Color-Sonic was a type of visual

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

developed in the United States in the 1960s. They were the first ones to use continuous loop cartridges, which were both more durable and more easily replaced than the film reels used by their competitors, Cinebox and

Scopitone Scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music videos. The 1959 Italian Cinebox/Colorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time one year before the Scopi ...

. The Color-Sonic films were shot on 35 mm, as opposed to the 16 mm film used for Scopitone and Cinebox. Before Color-Sonic, Panoram had already pioneered the use of visual jukeboxes in America.

Company history

In 1966, Henry A. Schwartz filed a patent for the Color-Sonic, also known as Combi 150 (a visual jukebox) which was assigned to Color-Sonics Inc. alias National Company Inc. in New York. The Color-Sonic machines were manufactured at the facilities of the National Company Inc. in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. It is situate ...

. COLOR-SONICS, INC. was incorporated on May 7, 1966, in New York county with company number 198358. It is located at 122 East 42nd St. New York, New York, 10168. The National Company Inc. also used to own The National Radio Company of New York, NY. "Jukebox History 1952-1998", ''Juke-Box.dk''
Retrieved 16 April 2020
Retrieved 16 April 2020

Color-Sonic music videos

The video films themselves were made at

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio i ...

Official Films Official Films, Incorporated (Inc.) was founded by Leslie Winik in 1939 to produce educational shorts. Soon, after buying some negatives of public-domain Keystone Chaplin films, the company found itself in the 16mm/8mm home movie business. Home ...

, which was headed by Robert Blees, a former producer of TV shows such as ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

'' and '' Combat!''.

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

was hired to direct several Color-Sonics films: "Girl Talk" by

Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the composer of the rhythm and blues standard " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and for the role of D ...

, a short called ''The Party'' set to the song "Bittersweet Samba" by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and two shorts featuring

Lili St. Cyr Marie Frances Van Schaack (June 3, 1917 – January 29, 1999), known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque dancer and stripper.. Early years St. Cyr was born Marie Frances Van Schaack in Minneapolis, Minnesota, o ...

. In addition, Color-Sonics produced a fairly sophisticated music video titled "

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. ...

" by

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

which was directed by Robert Sidney. Some of the 200 music videos featured on Color-Sonics (with Color-Sonics catalog number in brackets, where known) included; # ''The Party'' aka ''In Crowd'' featuring Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, "Bittersweet Samba" (directed by Robert Altman) (026) # Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: "Swinger from Seville" (018) # Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass: "

Whipped Cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

" (012) # Ray Anthony Show: "What'd I Say" (031) # Nai Bonet: "Jelly Belly" # Bobby Breen: "Up on the Roof" (320) # Brothers Two Trio: "Chickie" # Andy Cavell & the Boscoe Holder Dancers: "Speedy Gonzalez" # Fay Craig: "Bongo Baby" (314) # Fay Craig: "Mirage" (309) # Colorama Dancers, ''Beach Party'' featuring The Dovells, " You Can't Sit Down" (111) # The Eggheads: "Greenback Dollar" (103) # The Eggheads: " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" # The Eggheads: "This Little Lite of Mine" (101) # Lynn Elliot: "Baby Face" (004) # Shawn Elliott: "Shame and Scandal in the Family" (131) # Shane Fenton: "I Ain't Got Nobody" #

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

, title(s) unknown # Wayne Gibson: "I Like It" (310) # Johnny B. Great: "If I Had a Hammer" (307) # Janice Harper: "Love Is a Dangerous Thing" (014) # Janice Harper: "The Thrill Is Gone" (015) # Mel Henke: "Every Little Movement / The Streets of Cairo" # Dawn Holly: "Coquette" (112) # Fran Jeffries: "Ain't Misbehavin' " # Fran Jeffries: "No Moon at All" (002) # Fran Jeffries: "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (201) # Fran Jeffries: "Squeeze Me" (035) # Karen Jensen: "I'm an Old Cowhand" (029) # Lainie Kazan: "Blues in the Night" (010) # Lainie Kazan: "I Cried For You" # Joi Lansing: "All of Me" # Tommy Leonetti: "The Way You Look Tonight" # Julie London: "Daddy" # Julie London: "Watermelon Man" (024) # Shorty Long: "Night fo' Last" # Mary Jane Mangler: "She's Not There" (017) # Natali Moore: "Big Bad Bill" (044) # Jaye P. Morgan: "Will He Like Me" (005) # Kitty Oliver: "Kansas City" (043) # Mary Pastor: "Winning Pair" (135) # Frankie Randall: "More" (dir. by Bob Baker) (020) # Frankie Randall: "The Rules of the Road" (dir. by Bob Baker) (013) #

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician. His 1963 saxophone hit " Yakety Sax" became the signature tune of ''The Benny Hill Show''. Randolph was a prolific session musician and member of the Nas ...

: "

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the Protagonist, principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown ...

" (016) # Tina Robbins: "Glory of Love" (106) # Terry Ross: "My Baby Just Cares for Me" # Lonnie Sattin: "Sweetheart" (108) # Frank Sinatra Jr.: "Love for Sale" # Nancy Sinatra: "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' " (directed by Robert Sidney) (011) # Nancy Sinatra: "The Shadow of Your Smile" (directed by Robert Sidney) (008) # Lili St. Cyr: "Ebb Tide" (directed by Robert Altman) (114) # Lili St. Cyr: "“Speak Low" (directed by Robert Altman) (021) # Bobby Troup: "Girl Talk" (directed by Robert Altman) (034) # Ozel Turkbas: "Bedevilled Belly Dancer" #

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (; born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. After beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, she garnered acclaim for her role in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', winning a T ...

, title(s) unknown # Unknown artist: "Agent 006" (040) # Unknown artist: " Alley Cat" (202) # Unknown artist: "Besame Mucho" # Unknown artist: "Bikini Beach" # Unknown artist: "Cobra Dance" # Unknown artist: "Derelict" # Unknown artist: "Down by the Riverside" # Unknown artist: "Every Little Movement" (207) # Unknown artist: "

The Girl from Ipanema "Garota de Ipanema" (), or "The Girl from Ipanema", is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim a ...

" (203) # Unknown artist: "Goldie" # Unknown artist: "Hey Look Me Over" # Unknown artist: "Lady in Red" (128) # Unknown artist: "Lemon Tree" # Unknown artist: "The Limbo" # Unknown artist: "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...

" # Unknown artist: "Night Train" # Unknown artist: "

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

" (204) # Unknown artist: "San Francisco" # Unknown artist: "Sea Witch" (205) # Unknown artist: "Seven-Eleven Go-Go" (134) # Unknown artist: "Seventh Veil" (033) # Unknown artist: "Sugar Daddy" # Unknown artist: "What a Difference a Day Makes" # Unknown artist: "

You Are My Sunshine "You Are My Sunshine" is an American standard of old-time and country music and the state song of Louisiana. Its original writer is disputed. According to the performance rights organization BMI, by the year 2000 the song had been recorded by ...

" (036) # Unknown artist: "You're Driving Me Crazy" (206) # Vi Velasco: "Bye Bye Black Bird" (039) # Mary Wells: "All My Lovin' " (022) # Mary Wells: "He Loves You" Bob Orlowsky, "Color-Sonics", ''Scopitone Archive''
Retrieved 16 April 2020

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Bittersweet Samba"
by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Color-Sonic music video
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "
by Nancy Sinatra, Color-Sonic music video
''The Party''
at the Internet Movie Database Music videos