A
jukebox is a partially automated
music-playing device, usually a
coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected
songs from self-contained media. The traditional jukebox is rather large with a rounded top and has colored
neon tubing going up the front of the machine on its vertical sides. The classic jukebox has buttons with
letters and
numbers on them that, when combined, are used to indicate a specifically coded song from a particular
album.
The ancestor of the jukebox, called the "Coin-slot
phonograph", was the first medium of
sound recording encountered by the general public, before mass produced home audio equiptment became common. Such machines began to be mass produced in
1889, using
phonograph cylinders for records. The earliest machines played but a single record (of about 2 minutes of music or entertainment), but soon devices were developed that allowed customers to choose between multiple records. In the
1910s the cylinder was superceeded by the
analogue disc record. The term "juke box" came into use in the
United States in the
1930s, derived from
African-American slang "jook" meaning "dance". The
shellac 78
rpm record dominated jukeboxes until the late
1940s, when it in turn became superceeded by the 45 rpm
vinyl record.
Starting in the 1980s, compact discs became the norm for modern jukeboxes.
Jukeboxes and their ancestors were a very profitable industry from the 1890s on. They were most popular from the 1940s through the mid-1960s, particularly during the 1950s. Today they are often associated with early rock and roll music, but were very popular in the swing music era as well.
Jukebox is also the name of an album released by jazz musician. See Jukebox (album).