On the day before gathering around the turkey, gather around the nearest jukebox to celebrate National Jukebox Day! As Americans flock to their hometowns for Thanksgiving, many will head out to neighborhood bars and restaurants. They’ll catch up with friends and family and, celebrate by playing great songs on their local jukebox.
Image Credit: pinterest.com
The name jukebox is thought to originate from places called juke houses or jook joints. In the early 1900s, people congregated in these establishments to drink and listen to music. Throughout history, the jukebox continued to evolve with the times. While the Blue Grass Boys played to sold-out audiences in the Grand Ole Opry, guys and gals danced the night away by playing their song over and over, again, on the jukebox at a local pub. With the advancement of technology, today’s jukebox is more versatile than ever before. Throughout each era, from big band, jazz, country and blues, to rock & roll, acoustic, and electric, and everything in between, the jukebox has played it all.
History…
In 1889, Louis Glass and his partner William S. Arnold invented the first coin-operated player in San Francisco. They were both managers of the Pacific Phonograph Co. Formally known as the nickel-in-the-slot machine, the player included a coin operation feature on an Edison phonograph. However, it played a limited selection of songs without any amplification.
1946 ushered in “The Silver Age” for jukeboxes as market demand for the newest and greatest technology soared. Fashionable and sleek, jukeboxes weren’t just music players, they were centerpieces often flamboyant with color and chrome. Neon and sci-fi became a tremendous influence on style as well.
Modern Era…
The 1960s was the start of a new modern age for jukeboxes. Designs of coin-operated models went through radical changes, not only because of the availability of new materials, such as plastic but also because of the need to accommodate customer demand for more song selection.
In 1989, compact-disc mechanisms replaced the older record style players as newer technology became affordable and rapidly implemented among the general population. Jukeboxes started to become more of a novelty than a necessity.
TouchTunes founded National Jukebox Day to celebrate the iconic jukebox and the powerful memories it evokes in people.
I remember those. I just looked it up…that would be sharp. We visited my cousin today and her husband has an old pinball machine and slot machine in their living room….really cool. Some of those pinball machines are not expensive…some are very expensive.
That is really cool. The simple ones are just as cool as the others.
I wouldn’t mind the old ones with the holes and no flippers. Remember those? Where you had to get the balls in a line and most people would pay off back in the 70s with them.
November 28, 2019 at 2:10 AM
This post brings back many memories for me – unfortunately, I haven’t seen a jukebox in years.
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November 28, 2019 at 2:36 AM
Neither have I.
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November 28, 2019 at 3:00 AM
Always wanted one. Has to be one where you can see the single spinning.
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November 28, 2019 at 2:14 PM
That would be me. I want to SEE the 45 or the album…or, even a 78.
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November 28, 2019 at 6:49 AM
With wishes for a Blessed Thanksgiving (USA)
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November 28, 2019 at 2:18 PM
Hugs & blessings returned! ❤🦃🥂🎃🎉
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November 28, 2019 at 7:28 AM
Would love to own one!
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November 28, 2019 at 2:19 PM
Yeah. Me, too. Those videos show what a great sound they have.
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November 28, 2019 at 11:08 AM
Who knew! I always enjoyed jukeboxes. I know several people who collect them now.
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November 28, 2019 at 2:28 PM
I miss them!
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November 29, 2019 at 12:02 PM
Not the same anymore…lots of sports on tv’s instead.
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November 28, 2019 at 4:16 PM
I love old jukeboxes… some of them I consider art…I would love to have one to play singles…not the cd ones.
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November 28, 2019 at 4:37 PM
Yeah. Me, too.
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November 28, 2019 at 4:45 PM
I would love to have one and an old seventies pinball machine…one of the Who’s Tommy ones…or hell any of them.
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November 28, 2019 at 9:53 PM
I’m with ya’ on that, too. I LOVE a pinball machine. My favorite one when I was a teen was Xenon.
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November 28, 2019 at 9:57 PM
I remember those. I just looked it up…that would be sharp. We visited my cousin today and her husband has an old pinball machine and slot machine in their living room….really cool. Some of those pinball machines are not expensive…some are very expensive.
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November 28, 2019 at 10:32 PM
My paternal uncle had a wooden pinball machine from his teen years…early 70s. He is 13 years older than I am. He still has it.
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November 28, 2019 at 10:35 PM
That is really cool. The simple ones are just as cool as the others.
I wouldn’t mind the old ones with the holes and no flippers. Remember those? Where you had to get the balls in a line and most people would pay off back in the 70s with them.
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