[78-L] Glen Miller was: Kay Starr - R.I.P personal remininces of a 1960 born child who loves swing

[Inigo Cubillo]

Me too... I was born in 1963, and got into 78s at 13yo or so, because my
father brought home grandpa's records to be taped on reels. I still
remember warmly those Sunday afternoons, when he did the transfers. It was
only a small collection; in the scrapbook where dad carefully registered
all details of the records transferred there are only some 65 x 78s. But
tastes were eclectic: from Bing Crosby to Wilhelm Backhaus, and from
Spanish zarzuela to The Andrews Sisters. A mixture of acoustics and
electrics. Grandpa bought the gramophone in 1930, and bought lots of then
cheap records (acoustics by then were sold in bargain lots). Later he kept
buying records at a slow path (they were comparatively expensive for a
family of twelve, living only on the wages of an army officier). Later
during the thirties and forties, my elder uncles also added records to the
collection.
That collection put the seed for my hobby, and those records and gramophone
went later to my cousins, far away from me. I used to listen to my father's
tapes for hours, and fell in love with Bing's crooning, Smith Ballews'
sweet voice, Chevalier's informal way of singing, or the tremendous sound
of Jack Hylton's orchestra and original arrangements. The day I discovered
78s at a second-hand record store, I swapped all my LPs for 78s, and my
hobby started. But with years, I've managed to get a pretty collection of
some 5000 records and a dozen gramophones.
I've only had one record with vocalist Kay Starr, and it was "Love With a
Capital You", with Glenn Miller's orchestra, on HMV. Later I traded it for
other records. But since the very beginning of my collecting, Glenn's
records were present (as far as Rachmaninoff's, I'm eclectic too!). I find
it difficult to point out a single favorite among Miller's recordings...
there are several among the"top ones" for me, and in general, I find all
his records at least delicious. It's easier for me to point out the few
ones I don't like! The mastery of the arrangements and the high standard of
playing, is something you notice as soon as the first notes of the music
come out. Not to mention the mellow voices of Tex Beneke or Ray Eberle... I
have near 40 of his 78s, and perhaps one which for me has all the elements
of his sweet but powerful sound, is "Serenade in Blue", an old favorite.
But I also like very much "Indian Summer" or so many others. On the swing
side, I like "Sun Valley Serenade" or his Decca version of "I Got Rhythm",
although perhaps more elegant are "Glenn Island Special" or "Little Brown
Jug" (one 78 that I'm still looking for). Some of his renditions are too
foreseeable and hide no surprises, but so many of them are also pretty
original. You never get tired of Glenn; there's always a side for every
chance, wether you feel sad, or happy. There is a world of art only in his
records... and I say this only having 40 out of his production, perhaps
over 200 78s...?

Saludos,
Inigo