He was never seen again; both the plane and its three passengers vanished.
(Miller was the recipient of the first gold record, in fact.)
Decades from now, will there be a Grateful Dead or Rolling Stones with all-young musicians re-creating the repertoire?
Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd are among the touring bands without any original members, but the Glenn Miller Orchestra may have started the trend.Thomas Cooper/Getty Images; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Based on the Miller example, its entirely plausible.
I have to imagine its going to be the same thing for rock bands from probably every decade.
It needs to be run like a business, says DeStefano.
Its a business plan.
That fact alone lent a heroic grace note to Millers life.
But even better for business is the mystery factor.
Although those stories have been discounted, Millers vanishing act has only added to the allure of the GMO.
Nineteen fifty-six came along, and they were like, You know what?
Maybe we can get a couple of years out of this, says DeStefano.
Currently, according to DeStefano, the Miller estate controls some of the music and merchandise and the publishing.
Glenn Miller Productions, a separate company, has licensed the GMO name from the family since 1956.
Go after copycats!
We never tried to stop, say, the John Smith Orchestra doing a tribute to Glenn Miller.
You have to protect the name.
DeStefano says that trademarks registered in the Eighties finally put an end to the fakes.
Give the people what they want: the hits.
They want to hear the big hits, says Stabnau.
In that regard, Stabnau has advice for those future classic rockers.
Play this music the way it was recorded.
There are some improvised solos here and there, but thats really not the point of this music.
People come to hear the songs and melodies that they know.
Some definitely different material there, right?
Some great arrangements, of course.
But they were not as well received as we would have liked to have seen them.
I wasnt too fond of that, he says.
I understand wanting to modernize a little bit, but it changed the style of the music.
Dont be a reenactor or sexist.
Should a ghost band re-create the precise wardrobe of the originals or modernize for the times?
The musicians wear same-colored jackets and ties, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra logo adorns the music stands.
Stabnau also serves as emcee, sharing background info on the music and history.
But the GMO is committed to not being stuck in the past.
We dont necessarily go strictly for a Forties hairstyle, says Stabnau.
We have more of a modern look.
Not every single detail is Forties-themed.
We now have women in the band.
We think thats important too.
Get ready to hear from the music geeks in the audience.
Every year, there might have been slightly different instrumentation in Glenns band, says Stabnau.
The band started small and then got bigger.
He added a vocal group eventually.
So it depends what year youre looking at.
Right now, were traveling with what would have been the 1939 instrumentation.
So sometimes the fans will say, Oh, I thought Glenn played with another trombone or trumpet player.
Well, sometimes he did, and sometimes he didnt.
When it comes to fans of boomer-rock bands with replacement members, Stabnau is well-versed in skepticism.
Thats going to be inevitable, he says.
Same thing with us, and I think with others who perform in classic rock.
