A jukebox is a partially automated
music-playing device, usually a
coin-operated machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fi ...
, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to select a specific
record. Some may use
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
s instead. Disc changers are similar devices that are intended for home use, are small enough to fit in a shelf, may hold up to hundreds of discs, and allow discs to be easily removed, replaced, and inserted by the user.
History
Coin-operated
music box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...
es and
player piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
s were the first forms of automated coin-operated musical devices. These devices used
paper rolls, metal disks, or metal cylinders to play a musical selection on an actual instrument, or on several actual instruments, enclosed within the device.
In the 1890s, these devices were joined by machines which used recordings instead of actual physical instruments.
In 1889, Louis Glass and William S. Arnold invented the nickel-in-the-slot phonograph, in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
. This was an Edison Class M Electric Phonograph retrofitted with a device patented under the name of 'Coin Actuated Attachment for Phonograph'. The music was heard via one of four listening tubes.
In 1928, Justus P.
Seeburg, who was manufacturing player pianos, combined an electrostatic loudspeaker with a record player that was coin-operated. This 'Audiophone' machine was wide and bulky because it had eight separate turntables mounted on a rotating Ferris wheel-like device, allowing patrons to select from eight different records.
Later versions of the jukebox included Seeburg's ''Selectophone'' with 10 turntables mounted vertically on a spindle. By maneuvering the tone arm up and down, the customer could select from 10 different records.
The word "jukebox" came into use in the United States beginning in 1940, apparently derived from the familiar usage "
juke joint
Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...
", derived from the
Gullah
The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...
word ''juke'', which means "bawdy".
Wallboxes were an important, and profitable, part of any jukebox installation. Serving as a remote control, they enabled patrons to select tunes from their table or booth. One example is the Seeburg 3W1, introduced in 1949 as companion to the 100-selection Model M100A jukebox.
Stereo sound became popular in the early 1960s, and wallboxes of the era were designed with built-in speakers to provide patrons a sample of this latest technology.
Jukeboxes were most popular from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, particularly during the 1950s. By the middle of the 1940s, three-quarters of the records produced in America went into jukeboxes.
''
Billboard'' published a
record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...
measuring jukebox play during the 1950s, which briefly became a component of the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
; by 1959, the jukebox's popularity had waned to the point where ''Billboard'' ceased publishing the chart and stopped collecting jukebox play data.
![Jukebox Mimosa Rouge Orphéau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Jukebox_Mimosa_Rouge_Orph%C3%A9au.jpg)
As of 2016, at least two companies still manufacture classically styled jukeboxes: Rockola, based in California, and Sound Leisure, based in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
in the UK. Both companies manufacture jukeboxes based on a CD playing mechanism. However, in April 2016, Sound Leisure showed a prototype of a "Vinyl Rocket" at the UK Classic Car Show. It stated that it would start production of the 140 7" vinyl selector (70 records) in summer of the same year.
Since 2018, Orphéau, based in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
in France manufactures the original styled "Sunflower" Jukebox with the first
12" vinyl record selector (20 records), on both sides.
Notable models
* 1927 LINK – valued at US$40,000 and extremely rare
* 1940 Gabel Kuro – 78 rpm, the last model of this manufacturer, four or five are known to exist and are valued at US$125,000
* 1942 Rock-Ola President – only one known to exist and valued at least US$150,000
* 1942 Rock-Ola Premier – 15 known to exist and valued at US$20,000
* 1942 Wurlitzer 950 – 75–90 known to exist and valued at US$35,000
* 1946 Wurlitzer Model 1015,
– referred to as the "1015 bubbler" offered 24 selections. More than 56,000 were sold in less than two years and it is considered a pop culture icon. Designed by Wurlitzer's Paul Fuller.
* 1952 Seeburg M100C – This was the jukebox exterior used in the credit sequences for ''Happy Days'' in seasons 1–10. It played up to fifty 45 rpm records making it a 100-play. It was a very colorful jukebox with chrome glass tubes on the front, mirrors in the display, and rotating animation in the pilasters.
* 1967 Rock-Ola 434 Concerto – This was the jukebox interior used in the credit sequence for the 11th and final season of ''Happy Days''. Like the Seeburg M100C, it played up to fifty 45 rpm records, but featured a horizontal playback mechanism unlike the M100C.
*2018 Orphéau Sunflower Serie. This was the first Jukebox playing up to twenty 33 rpm records on both sides using automation technology.
Decline
Traditional jukeboxes once were an important source of income for record publishers. Jukeboxes received the newest recordings first. They became an important market-testing device for new music, since they tallied the number of plays for each title. They offered a means for the listener to control the music outside of their home, before audio technology became portable. They played music on demand without commercials. They also offered the opportunity for high fidelity listening before home high fidelity equipment became affordable.
In 1995, the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
issued a 25-cent stamp commemorating the phonograph jukebox.
Modern derivatives
Jukebox digital music players
![Piqsels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Piqsels.com-id-zyxzh.jpg)
The term "jukebox" was used to describe high-capacity,
hard disk
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
based
digital audio player
A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
s due to their amount of digital space allowing a great number of music to be stored and played.
The term was popularised following the introduction of the
Creative NOMAD Jukebox in 2000, which could store as many as 150 CDs of music on its 6 gigabyte hard drive. In later years, the
"classic" iPod would become the most popular product in this category.
Digital jukebox and apps
While the number of traditional jukeboxes has declined, digital jukeboxes, also called "social jukebox", have been introduced.
See also
*
BAL-AMi Jukeboxes
BAL-AMi Jukeboxes were manufactured in the UK from 1953 to 1962 by the Balfour (Marine) Engineering Company, mostly being derivatives of those made by the American AMi (Automatic Musical Instrument) jukebox company.
History
In the years followin ...
*
Music box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...
*
Player piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
*
Rock-Ola
The Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation is an American developer and manufacturer of juke boxes and related machinery. It was founded in 1927 by Coin-Op pioneer David Cullen Rockola to manufacture slot machines, scales, and pinball machines. The ...
*
Seeburg 1000
The Seeburg 1000 Background Music System is a phonograph designed and built by the Seeburg Corporation to play background music from special 16 RPM vinyl records in offices, restaurants, retail businesses, factories and similar locations. Seeburg ...
*
Sound Leisure
*
Vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Musical culture
American inventions
Audio engineering
Commercial machines
Vending machines
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