day!"
When you wish upon a star,
Pennsylvania Six Five thousand, you can’t go far!
what’s my function? Tuxedo junction!
Rhapsody in blue, how do you do?
swing baby, dance, just me and you!
Glenn Miller’s big band will never be through.
U-tube makes sure of that. Boogie Boo Boo.
Glen Miller and his Orchestra, I truly love you!
Hey, saggy man.
You'll never enter her heart.
It is closed to old things.
It's an exit only for you.
She's given you one last mirage of your youth.
She thinks of you as a silly uncle, not a lover.
You'll never keep pace with her shine.
She has a rhinestone soul- leopard-printed mind.
She's looking for somebody that can keep pace.
Not somebody who's tucked away by nine.
Hey saggy man.
Time to wobble off into the sunset.
To the sounds of Glenn Miller.
You've had your spin with pretty young dark things.
Find something silver-headed, safe and sunny.
In another time when big bands flourished,
And dancing was hugging set to music,
The stars were twinkling o’er outdoor porches,
Glenn Miller was playing his Serenade.
You whispered those words I so longed to hear.
It was too late, you had waited too long.
My heart had turned cold in the delaying.
“I love you” was flat, those feelings were gone.
Time whisked away, and though I was lonely,
Life was as pleasant as young life could be.
Tho as fate would have, I met another,
You always danced sweet in my memories.
I smile, recall that night to remember
Sad “goodbyes” neath a moon in December.
Just Remembering
In a corner in her garden, sun hat leaning,
Traffic white noise backgrounded,
Sara dozes and dreams of life long ago
When she was young, so young.
She is dancing the jitterbug, Glenn Miller playing,
Baby sister peeking through French doors,
And then she has a flash of Mother cooking,
Boiling water for tea in a blue galvanized pan.
In her reverie she recalls broomstick skirts,
Saddle oxfords and beanies, and then
“Ma Perkins,” and “Stella Dallas” and “The Shadow knows,”
At night on a veneered radio.
There were “Fireside Chats” comforting from the President,
“Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree,” and that Harbor of Pearl,
Nickel song sheets to sing by, a piano player in the dime store,
Cotton and wool for home-sewn clothes, nothing more.
Picture shows for “necking” on the very back row;
Betty Davis, Peter Lorre and Greenstreet,
Love glances to the grocery store boy,
Ten cents for bread the excuse.
Stars were brighter then, days were sunny, too
Hope lived eternal “in that human breast”
Where now a breeze blows ‘cross wrinkled old cheeks,
And she rests, rests, rests.
The Big Bands of the forties, I loved them all
Glenn Miller, the Dorseys, Arty Shaw and Les Paul
They were so smooth
And quite raucous too
Collected their 78s, I certainly had a ball
The Big Bands of the forties, I loved them all
Glenn Miller, the Dorseys, Arty Shaw and Les Paul
They were so smooth
And quite raucous too
Collected their 78s, I certainly had a ball
My favourite film
which tells the story
of trombone player
and big band leader
Major Glenn Miller
This love story
shows his rise to
fame and fortune
and tragic death
His music
still enjoyed
by people
To this
very
day
Contest: Favourite Movie
Sponsor: Nayda Ivette Negron
01~02~16
Hard to fathom what makes us tick
We're all unique as they say
One person loves rock and roll music
Another loves Sammy Kaye
Was always a true Glenn Miller fan
And big bands of the 40s and 50s
Vocalists like Sinatra and Como
And Frankie Laine was also nifty
WOW! Am I living in the past or what
With crinolines and saddle shoes
Terribly miss these much simpler times
Suffering from a case of the blues
Guess each generation misses their past
When things were a lot more fun
This roller coaster ride can get us down
Just enjoy your day in the sun
Must be realistic and accept the future
With all of it's scary unknowns
If you approach it with a great big smile
You'll wonder where the years have flown
© Jack Ellison 2015
G-len Miller, his music is so wonderfully enchanting.
L-istening to his "Moonlight Serenade" makes me think of love so tender.
E-ndless joy, in my heart,his music always brings to me.His given
N-ame was,Alton Glenn Miller.He was born in Clarinda,Iowa,U.S.
N-otoriously,performed the trombone.His Glenn Miller Orchestra is divine!
M-usician arranger,composer,and great band leader in the swing era.
I-n The Mood",is onother one of my favorite music pieces of his to this day.
L-ittle Brown Jug" "American Patrol" "Tuxedo Junction" and so many more,his
L-egacy is filled of so much dancing and romance under a moonlit and stars.
E-ntertaining the troops was something very close to his heart.Glenn Miller,
R-emains one of the most famous and recognizable names of the big band era.
Dorian Petersen Potter
aka ladydp2000
copyright@2010
October, 7,2014
His years spanned 1908-1997
reaching the grand age of 89
played many a character in his life
giving each one his special shine
My memories of Jimmy Stewart
goes back many a year for me
'Dear Brigitte' was the first I saw
a lovely film seeing the lovelier BB
Jimmy covered many different parts
of many types he did play
he was so good in westerns
'Winchester 73 and 'Shenandoah' made my day
He loved music also too
played the accordion as well as sing
showed this talent on the screen
'Glenn Miller story' was the real thing
The movie 'What a Wonderful Life'
George Bailey was his most famous role
this was his favourite movie
in it our hearts he stole
'Rear Window' alongside Grace Kelly
was a favourite also for many a fan
but there were so many to highlight
in a life of a ordinary man
James Stewart had a voice like no other
with such a recognisable drawl
it made his appeal so much greater
many great memories we're left to recall
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