Paul Tanner Paul Tanner ( born October 15 1917 ) is an American musician . Tanner is famous today for playing trombone with Glenn Miller 's band ( 1938-1942 ) . He later worked as a studio musician in Hollywood . He was a professor at UCLA for many years , and also and authored or co-authored several important academic and popular histories related to jazz . He also developed and played the Electrotheremin . A notable recording is `` Good Vibrations `` by the Beach Boys  This article about a United States writer of non-fiction is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it .  This article about an American musician is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . This article about an engineer , inventor or industrial designer is a stub . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : 1917 births | Living people | American World War II veterans | The Beach Boys | United States non-fiction writer stubs | American musician stubs | Engineer stubs 