![Rock-Ola Capri II](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Rock-Ola_Capri_II.jpg)
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 machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s,
scales, and
pinball machines
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
. The firm later produced
parking meters,
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
,
arcade video game
An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...
s, and firearms, but became best known for its
jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, 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 sele ...
es.
History
![Rock-Ola Jukebox](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Rock-Ola_Jukebox.JPG)
The Rock-Ola Scale Company was founded in 1927 by David Cullen Rockola to manufacture coin-operated entertainment machines. During the 1920s, Rockola was linked with Chicago organized crime and escaped a jail sentence by
turning State's Evidence. Mr. Rockola added the hyphen because people often mispronounced his name. The name was changed to Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation in 1932. The company successfully expanded its production line through the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
to include furniture. Starting in 1935, Rock-Ola sold more than 400,000 jukeboxes under the ''Rock-Ola'' brand name, which predated the
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
era by two decades, and is thought to have inspired the term.
Rock-Ola became a prime contractor for production of the
M1 carbine
The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
for the US Military during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Rock-Ola machined
receivers,
barrels
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
,
bolts,
firing pin
A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...
s,
extractors,
triggers, trigger housings,
sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
, operating slides, gas cylinders, and recoil plates.
Rock-Ola used its furniture machinery to manufacture
stocks and handguards for its own production and for other prime contractors, and subcontracted production of other machined parts. Rock-Ola delivered 228,500 military carbines at $58 each before contracts were cancelled on May 31, 1944. Rock-Ola also produced approximately sixty "presentation" carbines as gifts to company executives and other officials. Presentation carbines were finished in polished blue rather than the dull
Parkerizing
Phosphate conversion coating is a chemical treatment applied to steel parts that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates, to achieve corrosion resistance, lubrication, or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or p ...
used on military weapons, and were accompanied by a custom-made wooden case including the name of the recipient engraved on a brass plate. Some of the presentation carbines had no serial numbers, while others were numbered in a special sequence preceded by "EX". Military production carbines had serial numbers in the following range:
* 1,662,250 - 1,762,519
* 4,532,100 - 4,632,099
* 6,071,189 - 6,099,688
* 6,199,684 - 6,219,688
Rock-Ola's production total was the lowest of any successful carbine prime contractor, amounting to 3.7% of the 6,221,220 made. The relative rarity and the distinctive name increase the value of Rock-Ola carbines; and the presentation carbines are highly prized among collectors.
[
In 1952, a Rock-Ola M1 carbine was the murder weapon used in the killing of a prominent British scientist and his family who were holidaying in France.
]
Rock-Ola was also the maker of shuffleboard tables from 1948 to 1950. Considered by collectors the Cadillac of shuffleboards due to their Art Deco styling with curving woodwork and much chrome, they are highly sought after by players.
In the early 1980s, Rock-Ola produced video arcade machines, including ''Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
'', (1981), ''Jump Bug
is a 1981 scrolling shooter platform game developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei Corporation. It was distributed in arcades by Sega in Japan and Europe, and by Rock-Ola in North America. It was the first platform game to include h ...
'' (1981), and ''Eyes
Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conve ...
'' (1982). The most successful Rock-Ola arcade game was ''Nibbler
A nibbler, or nibblers,Jeffery Zurschmeide Automotive Welding: A Practical Guide 2009 - Page 26 "Nibblers make a ragged cut and also leave thousands of little sheetmetal nibbles all over your shop. ... Power shears are the best tool going for cut ...
''.
Jukebox Production
David Rockola saw the repeal of prohibition in the USA in 1932 as an opportunity to expand his amusement business into coin operated phonographs, to be placed in the now legal bars and nightclubs.
The new jukeboxes would use the brand name “Rock-Ola” and the first model – the model A – was introduced in 1935. This was a 12 selection jukebox which was replaced by 20 selection jukeboxes by 1937, the first being the model IMP-20. Many people erroneously assume the name "Rock-Ola" was a take on the famous "Victrola
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
" brand of phonographs manufactured by RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
.
Rock-Ola continued to produce a new model every year up until 1942 when the constraints of World War II had an impact. After the war, they produced what some consider as their most attractive 78rpm player, the model 1428.
In the early 1950s, the arrival of the 45rpm seven inch record brought major changes to jukebox designs for all manufacturers. The first 45rpm player from Rock-Ola was the model 1434 which held 25 records, and thus 50 selections.
In 1954, the jukebox manufacturer Seeburg Corporation
Seeburg was an American design and manufacturing company of automated musical equipment, such as orchestrions, jukeboxes, and vending equipment.
Prior to manufacturing their signature jukebox suite of products, Seeburg was considered to be one of ...
brought out their model HF100R. This had a major influence on Rock-Ola who then brought to market a series of models very similar in appearance to the Seeburg, these being the model 1448 in 1955, through to the model 1465 in 1958.
The late 1950s to the early 1960s saw Rock-Ola manufacture a variety of popular jukebox models, the best-sellers being the Tempo, Regis, Princess, and Empress models.
Visible playing mechanisms eventually disappeared from Rock-Ola and all other manufacturers by the mid 1960s.
Rock-Ola continued to manufacture jukeboxes into the 1970s and beyond, although the units themselves eventually became less conspicuous in the bars and clubs where they were located, ultimately most being placed out of sight.
Rock-Ola eventually sold out to Antique Apparatus in 1992, and they continue to manufacture several models of jukeboxes under the Rock-Ola name today.
Modern Production
In 1977, Glenn Streeter's Antique Apparatus Company engineered, refined and manufactured the first "Nostalgic" Jukeboxes with a modern Rowe mechanism 45 rpm and later with a Philips CD-Player. Antique Apparatus acquired the Rock-Ola Corporation and name in 1992. The company currently operates in Torrance, California
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...
manufacturing a variety of jukeboxes for both commercial and home entertainment. Commercial jukeboxes feature touch screens, Peavey power amps and digital downloading of music and ad content, delivered by the AMI Network. Rock-Ola continues to manufacture Nostalgic style CD-jukeboxes and has also added state-of-the-art digital touch screen technology for the home market. The Rock-Ola line of Nostalgic Music Centers was introduced in 2006. Two new music center models, the "Mystic" and the "Q", were introduced in 2008. Rock-Ola models include: Harley-Davidson, Jack-Daniel's, Peacock, Gazelle, American - Beauties, President, Commando, Spectravox, and the new Bubblers 100 CD and its version Music - Center with a 1-terabyte hard disk drive (equivalent to 15,000 compact discs).
In 2019, a British company purchased Torrance-based Rock-Ola Manufacturing LLC; Alexander Walder-Smith, the CEO of The Games Room Company, a high-end retailer of luxury entertainment products and longtime Rock-Ola distributor, purchased the privately held company from Rancho Palos Verdes resident Glenn Streeter, who acquired the Chicago company in 1992 and moved it to Torrance. Walder-Smith will keep the production in Torrance and as well as expand operations will launch a brand new vinyl 45 Jukebox in early 2020.
Images: Rock-Ola model 404 "Capri II"
File:Rock-Ola Capri II open.jpg
File:Rock-Ola Capri II skiva.jpg
File:Rock-Ola Capri II skivmagasin.jpg
File:Rock-Ola Capri II speakers.jpg
References
Jukebox History 1934-1951
Notes
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.rock-ola.com
European official website
American musical instrument makers
Jukebox manufacturers
Music hardware
Manufacturing companies based in Chicago
Articles containing video clips