Alton Glenn Miller was an American big band musician, arranger, composer and bandleader in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best-known big bands. Glenn Miller has become an icon. For many people his orchestra and the string of hits it produced represent the essence of the swing era. Alton Glenn Miller accomplished a lot in his short life: he had a successful career, an inspiring childhood, searing success, and inspiring musical talent. Glenn Miller was born in a small town in Iowa but when he was three years old his family moved to Nebraska. Miller's family was not wealthy. While in Nebraska the family lived in a sod house. When Glenn was a young teenager, the family moved to Missouri and three years later to Fort Morgan, Colorado. Miller initially played cornet and mandolin, but switched to trombone and joined his high school band in Colorado. His family included his father Lewis Elmer Miller, mother Mattie Lou (née Cavender), his brother Herb and sister Irene. Glenn was one of the few musicians of the swing era who did not ...