©

Getty Images

The juke joint -

The term jukebox derives from the terms “juke joint” or “juke houses,” referring to places where people would gather to drink and listen to music in the 1900s.

©

Getty Images

Where the term came from -

Juke joints were illegal brothels and bootlegger shacks where slaves would sometimes escape their cruel lives and drink moonshine.

©

Getty Images

Inventors -

The jukebox was first invented in 1889 by Louis Glass and William S. Arnold. The two decided to create coin-operated players.

©

Getty Images

San Francisco’s Palais Royal Saloon -

In 1889, the first jukebox ever was introduced at San Francisco’s Palais Royal Saloon.

©

Getty Images

Coin-operated music boxes -

Coin-operated music boxes and player pianos, the latter introduced in 1902, were the first forms of automated coin-operated musical devices.

©

Getty Images

Headphones -

People would pop in these old acoustic headphones, which were just listening tubes. You could choose between records and select what side to play.

©

Getty Images

A new device to switch songs -

It was Hobart C. Niblack of Rochester, New York, who patented an apparatus that would change records automatically. This allowed for the first automatically-selecting phonograph to be produced in 1927 by AMI.

©

Getty Images

A loudspeaker -

Justus P. Seeburg, who was a manufacturer of pianos, created a loudspeaker for a record player in 1928.

©

Getty Images

The Great Depression -

Tavern owners became very fond of jukeboxes during the Great Depression in the late '30s, because hiring a band was impossible.

©

Getty Images

Bar owners were delighted -

Being able to have music in the bar, even if it was from a machine, meant that they could keep customers happy and coming back for more.

©

Getty Images

Technological advancements -

From 1930 all the way through to the 1970s, jukeboxes soared in demand and went through radical technological changes.

©

Getty Images

Shellac then vinyl -

Shellac dominated jukeboxes until Seeburg Corporation introduced an all 45 rpm vinyl record jukebox in 1950.

©

Getty Images

It spread -

Jukeboxes ended up appearing in drugstores, ice cream parlors, and dancehalls. They were everywhere because wherever they were people came and spent money.

©

Getty Images

The mini juke -

It was in the 1950s that the miniature juke got placed on tables at diners. You could sit and have your lunch and pop in a coin to play a song while you devoured your sandwich.

©

Getty Images

Labels loved them -

They were a fantastic machine for big record labels to leverage their cataloged music on because if they could get their music on it, they would sell more records.

©

Getty Images

The amplifier -

They became more popular once the electric amplifier was invented and began being used because the sound could fill large rooms.

©

Getty Images

Stereo sound -

In the 1960s, stereo sound became popularized by bands like the Beatles who were experimenting with production methods in studio. Jukeboxes around this era were being designed to provide a sample of this stereo sound technology.

©

Getty Images

The King -

'Hound Dog' and 'Jailhouse Rock' by Elvis Presley are thought to be two of the biggest jukebox hits of all time.

©

Getty Images

Patsy Cline -

‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline comes close. It’s not clear how many plays it would have gotten on a jukebox though.

©

Getty Images

Bill Haley & His Comets -

Bill Haley & His Comets had ‘Rock Around the Clock,’ which had people busting a boogie back in the day.

©

Getty Images

Otis Redding -

‘(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay’ by Otis Redding was another huge draw for the jukebox.

©

Getty Images

Marvin Gaye -

'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' is still a huge number that is found on jukeboxes today.

©

Getty Images 

Bobby Darin -

'Mack the Knife' by Bobby Darin would have been found on players all around the world.

©

Getty Images

TouchTunes -

It wasn’t until 2010 that a company called TouchTunes changed the way it operated completely. They introduced mobile apps and touchscreens.

©

Getty Images

The iconic machine lives on -

They’re pretty hard to come by these days, even though there were thought to be around two million of them in circulation back in the day. They are less relevant now, but they’re certainly not less iconic.

Sources: (Facts 'O Fun)

See also: The best music memoirs of all time

©

Getty Images