The jukebox was like a grand old maestro curling its forefinger in a come-hither motion for me to check it out there on a landing outside the auction house. It was a big metal beast, a relic whose music is now heard from gadgets that can be cradled in the palm of your hand or positioned on small desktops just about anywhere.
There was a time, though, when people danced cheek to cheek and body to body to the sounds of their favorite singers from jukeboxes like this Select-o-matic. So, I obeyed its silent order, stepped up on the platform and read its song-list. Click on photo below for a full view.
The Select-o-matic was one of the most successful jukeboxes, the first of which was made in the late 1940s. The songs in this machine spanned several decades, from the 1930s (My Prayer by the Platters) to the 1950s (I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett) to the 1960s (I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye) to the 1980s (Gloria by Laura Branigan).
Someone had taped a piece of paper on the front of the machine with a list of the most popular jukebox songs, as determined by the Amusement and Music Operators Association. There was no date on the listing, but I did find a 1989 Top 40s list that included them.
1. Hound Dog and Don’t Be Cruel – Elvis Presley (1956)
2. Crazy – Patsy Cline (1961)
3. Rock Around the Clock – Bill Haley and the Comets (1955)
4. Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding (1968)
5. I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye (1968)
6. Mack the Knife – Bobby Darin (1959)
7. Light My Fire – The Doors (1967)
8. Blueberry Hill – Fats Domino (1956)
9. Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll – Bob Seger (1979)
10. My Girl – Temptations (1965)
The jukebox prominently displayed the Seeburg company name and logo in gold leaf. The J.P. Seeburg Co. started out making electric piano players at the turn of the 20th century. It got into phonographs in the 1920s in the infancy of recorded music. The company became successful with its jukeboxes in the 1940s, producing several models before turning to making electronic equipment for the war.
The most successful of its jukeboxes was one built after the war that played both sides of a record – for 100 selections. It became known as the Select-o-matic, and its popularity also derived partly from its front window that allowed people to see the record as it changed and played. Here are some other neat Seeburg jukeboxes.
Jukeboxes got their footing in the 1930s, but generally were much more popular from the 1940s to 1960s. The granddaddy of them all was the Wurlitzer company, which started out importing musical instruments and then got into pianos, organs and jukeboxes. It is said to have made some of the most beautiful jukeboxes. Here are some lovely Wurlitzers.
Several sites noted that jukeboxes were “colorblind” at a time when there was no crossover of music by black and white performers (most people did not see the famous acts in person). They did not identify singers by race, and for black entertainers, they were a great outlet for their music.
The name “jukebox” is said to have come from the African American juke joints (or jooks) or dance halls in the South, according to the book “The Great Depression in America” and other websites. In the 1920s, the machines replaced bands that had provided entertainment in these places.
The Select-o-matic outside the auction house was no match for the one I found inside. It looked to be much older, with a wooden cabinet and a very fancy design. I scoured the machine looking for a maker, but could find none, only a $25 Philadelphia tax label.
Its list of songs lacked the diversity of the Seeburg machine, and they likely represented the tastes of the people where the jukebox had previously lived. There was Elvis, along with Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, Eddie Fisher, Joni James, Ralph Marterie, Ferko String Band (a South Philadelphia Mummer’s band).
In my research, I found out that this was a Wurlitzer 1080 Colonial, made between 1945 and 1947. It needed to be cleaned up a bit, but I understood why the Wurlitzer was so much admired.
I saw the jukeboxes at a preview the day before the auction and didn’t attend the actual auction. So, I’m not sure how much they sold for. On several websites, vintage jukeboxes were being offered for way over $1,000. Some were way way over.
