Jukebox

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For other uses, see Jukebox (disambiguation)

A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media. The traditional jukebox is rather large with a rounded top and has colored lighting going up the front of the machine on its vertical sides. The classic jukebox has buttons with letters and numbers on them that, when combined, are used to indicate a specific song from a particular record.

[edit] History

Coin-operated music boxes and player pianos carved out a place for automatic pay-per-tune music in fairgrounds, amusement parks and other public places (such as train stations in Switzerland) a few decades before the introduction of reliable coin-operated phonographs. Some of these automatic musical instruments were extremely well built and have survived to this day in the hands of collectors and museums. But commercially they could not compete with the jukebox in the long run since they were limited to the instrument (or instruments) used in their construction, and could not reproduce the human voice.

The immediate ancestor of the jukebox, called the "Coin-slot phonograph", was the first medium of sound recording encountered by the general public, before mass produced home audio equipment became common. Such machines began to be mass produced in 1889, using phonograph cylinders for records. The earliest machines played but a single record (of about 2 minutes of music or entertainment), but soon devices were developed that allowed customers to choose between multiple records. In the 1910s the cylinder gradually was superseded by the gramophone record. The term "juke box" came into use in the United States in the 1930s, either derived from African-American slang "jook" meaning "dance", or being a name given to it by critics who said it would encourage criminal behavior, this came from the fake family name Juke. The shellac 78 rpm record dominated jukeboxes until the Seeburg Corporation introduced an all 45 rpm vinyl record jukebox in 1950 like the one used by The Fonz in Happy Days.

During the 1960's and 70's, wall box remote selectors were popular in restaurant booths. The most famous is the Seeburg 3W1. Wallboxes didn't have a record mechanism inside; instead they took coins and selected a tune to be played by a jukebox or remote unit elsewhere. The large cabinet was relegated to a back room out of view, and all 160 selections (Rock-Ola and Wurlitzer) or 200 selections (Seeburg) were available in the customer's booth. Small speakers in the wallbox played only your selections, then went quiet while other's enjoyed theirs. Since songs were played in the order of the mechanism rather than the order chosen, judicious choice of your songs enabled listening to other patrons selections while awaiting your final song. Multiple purchases of a song simply toggled the selection on - it would only play once, thus satisfying everyone who had paid for it all at the same time. Simply leaving one credit unplayed until late in your meal meant you could hear all songs played until none were left. Some jukeboxes during this time were able to play special 33 1/3 rpm discs that were the same diameter as 45 rpm discs, so a longer song was available, or even multiple songs (sort of a short LP) for a higher price. These specialty records, and the familiar white labels used were provided by the unique vendor that supplied records to the operator. Those decades also produced models with ornate lighting, disco and psychedelic effects, and other cosmetic improvements while the reliable internal mechanisms remained moderately stable by comparison. "Popularity" counters told the operator the number of times each record was played (A or B side didn't matter) so popular records remained, while lesser-played songs were replaced with the latest hit song. Wurlitzers were unique because they could play the A side and then the B side of a record then go to the next; Rock-Ola and Seeburg played all the A sides chosen, then all the B sides, then stopped.

Starting in the 1980s, compact discs became the norm for modern jukeboxes. Towards the end of the 20th century several companies started introducing completely digital jukeboxes which did not use CDs, downloading the tunes securely over the Internet or through a separate, proprietary transmission protocol over phone lines. In addition to automatically downloading a potentially larger selection than what is available on CDs in a single machine the digital jukeboxes also send back information on what is being played, and where, opening up new commercial avenues.

Jukeboxes and their ancestors were a very profitable industry from the 1890s on. They were most popular from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, particularly during the 1950s. Today they are often associated with early rock and roll music, but were very popular in the swing music era as well. As a result, stores and restaurants with a retro theme, such as the Johnny Rockets chain, include jukeboxes.

[edit] Aesthetic Style

The first jukeboxes were simply wooden boxes with coin slots and a few buttons. Over time they became more and more decorated, using color lights, rotating lights, chrome, bubble tubes, ceiling lamps, and other visual gimmicks. Many consider the 1940s to be the "golden age" of jukebox styling with the gothic-like curvaceous "electric rainbow cathedral" look. World War II and the Great Depression were over, so the new designs and sales choices reflected the festive mood. Even before that, decorative jukeboxes were often one of the few escapes from the problems of the Great Depression and war.

Styling progressed from the plain wooden boxes in the early thirties to beautiful light shows with marblized plastic and color animation in the Wurlitzer 850 Peacock of 1942. But after the United States entered the war, metal and plastic were needed for the war effort. Jukebox production was cut back. The 1943 Wurlitzer 950 featured wooden coin chutes to save on metal. It should also be noted that since the mechanisms were made of metal, they were not produced during this time, rather, a new cabinet was produced and the internal componets of the jukebox were placed into it. Since many of the mechanisms were built by hand, a lot of these jukeboxes had parts that never fit properly and required modification. The 1943 Wurlitzer Victory cabinet featured glass lightup panels instead of plastic. After the war, material was available again and there was a big boom in jukeboxes.

The Wurlitzer model "1015-Bubbler" typifies the look and is arguably the most popular jukebox design of all time. Many of these survived into the 50s in active use and are instead associated with the 50s in pop culture despite their 40s origin because of their unique visual prominence and production volume. Designed by stylist Paul Fuller, it is rumored that when entertainment equipment factories were redirected toward the war effort, Paul had more time to focus on esthetic design. This extra time resulted in one of the greatest designs in iconic pop culture.

After the 40s, the styles generally became more box-like and "high-tech" in look, distancing themselves from "classic" influences such as ancient Greek, renaissance, and gothic motifs found in the 40s models.

Also, the post-40s models needed more panel space for the increased number of record titles they could present on selection buttons, reducing the space available for decoration. This is partly due to improved record storage and dispatching technology and partly due to the transition from the 78-rpm disks to the 45-rpm disks, which were more compact.

Jukeboxes from the 1940's are called Golden Age because of the yellow catalin plastic. Jukeboxes from the 1950's are called Silver Age because of the predominant chrome styling. With the rise of fast food restaurants in the 1960's, restaurants wanted to get customers in and out fast, not keep them there, so jukeboxes became less decorative. Record-changing mechanism covered up, they resembled cigarette machines.

Some esthetically notable models:

Rock-Ola model 1413 Premier (1942) - Resembles something from a 1990s science fiction movie. Has a distinctive blue-green glowing "eye globe" in the lower-middle of its gill-like grille.

Rock-Ola model 1422 and 1426 (1946-47) - Beautiful use of rainbow-colored leafy-spiral grill-work resembling violin stems.

Rock-Ola Princess - The name is applied to several different models that vary drastically in appearance. This model is popular today for nostalgic use in homes due to its compact size. The most desirable Princess model has a visible mechanism, something nearly univerally desired by home jukebox owners.

Wurlitzer Model 750 and 750E (1941) - In some ways a precursor to the famous 1015, but with a rounder look.

Wurlitzer Model 800 (1941) - Very bold looking model that in some ways resembles a shuttle launch with its two side rockets. A flame-like glimmer was created by internal rotating tubes casting waving shadow patterns against the lights.

Wurlitzer Model 850 (1941) - Some of the most artistic grille work. The highlight was a revolving polarizer peacock color animation.

Wurlitzer Model 950 (1942) - In some ways a visual hybrid between models 800 and 1015. Black metal edging gives this a look reminiscent of ancient Greek design.

Wurlitzer Models 1080 and 1080-A (1947-48) - Another model that seems to have heavy Greek influence. This model was not as colored-light intensive of other models of the era, but makes very stylish use of wood and classical curves.

Wurlitzer Jukebox Model 1100 (1948-49) - Represents a transition style between the 40s and 50s jukebox styling when the record player area started opening up behind larger glass displays. Heavy use of chrome styling.

AMI Rowe "Top Flight" Model (1936-38) - Very distinctive grille-work with a sleek, metallic Sci-Fi feel.

AMI Rowe Model "A" Jukebox of (1946-47) - Unique "space helmet" look. In many ways the styling was ahead of its time.

Seeburg Cadet (1940) - A very handsome model.

Seeburg M100-A (1948-1949) - The first 100 selection jukebox, it could also play either side of 10" and 12" 78s intermixed. It's chrome and florescent lighting design made other makers' machines look antique overnight.

Gabel Kuro (1940) - A curious design in that its style appears to come from the 1970s instead of 1940.

Note that "Rock-Ola" is actually based on the name of the company founder, David Cullen Rockola, and is not a portmanteau of Rock and Victrola as many believe. Rockola was founded many years before the term "Rock" was applied to music at all.