Juke Box

There's nothing like a jukebox, the legendary symbol of unbridled youth, to take us back to the heydays of rock & roll. In the mid 1950s, the jukebox was the focal point of any dance hall or restaurant throughout North America. The drop of a nickel or dime in the jukebox coin slot would be enough to trigger a party. The rage over this automatic phonograph was sparked in 1950, when the first such machine to play 45s emerged. Prior to that, the jukebox enjoyed limited success, despite being in existence since 1889. The poor sound quality may have had something to do with the slow rise of the jukebox, as did the use of 78 records and steel phonograph needles that required frequent changing. The jukebox industry began its upswing in the, early 1930s, thanks to a mechanical device that selected a record, placed it on the turntable, and stored it back in the pile.

David Colin Rockola was assigned his first jukebox design patent in 1934. He began producing the music machines in 1935. The Canadian- born entrepreneur was living in Chicago, and was running his own company, the Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation, which he founded in 1927. The company specialized in entertainment equipment, building everything from coin machines, weight scales and arcade games to gumball machines. The end of the prohibition era and the thousands of new taverns that opened in 1933-34 made the American market ripe for the Rock-Ola jukebox. The public's favorable response to the machine was immediate and various companies started producing jukeboxes. Companies kept in lockstep with the trends of the day, adding new models year after year that were richer in style and sound. 13v far, the most popular model was the Bubbler. The jukebox with the distinctive round top, flowing bright ~colors and glittering chrome arch has become a classic collector's item.