Welcome to Tuxedo Junction!

Welcome to Tuxedo Junction!

My name is George Spink. I have enjoyed jazz and big band music for many years. To share my love of this music, I launched Tuxedo Junction in October 2000. It has become one of the most popular big band web sites on the Internet. Its visitors live in more than 55 nations.

There are many features on Tuxedo Junction for you to enjoy -- for example, our Authors, Playlists, Big Band Links, Favorites, Guestbook, Photo Parades Pages, and Videos. In fact, you'll find links to 60 videos on our Videos page, and you'll find videos on many other pages, too. After all, you and I and all of the other guys are members of the YouTube generation -- right?

It is very gratifying to know so many people around the world share my love of big band 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 button in the upper left corner of every page on Tuxedo Junction, and sometimes elsewhere as well, as you do on this page.

Art Hellyer emceeing Senior Citizens Picnic in Grant Park, Chicago (1982)

Art Hellyer relaxing before he emcees
the annual Senior Citizens Picnic
in Grant Park, Chicago (1982)

• Speaking of big band music, I think our visitors will enjoy retired Chicago disc jockey Art Hellyer's book, The Hellyer Say, and the companion video, Wake Up, Chicago!... The Art Hellyer Story, which you can view on Tuxedo Junction by clicking here. If you're not from Chicago, that's OK. You'll love both the video and the book! And if you work in radio or TV, you'll love them even more!

Part 1	Part 5
Part 2	Part 6
Part 3	Part 7
Part 4	Part 8

• A reminder: You can listen to Henry Holloway's "Swing Sing and All That Jazz" radio program from Cape Town, South Africa anytime on Tuxedo Junction by following this link:

http://tuxjunction.net/holloway.htm

Henry's show is broadcast every other Saturday at 5 p.m. in Cape Town. (11 a.m. Eastern, 8 a.m. Pacific). He has been on vacation for a few weeks but will resume his bi-weekly show on July 11th.

To report a problem with Tuxedo Junction, please contact me via our Feedback Form rather than by email.

Tuxedo Junction Playlist Player

To see what songs are included on a given Playlist Page, click here, then click on the link to the Playlist Page that interests you.

Here are a few points I'd like to make about our web site:

• A lean, clean web site - I think you'll find Tuxedo Junction is easy to get around, to navigate, to enjoy. Use our search box below to look for something or someone in particular.

• Authors - There are more than 60 articles on Tuxedo Junction written by members of my big band broadcast blog, The Palomar, by members of my "anything goes" blog, George's Blog, and the rest by yours truly. Most of these articles pertain to the big bands, the Swing Era, but a few do not. 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, specifically for Tuxedo Junction or my blogs -- including those about Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Spike Jones, and Stan Kenton.

• Playlists - 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.

We also offer 60 big band Playlist Pages. Many Pages are devoted to specific big bands while others offer a variety of big band and swing music. Most pages offer 20 songs each but a few offer more.

• 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.

Visit our online big band shopping mall!

Music in the Miller Mood Yahoo! Group

For those of you who are big fans of Glenn Miller and his music, I encourage you to join our new Music in the Miller Mood Yahoo! Group. Just click the "Join This Group" button after you arrive on that web page. It's that easy!

This Group is dedicated to the marvelous music of Glenn Miller as performed by his civilian band between 1939 and 1942 and by his Armed Forces Band between 1943 and 1945; to Glenn Miller's successor bands; and to the other bands who have emulated Miller's wonderful style over the years.

As a member of our Music in the Miller Mood Yahoo! Group, you'll be able to publish your own posts about Glenn Miller and his music and to upload and download photos and song files. I already have uploaded about 20 photos and as many MP3 files of Music in the Miller Mood. And, I have posted a number of links pertaining to Miller music on the Links Page.

Yahoo! Groups limits the number of song files that can be uploaded to it.To keep our Music in the Miller Mood Yahoo! Group fresh, I will delete and add new song files frequently. To keep all of our song files online, I am creating Music in the Miller Mood Juke Box Pages you can enjoy even after the songs are removed from our Yahoo! Group. You will find them on these web pages:

Juke Box Page 1 Juke Box Page 2

Juke Box Page 3 Juke Box Page 4

I'll be adding more in the weeks and months ahead.

Cordially,

George Spink
Los Angeles

News from our big band blog, The Palomar:

Get this widget!

North Platte Canteen
Remembering the Greatest Generation

Courtesy of Military Ministries

•Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting - If you are thinking of building your own web site, or perhaps about transferring your current site to another web hosting company, I highly recommend Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting. It is highly affordable, reliable, and easy to use.

Tuxedo Junction is hosted by Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting. It is always online, waiting for you to visit whenever you wish. Moreover, Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting technical support is first-rate! Whenever I call during the evenings or late at night, I usually reach someone right away. On weekdays during daytime hours, you might have to wait 10-to-15 minutes for someone to answer -- and that's not bad at all!

I highly recommend Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting. Click on this banner to learn more:

• Our Amazon Stores - Not long after I launched Tuxedo Junction in October 2000, visitors began writing to me to ask where they could buy big band music today. I decided to make it easy for them by becoming an Associate of Amazon.com (United States). In time, I became an Associate of Amazon.ca (Canada), Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom), Amazon.de (Germany), Amazon.fr (France), and Amazon.co.jp (Japan). Use these handy graphic links to visit the Music sections of their web sites:


Amazon.com	Amazon.ca	Amazon.co.uk


Amazon.de	Amazon.fr	Amazon.co.jp

I have built an online big band shopping mall you can visit to browse -- and buy -- from Amazon's online stores. You can find a tremendous assortment of big band CD's, DVD's, VHS tapes, and books -- not to mention many, many other products. Amazon offers competitive, affordable prices. You may purchase products from any of them wherever you live, whenever you like.

Click on any of these links to visit our Amazon stores. No matter where you live, you can buy merchandise from them.

Amazon.com - aStore (United States)

Amazon.ca - aStore (Canada)

Amazon.co.uk - aStore (United Kingdom)

Amazon.de - aStore (Germany)

• Feedback - If you have any problems with Tuxedo Junction, please fill out and submit our Feedback Form. It is better to use this form than to send me an email, because the form asks for specific information I need to help you.

• Guestbook - If you would like to comment, make suggestions, complain, or read what others have said about Tuxedo Junction, please sign our Guestbook.

• George's Place - Our newest blog is for anyone who likes to blog, to talk about a variety of topics. George's Place isn't just for big band fans. What you'll find are topics I have posted. Look through them and join in the discussion! It's very easy!

• Swingera Yahoo! Group - To learn about changes to Tuxedo Junction and The Palomar, please join our Swingera Yahoo! Group. As a member, you can post messages about big band topics and buy and sell big band CD's, DVD's, videos, and books. Be aware that buyers and sellers are responsible for their own transactions, not me. We have never had a problem, but always use caution online.

• Search - If you want to search Tuxedo Junction or the Internet, our FreeFind search engine will help:

• Please support Tuxedo Junction - You can make a donation to us safely and securely via PayPal by using this link and a similar one that appears in the sidebar on our web pages: We appreciate your donations and purchases.

Thirty years ago, I hosted a 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 Playlist Pages (click the button on the left).

Today's big bands also are featured on our Playlist Pages, 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 vocalistsl, 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 recently sang 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 get when you hear a big band in concert or at a ballroom or a night club. So, get off your rusty dusty...!

If you would like to know more about yours truly, click here or the button in the sidebar with my name on it.

Cordially,