Happy Feet

I would dread the times my father would walk through the door after work and tell my mother, “Margaret, I’m feeling frisky tonight.” They would push aside the furniture in the parlor, and put on a Glenn Miller Orchestra record featuring saxophonist and singer Tex Beneke. Then, they would dance right there in front of us. They called it “cutting the rug.” We called it nauseating. It got to be a pitched battle sometimes for control of the stereo: Our Led Zeppelin albums vs. Big Band buddy boy Beneke. One day Dad threw me a clipping from a jazz magazine and said: “Read.” So we did. We read that Beneke, who was born in Ft. Worth, Tex., joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1938 and quickly became one of the band’s leading soloists with hits like “Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider.” After Miller’s death, Beneke led the orchestra until 1950, and has since added to his fame as a Big Band musician and leader. Beneke will blow his saxophone to kick off “A Golden Salute to Big Band Dancing” at 8 p.m. Friday at the Palladium, 6215 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. For information call (213) 962-7600. We’re taking our kid. It’s about time she learned to appreciate swell music.