Jukebox Journal

Over a Century of Jukebox History 

• OVERVIEW
  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, jukeboxes can be found today in many stores and restaurants with a retro theme.
• THE EARLY YEARS
  The first jukeboxes were simply wooden boxes with coin slots and a few buttons and played only 78-rpm records. Later models appeared more and more decorated, using color lights, rotating lights, chrome, bubble tubes, ceiling lamps, and other visual effects. The 1940s to be the "golden age" of jukebox styling. The first model manufactured after WWII was produced by AMI and affectionately referred to as the "Mother of Plastic". It featured large areas of opalescent plastics and colored gemstones. Other styling progressed from the plain wooden boxes in the early thirties to beautiful light shows with marbelized plastic and color animation in the Wurlitzer 850 Peacock of 1941. The Wurlitzer model "1015-Bubbler" is another example of that look and is considered by many to be the most popular jukebox of all time.
• THE EFFECT OF THE WAR
  World War II prevented jukebox production from expanding. Jukeboxes were considered "nonessential" during the war and very few were produced until 1946. Those jukeboxes that were were still produced were primarily made of wood and glass since metal and plastic were needed for the war effort. At the end of the war, jukebox production resumed. Many of these survived into the '50s in active use. They tend to be 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 aesthetic design. This extra time resulted in one of the greatest designs in iconic pop culture.
• THE 1940s AND 1950s
  After the '40s, the styles generally became much more "high-tech" in look. The styles were strikingly different from "classic" influences such as ancient Greek, renaissance, and Gothic motifs found in the '40s models. Jukeboxes from the late 1940s are called Golden Age because of the yellow catalin plastic. Jukeboxes from the 1950s are called Silver Age because of the very predominant chrome styling.
• MOST POPULAR JUKEBOX MODELS
  By far the most popular model would likely be considered the Wurlitzer. Other jukebox models made in the USA would include Seebring, AMI, and Rock Ola. An interesting note about the Rock Ola: Many people guessed that this name was derived from a combination of rock and victrola, however that is not true. "Rock-Ola" is actually based on the name of the company founder, David Cullen Rockola. Rock-ola was founded many years before the term "Rock" was applied to music at all.
• MODERN DAY JUKEBOXES
  Starting in the 1980s, CDs or compact discs became the norm for modern jukeboxes. Several companies started introducing completely digital jukeboxes which did not use physical recordings toward the end of the 20th century. Later the music selection and playback system was replaced by a dedicated computer, and did not require CDs at all. A selection of songs (a playlist) can be chosen suitable to the venue where the jukebox is located. They are generally cached in the local storage of the machine. The true advantage of this design is the seemingly endless selection of music that is available instantly to the customer by automatic download from an internet connection.