No jazz lover can ever forget Glenn Miller hits like “In The Mood” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo”. Not only did Miller lead one of the most successful big bands of that time, but he was highly venerated for his spirit of patriotism and taking an active part in boosting the morale of the American soldiers on the war front. Glenn Miller went missing when he was at the peak of fame and popularity. The mysterious missing of this swing legend was one of the reasons why people could never accept swing music with the same vigor and enthusiasm. So, on 15th December 1944, Glenn Miller was said to have flown from England to Paris for entertaining the Allied troops. Alas, he was never seen or heard of ever again! You might have heard several conspiracy theories as background stories on many big band radio stations, but none knows the truth and it stills remains as unsolved as ever. In this blog, we share some theories with his fans.
Attacked by Friendly-fire – This widely-circulated myth stemmed from one of the tales told by a Lancaster pilot in 1984. So, according to the friendly-fire theory, Glenn Miller’s plan was taken down mistakenly by the British air force bombers that had to release live explosives for a safe landing. Fred Shaw, the pilot, admitted to having had seen a small plan in his view while dropping live explosives. After checking the logbook, tallying the dates and timings, and exploring possibilities, the pilot confirmed that it was Miller’s plane that had been blown by the explosives. However, critics are reluctant to accept and sense something fishy in this conclusion because they believe Shaw could have brought the story into the limelight much earlier instead of waiting for so long.
Mechanical problems – Now, there is another school of historians, researchers, and documentary experts that negates conspiracy theories and emphasizes engine malfunctioning. According to the reports Miller was flying in the UC-64A Norseman, which already had carburetor issues while flying in chilling temperatures. In these faulty planes, the carburetors would freeze up when flying amid heavy fog in sub-zero temperatures and ultimately fall on the land. So, it has been assumed since then that something like this would have happened to Miller’s plane as well. Despite several claims, there is no strong evidence to show that this was the real reason behind Glenn’s sudden disappearance.
Held captive by the Germans – As an enigmatic personality in the swing and big band music in the USA, Glenn Miller voluntarily joined the US military to boost the war spirit with music. But, according to many, Miller had a greater role to play than just being an entertainer for the US army. It was said that Miller would work as a spy for the government to extract information and even negotiate a peace treaty with Germany. As he was allegedly considered to be involved in espionage activities, many concluded that Miller could have been held captive by the Germans. But, once again, there is not enough evidence to prove the authenticity of this story or conspiracy theory.
Death due to cancer – Now, this theory was put forward by Herb, Miller’s bother who said the bandleader suffered from lung cancer and could have died due to it. It was said that Miller and his brother exchanged letters wherein the former would mention his deteriorating health condition due to cancer. According to his brother, Miller fabricated the story of the plane crash to hide from people and his fans that he was dying miserably from cancer. Although reports have proven that Miller was sick while performing in England, there is no proof to substantiate the theory around his death and disappearance.
Final Thoughts – Despite these theories going rounds, we cannot take most of them at face value due to lack of concrete evidence. All that we can deduce is that a probable plane crash killed our beloved big band leader, Glenn Miller. Even though his disappearance remains a mystery, we can still enjoy his music on the big band radio station in the USA. Do you want to listen to his classic scores? Tune into Swing Street Radio now!
