Glenn Miller - I Sustain the Wings

...In June 1943, Miller and his AAF band began a weekly radio series, "I Sustain the Wings," broadcast coast to coast on NBC..."

That's where we left off last week. Today we cover the rest of the story. Glenn Miller became Captain Glenn Miller. He had applied to the army but they weren't interested in a commissioned swing band. The air force went for it and it is their name that graces all of his acetates and the CDs now made from them.  

In December of 1942 Captain Glenn Miller served initially in the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Maxwell Field, Montgomery. He found time to play on air at both WAPI-AM in Birmingham and WSFA-AM in Montgomery. In March of 1943 he was transferred to Yale University in New Haven. At that base he formed a marching band. There at Woolsley hall they did six broadcasts for I sustain the wings." the first was May 29th. This band shared members with his later broadcast orchestra. He began performing weekly on the program "I sustain the wings" NBC series live at the Vanderbilt Theater in New York. Nonetheless Victor records began recording this new band and releasing V-discs. The American Federations of Musicians (AFM) were on strike, but even union musicians were allowed to record V-discs for the troops. 

 These releases were popular despite their misgivings so permission came to form his big-ass 50 piece band and go to England in the summer of 1944. In his absence other AAF orchestras filled in on the radio program. While in England he continued to broadcast from the BBC and he was promoted to major. His band recorded 20 songs the week of December 3rd 1944 then he went MIA. On December 15th he was declared officially missing in action. He was flying from an RAF base in England to Paris for a gig. Theories vary. He may have crashed. He may have been shot down by either Germans or the English. German propaganda newspapers said that he died of a heart attack in the arms of a French hooker. In 1985 divers found what they think was Miller's Norseman C-64 aircraft off the coast of France. The most accepted theory is that his plane wandered into a no-fly zone and was accidentally bombed by a British plane dropping it's payload to save fuel. Chris Valenti requested documents from the Miller files at the Air Force and posted them online here. 

After Miller's disappearance, his band continued to play for Allied personnel. They toured Germany well into the summer of 1945. In 1956 Millers estate allowed drummer Ray McKinley to reform the band with the miller name. Today that watered down dance orchestra continues to exist in tribute.

Hank Williams & Radio

If you do not yet own any Hank williams CDs I recomend one of the collections on Lost Highway records. Click here.

In 1937 a 14-year old Hank Williams, (legally still named Hiram) began playing shows on WSFA-AM in Montgomery as "the Singing kid." He'd won a talent show at the Empire theatre and a few others, and after spending the prize money on booze, he bought a new Gibson. His unpayed gigs on WSFA grew into a twice weekly gig with a house band. - star of hsi own show and not yet allowed to drive. He'd not written any songs either. He was still mostly covering Roy Acuff.

He used his show to promote his concerts, and tours. It was on one of those tours that he met Pappy Neal McCormick who had a show on WCOA-AM in Pensacola. Pappy was a band leader for a Hawaiian-syled band showcasing steel guitar. A huge influence on the later song writing of little Hank.

The WSFA gig grew into a daily gig Monday through Friday. hank formed hsi own band, the Drifting Cowboys and dropped the WSFA house band. But by 1942 he got fired for habitual drunkeness. Yes he was barely 19. Hank stayed drunk, but recorded a "Hank Williams Show" to shop around. Nobody bit. He was a known drunk and he took a gig ship building in WWII.

He took a job backing Pee Wee King the polka star and slowly returned to music. By 1945 he was back on WSFA daily, brodcasting from the Jefferson davis Hotel. He was punctual and soder enough at the time that when he asked for an exclusive deal ( no other country bands) he got it. He even realeased a song book of his lyrics. But the sobriety didn't last. Soon they were airing canned shows when Hank was too liquored to to show.

By the end of the decade hank was trying to move onto the Opry at WSM, it didn't happen for years yet, but his later in troduction to Fred Rose was a step, and Rose shopped hank around Nashville, even to WLAC-AM for a regular gigdown the street from that very barn dance. While thsi was going ton WSFA got tired of drunken absenteeism and fired Hank again. About then Hank started a new habit of getting arrested.. for public drunkeness.

In 1948 he scored a new gig at KWKH-AM in Shreveport. They ran a saturdaynight barn-dance type program just like the opry, the Louisiana hayride. they made him promise to stay sober for 6 whole months before they let him at a mic. the program ran 15 minutes every weekday morning just him and solo guitar. Johnny Fair Syrup was the sponsor. (They later sponsored Red Sovine)

The gig did well by hank, bigger gis came as did some hit singles. But Fred Rose still had to bribe two Opry managers to finally get him a gues spot in 1949. His guest appearance was so huge, the crowd so insanely responsive he ended up doing 6 encores. It was the beginning of his superstardom. When The opry relocated, the bosses at WSM-AM actually had a six-foot circle cut out of the stage where Mr. Williams stood, and took it with them.

WSFA became WHHY, and in 1999 dropped their longtime simulcast with WHHY-FM to go right wing talk as WLWI-AM. http://www.newsradio1440.com/