Tex Beneke • Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop!

Tex Beneke (1914-2000) certainly had an odd career. One of the main stars of the Glenn Miller Orchestra during 1938-42 where his good-natured singing and occasional tenor solos helped make such songs as “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and “I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo” famous, Beneke spent much of the rest of his life recreating the music from that four-year period. After Miller joined the Air Force, Beneke enlisted with the Navy and led bands in Oklahoma during his period in the service. He had planned to rejoin Miller after the war but, with Miller’s death, he instead signed up in 1946 to head the Glenn Miller ghost orchestra. Beneke did what he could to give the band his own personality and a fresher repertoire, but since its main purpose was to sound like Miller’s orchestra, there was some inevitable conflict. In 1950 Beneke split with the Glenn Miller estate. However, although he was free from the oversight and he continued leading his own big band for the rest of his career, it always sounded like a relative of Miller’s. Beneke lacked the creativity and initiative to break away from the style. Whether it was 1948, 1968, or 1988, he always sounded pretty much the same. The two-CD set Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop! has 48 of Beneke’s more rewarding recordings as a leader, mostly from 1946-51 with the final three titles from 1952-54. The music includes some swinging instrumental