The Glenn Miller/Bunny Berigan Connection

It was no accident that on April 25, 1935 Bunny Berigan and Charlie Spivak were the two trumpet players in the Glenn Miller Orchestra when the first record of the Glenn Miller Orchestra was recorded. Glenn, Charlie and Bunny were good friends and knew each other very well.

In 1930 both Glenn Miller and Bunny Berigan were musicians in New York City. They were musicians that were relatively unknown at that point and they certainly found their social lives taking place in establishments where all the aspiring musicians collected. It was prohibition but somehow the beer and whiskey got delivered. In an attempt to make a living, Glenn Miller did some of the arrangements for the Dorsey Brothers and was himself a trombone player. Bunny played the trumpet and was a side-man wherever he could get work until he was described as a brilliant soloist. Bunny and Glenn played in some of the same bands when radio dominated the scene.

It is interesting that radio was the first medium besides live music that the general public heard. It was not until the end of 1935 that the record industry picked up and suddenly Glenn Miller and other bands were on the home turn tables. The record industry took off and continued on to the 1960s and beyond. It was an environment that rewarded style, creativity and innovation. Bunny was a side-man with many of the bands and he had been in the recording studios for the radio stations many times. He was well acquainted with those places. It is often said that a rehearsal was practically unheard of........ the musicians would gather for a session and just put out the music for a radio show.

It was the record industry that made the Glenn Miller Orchestra famous with its smooth sound just made for dancing. There may not have been much practice in the radio days, but for records it was a different story. The Glenn Miller Orchestra would practice and rehearse until each and every note was in exactly the right spot.

By 1937 both Glenn Miller and Bunny Berigan were leading their own bands. It is said that Bunny’s wife did not want him to start up his own band. At that time Bunny was making over $500.00 a week as a side-man and living was easy for the Berigans. Maybe Donna Berigan knew that Bunny had a free spirit and being tied down to a set of account books would never fit his style. As it turned out she was right and the good-hearted, generous Bunny Berigan was not a business man meant to lead a band. Even at rehearsals there were big differences between Bunny and Glenn. Glenn ran his rehearsals with precision and Bunny held rehearsals that were loose and contained lots of freedom for improvising. It was this freedom that led to the “swing” music that took the country by storm, making a difference between a top notch dance band such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra and a “swing” band such as Bunny’s.

Theme songs were a trademark of all the big bands and each of them had one. Glenn Miller’s was “Moonlight Serenade” and Bunny Berigan’s was “I Can’t Get Started”, both songs that are played over and over by musicians today. Guests coming to the Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee on May 16 – 18 in Fox Lake, WI are assured of hearing “I Can’t Get Started” during the weekend.