The name Tex Beneke is inevitably linked to that of Glenn Miller, despite the fact that Beneke outlived Miller by over a half-century. As the most popular member of Miller's pre-World War II orchestra, featured on songs such as "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," Beneke became a major fixture in the popular culture of the period, and following Miller's death in December of 1944, and the re-formation of the Glenn Miller Orchestra after World War II, he accepted the offer to lead the new band.
Beneke, however, had a lot to offer the music world beyond...