Hotel Pennsylvania during the three years of Miller's great popularity as a major bandleader of the Swing Era. Glenn Miller and his Glenn Miller Orchestra broadcast multiple live radio performances from the Café; some were recorded by RCA Victor. Gray, Shaw's principal orchestrator from 1937–39, was immediately hired by Miller as a staff arranger when Shaw deserted his band; it was during Miller's 1940 engagement at the hotel that Gray wrote the popular instrumental tune that immortalized the Hotel's telephone number. The hotel's telephone number appears in the title of one of his best-known songs, "Pennsylvania 6-5000". Les Brown's band, with its
Glenn Miller Orchestra Miller and his band held the slot until their disbandment in 1942. In 1940, the band broadcast from the first time from the Café Rouge at the Hotel Pennsylvania, soon to become a regular booking and a host of long-term engagements. By then, the Miller band had several NBC sustaining broadcasts in addition to three CBS programs, reaching American homes 6–7 days a week. In August, Miller's orchestra had an hour-long program on NBC–Blue, "Glenn Miller's Sunset Serenade" featuring prizes Miller paid for out-of-pocket. A review in "Billboard" commented, "Unusual length of the program allows Miller to display all the