"Tuxedo Junction" is a popular big band song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, becoming a No. 1 hit in 1940. The music was written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash and the lyrics by Buddy Feyne.[1] The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra, a college dance band previously known as the Bama State Collegians.[2] RCA released it in 1939 and it climbed to #7 on the American pop charts.[3]
In the late 1930s Hawkins and his Orchestra were one of the house bands at the Savoy Ballroom. They alternated with the Chick Webb band and often used "Tuxedo Junction" as their sign-off song before the next band would take the stage so that the dancing would continue uninterrupted.[4]
A live 6+1⁄2-minute version of the song by the Hawkins Orchestra exists, with extended solos from Hawkins on the trumpet, Paul Bascomb and Julian Dash on tenor saxophones, and Haywood Henry on the clarinet. It was recorded as an aircheck in the summer of 1942 at the Blue Room club in New York City.[5]
The song was written as an instrumental. When it was given to Lewis Music Publishing, they sent it to several prospective lyricists to see who could write the best words for the song. Buddy Feyne asked Erskine Hawkins why he titled it "Tuxedo Junction." Erskine explained that the Junction was a whistle stop on the "Chitlin' Circuit". That information inspired Feyne's lyrics, which Hawkins preferred to the other submissions. Once the song had been published, American bands added it to their playlists.[6]
1940 Glenn Miller recording
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra had the most successful recording of the song (Billboard No. 1). Miller's arrangement slowed down the tempo and added trumpet fanfares.[7] The trumpet lick in the original recording was played by band member Johnny Best. The main soloists on that recording were Best and Bobby Hackett. The Glenn Miller recording sold 115,000 copies in the first week.[8] It was featured in the 1953 Glenn Miller biopic The Glenn Miller Story starring James Stewart and Harry Morgan.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded the song on February 5, 1940, in New York. The musicians on the Glenn Miller recording were: Saxes: Hal McIntyre, Tex Beneke, Wilbur Schwartz, Jimmy Abato, Al Klink; Trumpets: Clyde Hurley, Johnny Best, R. D. McMickle, Legh Knowles; Trombones: Glenn Miller, Tommy Mack, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo; Piano: Chummy MacGregor; String Bass: Rowland Bundock; Guitar: Richard Fisher; Drums: Moe Purtill.[9] The B side of the RCA Bluebird 78 single was "Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)".
The song is about a jazz and blues club in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Ensley. The area is referred to as "Tuxedo Junction", though the building is called the "Nixon Building" (built in 1922). This is due to the location of a streetcar crossing at Tuxedo Park, hence "Tuxedo Junction".[12] A punk rock venue bearing the same name operated near there briefly in the mid-1980s.[13]
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. His theme song was "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You". His technical skill on the trombone gave him renown among other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. He is best remembered for standards such as "Opus One", "Song of India", "Marie", "On Treasure Island", and his biggest hit single, "I'll Never Smile Again".
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and commercially successful dance orchestra of the swing era and one of the greatest singles charting acts of the 20th century. As of 2024, Ray Anthony is the last surviving member of the orchestra.
Erskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1939) with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. The song became a hit during World War II, rising to No. 7 nationally and to No. 1 nationally. Vocalists who were featured with Erskine's orchestra include Ida James, Delores Brown, and Della Reese. Hawkins was named after Alabama industrialist Erskine Ramsay.
Buddy Feyne was an American lyricist during the swing era. He wrote the lyrics for "Tuxedo Junction", which went to No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1940 when Glenn Miller recorded it, "Jersey Bounce", which was No. 15 on the Cash Box Hit Parade of 1942., and "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid".
The Manhattan Transfer is the second album by The Manhattan Transfer. However, it is the first of four albums to be released by the lineup of Tim Hauser, Laurel Massé, Alan Paul, and Janis Siegel, and the first to establish the sound and style for which the group would become known. It was released on April 2, 1975, by Atlantic Records and was produced by Ahmet Ertegün and Tim Hauser.
The Manhattan Transfer Live was recorded by The Manhattan Transfer live at Manchester on April 23, 1978; Bristol on April 28, 1978; and the Hammersmith Odeon Theatre, London, on May 2, 1978. The album was produced by Tim Hauser and Janis Siegel. This was the final album made with Laurel Massé.
The Very Best Of The Manhattan Transfer is a compilation album of The Manhattan Transfer released in 1994 on the Atlantic Records label.
Boy from New York City and Other Hits is a budget compilation album released by The Manhattan Transfer in 1997 on the Flashback Records label. This album was released as part of a series of compilations of original artist recordings at a reduced price.
Julian Dash was an American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, probably better known for his work with Erskine Hawkins and Buck Clayton.
The Bama State Collegians is a student jazz orchestra made up of students at Alabama State University. This group was organized in the late 1920s by Len Bowden, Fess Whatley, and Paul Bascomb. Bowden went on to direct the Navy's music program at Camp Robert Smalls during World War II. John Tuggle "Fess" Whatley (1895-1972) was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and has a K-8 school in Birmingham named after him.
"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem" is a 1941 jazz and pop song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was released as a 78 single on RCA Bluebird by Glenn Miller.
"I Know Why " is a 1941 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song appeared in the 20th Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade. The song was also released as an RCA Bluebird 78 single.
Glenn Miller is a compilation album of phonograph records released posthumously by bandleader Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. Released in 1945 on RCA Victor as a part of the Victor Musical Smart Set series, described on the front cover as "An Album of Outstanding Arrangements on Victor Records", the set was number one for a total of 16 weeks on the newly created Billboard album charts. The album, also known under the title Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, was certified Gold in July 1968 by the RIAA.
Glenn Miller Plays Selections From the Film "The Glenn Miller Story" is a 1954 compilation album by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. The collection contained songs featured in the 1954 Universal-International film The Glenn Miller Story starring James Stewart and June Allyson. It was the first Glenn Miller album to be certified Gold in the U.S.
The Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 soundtrack album released on Decca Records with songs from The Glenn Miller Story, the film biography of Glenn Miller, starring James Stewart and June Allyson. The collection had eight songs from the film recorded under the direction of Joseph Gershenson.
The Birth of a Band! is an album by Quincy Jones that was released by Mercury with performances by Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Harry Edison, and Phil Woods.
Kenton Live from the Las Vegas Tropicana is a live album by bandleader and pianist Stan Kenton featuring a concert recorded at the Blue Room of the Tropicana Hotel in 1958 and released on the Capitol label.
Pure Gold is a 1975 compilation album of 10 studio recordings by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra recorded between 1939 and 1942 by RCA Victor. The recordings were all originally issued as 78 RPM records on the RCA Bluebird and Victor labels and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The album was originally issued on LP and compact disc in reprocessed (fake) stereo sound; in 1988, RCA remastered the album in original monophonic sound for its second CD reissue.
Tuxedo Junction may refer to:
Up Swing is a compilation album of phonograph records released by bandleaders Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw in 1944 as a part of the Victor Musical Smart Set series. The set, a progenitor to greatest hits releases, features some of the most popular Dance Band Era recordings by the four bandleaders.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
