Died On This Date (June 4, 2008) Bill Finegan / Arranger For Tommy Dorsey & Glenn Miller
themusicsover Bill Finegan
April 3, 1917 – June 4, 2008
Bill Finegan, was a music arranger that helped such big band greats as Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller formulate their sounds. He arranged suts hits as “Sunrise Serenade,” and “Little Brown Jug.” Finegan also arranged music for films like The Fabulous Dorseys, Orchestra Wives and Sun Valley Serenade. In later years, Fenegan wrote music for commercials and taught music at the Univerisity of Bridgeport. Bill Finegan died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 90.
Rowland “Bunny” Berigan was born in Wisconsin in 1908 where he became proficient at the violin and trumpet at a very young age. By his late 20s, he was playing in a local and respected orchestra. Within a couple years, he was getting a lot work as a session man and was soon working with the Dorsey Brothers and 
Billy Strayhorn was a jazz composer and musician who is most famous for his work alongside 
Duke Ellington was a jazz composer, band leader and pianist who is considered by many to be the greatest jazz musician of all times. So influential he was, that many of his band members went on to become legends themselves. After learning to play the piano as a child, Ellington launched his music career in 1917 when he started gigging around his Washington DC neighborhood. By the time he was 24, he had already made at least eight records, giving him the opportunity to broaden his touring base across the US and eventually to Europe. By the ’30s and ’40s, Ellington was releasing hit after hit, including “Take The A Train,” “Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” and “It Don’t Mean A Thing (If You Aint Got That Swing.” Ellington continued to tour and make records into his 70s, including the one album he made with 