I like to listen to Pandora while I am working. Today, my mind started to wander off as it sometimes does, and I began to muse about the marvels of modern technology. As a kid, I would buy records and later CDs. If I wanted to combine some of my favorites, or make someone a mix tape, I would spend hours at my tape deck to get the playlist I wanted. The iPod and now Pandora and other sites make it easy to get a mix with as little as a push of a button. 

Before all that, there was the jukebox. Invented in the 1920s it went on to become a beloved slice of Americana. Filled with the newest records, the decked out machines were a fixture in many a bar, diner, and restaurant from the 1940s through the mid-1960s. Who can’t picture Fonzie banging his fist on the jukebox to start the music as Richie, Potsie and the gang looked on. Pinkie Tuscadero wasn’t the only one who was impressed…

Now a relic of the past, the neon lit jukebox continues to invoke nostalgia and brings to mind Americana of an era filled with rock and roll, drive-ins, and cool cars from a period when Detroit cared more about design.

Every time I’m at a bar that has a jukebox, I feed it a few dollars as a tribute to its more handsome and colorful grandpa, the Wurlitzer. If only I could fire the thing up with my fist…(double thumbs up) Ayyyy!

Image from jukeboxhistory.info