The sculpture is of World War II bugler Clarence Zylman, reportedly the inspiration for the song “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”
MUSKEGON, MI – Muskegon’s own Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy was posthumously honored on Saturday with the unveiling of a sculpture at a Muskegon veterans museum.
The unveiling and dedication of the sculpture of World War II bugler Clarence Zylman, reportedly the inspiration for the song “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” took place at the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum on Nov. 10.
Zylman was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1942 and helped spread the boogie woogie music revolution to the troops.
The bugler got the troops jitter-bugging to his unique style of reveille. Stars & Stripes Magazine, The London Times and more than 30 U. S. newspapers acknowledged U. S. Army Pvt. Zylman as the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
Zylman attended Muskegon High School but left during his junior year to work, as many did at that time. Always a talented musician, he was drafted and served as a bugler, an antiquated post of old warfare. The bugle was used while changing the guard, during training drills, while the U. S. flag was raised and lowered, for reveille to waken troops and at night for taps.
“It’s something we don’t even think about now, because of our access to communication technology,” USS Silversides Submarine Museum Executive Director Peggy Maniates said in a previous interview. “He was one of our locals who did this and was recognized by a ton of arts magazines and newspapers as being the inspiration for ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.’ After the war he came back here and spent the rest of his life working for Continental Motors and playing in local bands.”
Funding for the Zylman sculpture were raised by the Downtown Muskegon Arts Committee, Muskegon Community College, the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, the Muskegon Museum of Art, the Lakeshore Museum Center, the USS LST 393 Veterans Museum, the USS Silversides Submarine Museum and the West Michigan Dock & Market Corporation.
