Jukeboxes

The first jukebox was introduced in 1889. The original name of it was an Automatic Coin Operating Phonograph. It was a coin operated machine placed in a bar in San Francisco, California. It was a huge hit. At a quarter per song, the jukebox made $1,000 in only six months. The jukebox continued to be very popular until the 1930's. Due to the depression and free radio, the jukebox wasn’t used as often as before. They remained in the facilities but did not get those precious quarters that were needed for more important necessities.

After the depression, the jukebox became an instant hit, showing up in ice cream parlors and pizza parlors. The new jukebox featured the best doo wop and dance hits that the younger crowd loved to listen to. This was also when the electric jukebox came out, giving the music a louder and clearer sound. The jukebox was a great alternative for those who wanted to dance, but couldn’t afford to hire a band.

In 1946, the jukebox evolved from a wooden sound box to the colorful, glamorous look most of us associate with the jukebox. The colorful lights and the fast music were very attractive. During this time period the jukebox went from playing up to 16 records to playing 100 tunes. This increase in selection made the revenue collected by the jukeboxes increase. After all, you can only play the same songs a few times before everyone is tired of hearing them! This was also a time when color and culture didn’t matter as the white singers sounded black and popular black singers sounded white. People grew to love the songs, not the face with the song.

As the hair bands became popular in the 1980’s, the jukebox was revamped again. The jukebox became digital, requiring no actual record or CD to be placed in the machine. The music was simply downloaded into the machine. People could choose a combination of letters and numbers to play the songs they wanted. Of course, the cost per song also increased from a quarter to fifty cents.

Jukeboxes were replaced in the late nineties by surround sound. You can still find some older jukeboxes in rustic restaurants, pizza parlors, and sixties malt shops. Some of them still operate on that one quarter and others are for decor only. The older jukeboxes with the records are sought out items by collectors around the world, ranging in value from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.