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History of the Jukebox.

Jukeboxes have been around since the early 20th century when Rowe International (under the name of AMI) produced the first automated phonograph in 1927. The following year, Justus P. Seeburg, a builder of player pianos, created an electrostatic loudspeaker combined with a record player that was operated by coin and gave the listener a choice of only eight records.

It was after this time, approximately 1930 that the term juke box first came into use. It is often believed that the words “juke box” came from the slang term “juke” or “jook” – Which was the African-American lingo for dance. This is also where the term “juke joint” derived from. A juke joint was a homegrown place – primarily a term used in the southeastern US, where one could go to listen to music, dance and drink the night away.

This term is still used today – albeit seldom – to refer to a neighborhood bar or lounge where the primary attraction – outside of the booze, is a jukebox.

Fast forward to 1950 when a leader in the industry Seeburg Corporation introduced a jukebox that played the smaller 45-rpm records. The 45’s, as they were known, were a perfect fit for the jukebox – offering only one song per side of the vinyl record.

The Wurlitzer Corporation hit pay dirt in 1948 when it produced the iconic Model 1015. This is universally accepted as the most popular and recognizable design.

Seeburg also produced the wallboxes found in restaurants and diners. The wallbox was a coin-operated device that allowed one to make selections from their booth or table. The wallbox did not house or play any records itself – it simply acted as a remote control for the main jukebox. Some wallboxes in the 1960’s also had speakers so the sound from the main jukebox playing the record was piped in direct to each table.

It was also in the 1960’s that the boxes became more ornate and flashy to garner the attention of the patrons within the establishment. Song Counter mechanisms were also introduced at this time as technology marched on. The counters helped the operator to move new songs in to the rotation – and remove low playing song titles. Interestingly, the counters could not distinguish between an A-side and a B-side.

Compact Disc jukeboxes were introduced in the 1980’s. The CD allowed the jukebox to play not just the popular A-side and the not so popular B-side – - but the entire album was now available. This actually provided the operator less control compared to picking and selection specific titles found on a 45-rpm record. Some more sophisticated CD jukeboxes were allowed to block specified CD tracks, however.

In the late 1990’s the jukebox took another significant updated turn when TouchTunes Music Corporation, utilizing the advances of digital computers, replaced the vinyl and the cd. A larger selection of digital recordings were made available from the internal computer – or from the internet – as songs could be instantly downloaded from that manufacturer’s proprietary website that inventoried selected songs and even genres that could now be selected by the patron and/or blocked by the operator.