Swinging Against the Axis

Glenn Miller was already famous when he enlisted in the Army Air Forces. Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was one of the most popular and successful bands of the big band era. While the bands of the Dorsey brothers, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw were identified by their leaders’ instrument, Miller focused on orchestration.

In 1942, Miller volunteered for the US military. During World War II, Generals "Hap" Arnold and Barton K. Yount sought ways to wage influence instead of war. They commissioned musicians, actors, and artists such as Samuel Barber, Ronald Reagan, and Ogden Pleissner to help raise morale at home, on the front lines, and behind enemy lines, where new music and even jazz were prohibited by the Third Reich. Miller, considered the father of the modern US military bands, worked to hone his sound. It was at Yale that he added strings, French horn, and extra percussion to his musical palette, assembling the finest group of musicians in the military. His distinctive sound was the result of years of serious study in harmony, form, and orchestration.

Swinging Against the Axis: Glenn Miller's WWII Army Air Forces Band at Yale explores not only Miller’s compositional style, but also his managerial and organizational innovations that would change the way military bands do business today. Equally intriguing is the setting in which Miller, Yale’s president, the OSS, and a few Air Force generals transformed a sleepy, isolationist college into a center for the clandestine services, including the band’s "secret" psychological warfare recordings.