"Tuxedo Junction" is a popular

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

song recorded by

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

and His Orchestra, becoming a No. 1 hit in 1940. The music was written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and

Julian Dash St. Julian Bennett Dash (April 9, 1916 – February 25, 1974) 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. Dash ...

and the lyrics by

Buddy Feyne Buddy Feyne (born Bernard Feinstein; June 9, 1912 – December 10, 1998) 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 ...

. The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra, a college dance band previously known as the Bama State Collegians. RCA released it in 1939 and it climbed to #7 on the American pop charts.

Background

In the late 1930s Hawkins and his Orchestra were one of the house bands at the Savoy Ballroom. They alternated with the

Chick Webb William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader. Early life Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. The ...

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. A live -minute version of the song by the Hawkins Orchestra exists, with extended solos from Hawkins on the trumpet, Paul Bascomb and

on tenor saxophones, and

Haywood Henry Frank Haywood Henry (January 10, 1913 – September 15, 1994) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist. In 1978 he was induced into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Career Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Henry began on clarinet before choosing ...

on the clarinet. It was recorded as an aircheck in the summer of 1942 at the Blue Room club in New York City. 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.

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. The song is about a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

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 A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

crossing at Tuxedo Park, hence "Tuxedo Junction". A punk rock venue bearing the same name operated near there briefly in the mid-1980s.

1940 Glenn Miller recording

and His Orchestra had the most successful recording of the song (''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' No. 1). Miller's arrangement slowed down the tempo and added trumpet fanfares. 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 Robert Leo Hackett (January 31, 1915 – June 7, 1976) was a versatile American jazz musician who played swing music, Dixieland jazz and mood music, now called easy listening, on trumpet, cornet, and guitar. He played Swing with the bands ...

. The Glenn Miller recording sold 115,000 copies in the first week. It was featured in the 1953 Glenn Miller biopic ''

The Glenn Miller Story ''The Glenn Miller Story'' is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann. It stars James Stewart as Miller (in his second non-western collaboration with Mann), alongside June Allyson. ...

'' starring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

and

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both '' December Bride'' (1954–1959) and '' Pet ...

. 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 Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. Hi ...

, 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 John Chalmers MacGregor (March 28, 1903, in Saginaw, Michigan – March 9, 1973, in Los Angeles, California), better known as Chummy MacGregor, a musician and composer, was the pianist in The Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1936 to 1942. He composed ...

; String Bass: Rowland Bundock; Guitar: Richard Fisher; Drums: Moe Purtill. The B side of the RCA Bluebird 78 single was "Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)".

Other recordings

"Tuxedo Junction" was covered by numerous bands and swing orchestras and solo artists, including

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezzo ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

and Joe Jackson.

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

included it on his 1961 ''Mellophonium Magic'' album. It became the theme song for

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

, first recorded on their album ''

'' in 1975.

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

used this song as an inspiration for his hit "Kaya". It was also the inspiration for an all-girl disco group, entitled "Tuxedo Junction". The song was used in the movies ''

'', '' The Gene Krupa Story'', and the

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

film '' The Curse of the Jade Scorpion''.

Footnotes

{{Authority control 1930s jazz standards 1939 songs 1940 singles Glenn Miller songs The Manhattan Transfer songs Songs with lyrics by Buddy Feyne Jazz compositions in B-flat major Bluebird Records singles Historically African-American theaters and music venues