On March 11, 1903, musician and entertainer Lawrence Welk 
was born.

For the generation that grew up on the big bands of the 1930s
and ’40s, The Lawrence Welk Show was a blessed island of
calm in a world gone mad for rock and roll, and it aired like
clockwork every Saturday night from 1955 to 1982. On KTLA.
ABC and Syndication.

When ABC dropped The Lawrence Welk Show in 1971, Welk independently arranged a syndication deal that kept him on
the air for another 11 years and made him one of the richest
entertainers in America. 

Inside the historic William Penn Hotel in downtown
Pittsburgh, you can see Lawrence Welk’s original
bubble machine.

Glenn Miller and His Orchestra topped the American pop charts
with the ebullient "In the Mood" as war raged overseas on this
day in history, Feb. 10, 1940.

His most famous song, along with other iconic hits, made Miller
the biggest bandleader of his era and provided the swinging
soundtrack of the Greatest Generation during World War II. 

Glenn Miller (1904-1944)

Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986)

Benny Goodman was an clarinetist and bandleader who’s bands
started the careers of many jazz musicians.

Despite health problems, he continued to perform, his last concert
being six days before his death. Goodman died on June 13, 1986,
from a heart attack while taking a nap at his apartment in Manhattan House.     

Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944)    
    
    
    
    
    
 

General James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF), hero of the daring “Doolittle Raid” on mainland Japan
and later the unified commander of Allied air forces in Europe
in World War II, offered the following high praise to one of his
staff officers in 1944: “Next to a letter from home, Captain Miller,
your organization is the greatest morale builder in the European
Theater of Operations.”

Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – disappeared December 15, 1944)

Glenn Miller was a big-band trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader
in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1942,
leading one of the best-known big bands. Miller’s recordings include "In the
Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Chattanooga Choo
Choo", "A String of Pearls", "At Last", "(I’ve Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo",
"American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer’s Tune", and "Little Brown
Jug". In just four years Glenn Miller scored 16 number-one records and 69
top ten hits—more than Elvis Presley (38 top 10s) and the Beatles (33 top - 
10s) did in their careers.   
       

In 1942, Miller volunteered to join the U.S. military to entertain troops during
World War II, ending up with the U.S. Army Air Forces. On December 15,
1944, while flying to Paris, Miller’s aircraft disappeared in bad weather over
the English Channel. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal.