A few years ago, the mom of a friend of mine found out of my love of the big band era. She said she didn't want any of her records anymore. Luckily for me her son was more interested in the rock group KISS than Ella Fitzgerald. I got her entire collection.
Mrs. Argus has since passed on but her legacy of music she gave me lingers. One of the gems she owned is a five LP set of Glenn Miller big band music. I would say that most people even today recognize some of Miller's signature tunes like "In the Mood" or "Moonlight Serenade." This set however is something special. Songs that aren't really remembered anymore today are on here, too. Catchy lyrics like "A Little Bit South of North Carolina" or "Love with a Capital You" were new to me and a lot of fun to hear for the first time.
This collection must have come out in the 1950s when LPs were a relatively new idea. The records are inside of a special white leather like looking book with extensive liner notes about Glenn Miller. Putting these records on takes me back to the big band era....and I wasn't even there! The notes say the songs were chosen "first to capture the unique sound of Glenn Miller's music; and second to present certain songs that were part of nearly everybody's youth,and understandably, just sort of wonderful."
From what I have seen on ebay, there is a second collection of these albums with a gold cover on them, so apparently the Glenn Miller fans of the day wanted more. After listening to these records over and over, I can see why....
To the young whippersnappers who don't know much about Glenn Miller, he died on a flight from England to Paris December 24, 1944. His music was the soundtrack of a generation. Thanks Mrs. Argus for sharing your soundtrack with me.
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