Friends, Bandmates Recall Musical Style of ‘Tex’ Beneke

The song was empty without words, and the band members knew it as they played inside the Santa Ana union hall Saturday. There was no “. . . pardon me, boy” or “. . . dinner in the diner,” but “Chattanooga Choo Choo” somehow still felt right.

It was Gordon Lee “Tex” Beneke’s signature arrangement--a song for which he earned the first gold record in history. On Saturday, during a memorial service for the legendary bandleader who died May 30, guests closed their eyes and tapped their feet as if it were the last time they would hear it.

Beneke’s death “is a sad loss to our culture,” said Art Depew, who first played with Beneke 50 years ago and has been in the band ever since. More than 100 people who gathered at the Musicians’ Assn. union building in Santa Ana to remember Beneke nodded in agreement.

Beneke, 86, died of respiratory arrest at a rest home in Costa Mesa after several months of declining health. A saxophonist, he became leader of the Glenn Miller Orchestra after Miller died in World War II. That role was a springboard to his own fame, playing Miller tunes such as “Choo Choo,” “In the Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade,’ and massaging the Miller sound of saxophones and clarinets.’

Beneke’s old friends and bandmates took turns at the podium, sharing stories of road trips, and musical blunders and triumphs.

“He just reeked of humility,” said Chip Allen, the orchestra’s business manager for the last 15 years. He pointed to the band: “He had to be humble, because they’re weren’t.”

The service was not somber, mostly because of Beneke’s orchestra, which sounded smooth as red velvet in a music hall of fluorescent lights and paneled ceilings. Two people started to dance during “In the Mood,” regarded as the most recognizable big band tune ever written.

Sandi Beneke told stories about her husband’s remarkable humility.

“I chose this place because this is how Tex started, in a small union hall . . . shooting pool,” she said. “This music will live on. It’s never played quite the same,” she said.