Tex Beneke

Tex Beneke (1914) was an American bandleader, tenor saxophonist and singer. Beneke is best remembered today for his long association with bandleader Glenn Miller, although he outlived Miller by over half a century.

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Timothy Lee Beneke was born on February 12, 1914 in Forth Worth, Texas. He started playing saxophone when he was nine, starting out on soprano, then alto and later the tenor saxophone he would be identified with.

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He started working professionally with bandleader Ben Young in 1935. He joined Glenn Miller in 1937 and became one of the band's most popular soloists. Although originally hired as a saxophonist, Beneke quickly proved himself a valuable singer, ideal for some of the jazzier numbers and novelty tunes. He lent his voice on Miller?s now famous recordings of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "(I?ve Gotta Girl In) Kalamazoo," among others. An ideal saxophonist, he played saxophone from jazz numbers like "Bugle Call Rag" to ballads like "Sunrise Serenade." With Miller, he appeared in the movies "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941) and "Orchestra Wives" (1942), both of which helped propel him to the top of the Downbeat and Metronome polls.

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When Miller broke up his band in late 1942 to join the Army Air Force, Beneke played very briefly with Horace Heidt before Beneke himself joined the Navy, where he led a United States Navy band in Oklahoma. He was discharged in 1945.

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In 1946, he formed another band, this time with the Miller Estate. The Tex Beneke Band immediately drew a good following. The band played arrangements by either Miller?s civilian or Army Air Force Bands, as well as new arrangements by Henry Mancini and other arrangers. Beneke also introduced some Bebop material into the books as a way with staying with the times, as both Bebop and the singers took over (thanks in part to James Petrillo?s Recording Ban of 1942; the ban lasted until 1944). Bebop didn?t fair too well with the Miller Estate and they finally severed their association with him in 1948. This led to Beneke not being mentioned or seen in "The Glenn Miller Story" six years later (1954).

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In the 1960s, he worked occasionally at Disneyland and at special Miller reunions. He also worked with Ray Eberle and the Modernaires?both associated with Miller as well?around this time. By the 1970s and the 1980s, he was still playing with his band in a style closely resembling the Miller sound, but with new songs. Beneke continued to be active until the 1990s, mostly touring the West Coast and continuing to play in the Glenn Miller style. In 1996, Tex Beneke was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

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