Tuxedo Junction

Album: Tuxedo Junction: 1939-1940 (1940)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This big band standard started life as an instrumental. Credited initially to Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson and Julian Dash, Hawkins introduced it with his Orchestra. A new arrangement by Glenn Miller released in 1940 was far more popular.

    The sheet music was published by Lewis Music Publishing, and at some point, someone at the company decided to record a vocal version. A number of lyricists were approached for this task, and one of them, Buddy Fayne, had the bright idea of asking Hawkins why he had called it "Tuxedo Junction."

    The real Tuxedo Juction was a colloquialism for the area in the Ensley suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, a club vased in the Nixon Building and Tuxedo Park. This venue was on the Chitlin' Circuit, which was a mainstay of black performers in the segregated Deep South.
  • "Tuxedo Junction" has been widely performed and recorded both as an instrumental and as a song. Perhaps the most notable film version is the 1954 biopic The Glenn Miller Story which saw James Stewart playing the lead opposite June Allyson. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About Transgenderism

Trans Soul Rebels: Songs About TransgenderismSong Writing

A history of songs dealing with transgender issues, featuring Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Morrissey and Green Day.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Ramones

RamonesFact or Fiction

A band so baffling, even their names were contrived. Check your score in the Ramones version of Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Bryan Adams

Bryan AdamsSongwriter Interviews

What's the deal with "Summer of '69"? Bryan explains what the song is really about, and shares more of his songwriting insights.