Welcome to Tuxedo Junction!

My name is George Spink. I am a writer from Chicago who has lived in Los Angeles for the past 20 years.

For many years I have enjoyed jazz and big band music. I launched Tuxedo Junction in October 2000. On April 1, 2008, I began rebuilding this site with the goal of making it easier to use, to navigate, to find your way around. It has taken me longer than I intitially expected. I still need to add features. You'll recognize those pages because they have an "Under Construction" sign on them. But I think Tuxedo Junction is now ready for viewing by our loyal visitors from around the world. Let me know how you like it!

Thirty years ago, I hosted a popular big band radio show, The Saturday Swing Shift, on WBEZ-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate in Chicago. I enjoyed hosting my show but stopped doing so in September 1981 for personal reasons. I have always regretted my decision.

Since October 2000, when I launched Tuxedo Junction, I have been reaching a large audience of big band fans via the Internet. Our visitors live in more than 55 nations, according to our recent web site statistics.

The Airmen of Note, Count Basie, Les Brown, Benny Carter, Tommy Dorsey, Billy Eckstine, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Ted Heath, Woody Herman, Billie Holiday, Harry James, Spike Jones, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Syd Lawrence, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, George Shearing, Chick Webb, and others are featured on our 60-plus Playlist pages (click the button on the left).

Moreover, Tuxedo Junction also features today's big bands, including Gary Tole and the Legends of Swing, the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the George Gee Big Band, Larry O'Brien and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Australian Glenn Miller Tribute Band, the Jack Million Band, and Chris Dean and the Syd Lawrence Orchestra.

These bands have fine vocalists as well, including Cassie Miller (who sings with Bill Elliott, Gary Tole, and, at times, actor John Lithgow), Carla Cook (George Gee Big Band), and Julia Rich and Nick Hilscher who sing with Larry O'Brien and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. And, we feature vocalists out on their own, including Bobby Caldwell, Jamie Davis, and Scott Martin. Bill Elliott is a fine vocalist and a pianist, arranger, and big band leader. Thanks to all of these talented people and the musicians with whom they work, the Swing Era is alive and well in these early years of the 21st Century.

Remember, though, as you listen to the recordings and broadcasts of these great bands and their vocalists, the best way to enjoy big bands is to hear them in person. Nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to the thrill you will get when you hear a big band in concert or at a ballroom or a night club. So, get off your rusty dusty...!

It is very gratifying to know so many people around the world share my love of this music. I want you to know how very much I enjoy your e-mails and appreciate your comments, questions, suggestions, complaints, and requests. You'll see an email link in the upper left corner of every page on Tuxedo Junction, and sometimes elsewhere as well, as you do on this page. You can also contact me via the Feedback button at the bottom of the sidebar on this and other pages on Tuxedo Junction.

There are many articles on Tuxedo Junction written by members of my big band broadcast blog, The Palomar, while others were penned by yours truly. Some of my articles appeared in the Chicago Daily News, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Chicago Magazine in the 1970's and 1980's. I wrote others more recently, such as the ones on Tommy Dorsey and Les Brown, specifically for Tuxedo Junction.

Most of these articles pertain to the big bands, the Swing Era, but a few do not. To see a list of these articles, arranged by author, visit our Authors web page, or click the "Authors" button in the sidebar.

What you are seeing today is a rebuild of Tuxedo Junction that I undertook in April 2007. Like a model railroad, Tuxedo Junction has grown -- and grown -- and grown. When I removed it from the Internet at the end of March 2008 to rebuild it, Tuxedo Junction had grown to 1,299 web pages!

Here are a few points I'd like to make about the rebuild:

• A leaner, cleaner web site - The new Tuxedo Junction has about a fifth as many pages. I think you'll find it much easier to get around, to navigate, to enjoy.

• Radio Broadcasts - You'll find nearly 200 big band radio broadcasts on our Playlists Page. It will take you some time to enjoy all the music we have to offer.

• Juke Box Pages - For the time being, I have not included Juke Box pages, but I will add them during the summer. I know how popular they are with our visitors.

• 1pixelout Audio Player - I am using the 1pixelout Audio Player on many of the web pages on Tuxedo Junction. If you do not see this Audio Player on my web pages that use it, install Adobe Flash Player on your computer. More than 90 percent of all Internet users already have the Adobe Flash Player on their computers.

Here is an example of the 1pixelout Audio Player:

Before you try this player, scroll down and stop the Tuxedo Junction Playlist Player.

• Feedback - If you have any problems with Tuxedo Junction, please fill out and submit our Feedback Form.