Glenn Miller Birthplace — Clarinda, Iowa

Alton Glenn Miller was born on March 1, 1904, at 601 South Glenn Miller Avenue (then a different address) in Clarinda, Iowa — a small farming community near the Missouri border. His family moved frequently during his childhood, and Miller grew up in several Midwestern states before settling into music as his life's direction. He played trombone in local bands, studied briefly at the University of Colorado, and eventually found his way to New York, where he worked as a session musician and arranger before forming his own orchestra in 1938.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra found its signature sound in 1939 — a smooth, clarinet-led reed section voicing that was immediately distinctive — and within a year was the most popular dance band in America. "In the Mood," "Moonlight Serenade," "Pennsylvania 6-5000," "Chattanooga Choo Choo," and "Tuxedo Junction" were all recorded within a brief period and became the defining soundtrack of the swing era. Miller dissolved the band in 1942 to enlist and form a military band, giving up enormous commercial success out of patriotic conviction.

Clarinda celebrates Miller with considerable civic pride. The Glenn Miller Birthplace Society operates a museum and the restored birthplace home is open to visitors at the renamed Glenn Miller Avenue. An annual Glenn Miller Festival draws big band enthusiasts each June. The town's most famous son disappeared over the English Channel on December 15, 1944, his body never recovered — a mystery that has only enhanced his legend.