Jukebox favorites

In the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, if you went to a restaurant, chances are they had no piped in background music. Instead, they had jukebox stations at the booths. We’d put in our coins, select a song or five and they’d be played in the order we bought them. That way, the customers always had the music they were willing to pay to listen to. Sometimes, there was a small area available or enough space between the tables for a slow dance (fast ones usually needed more room). I wasted many a nickel, dime, or quarter to hear these songs and watch the dancing. Here are a few examples of stuff I liked:

What did you enjoy listening to?

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This dates me terribly! Used to play this in the coffee bar after school and get thrown out for jiving to it

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Then in high school I discovered boys…

Still danced to it though, and coffee bar also served muffins!

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One of my favorites when I was a kid

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I remember a few restaurants with music at the table, but more often it was a jukebox in the corner. This one was always one of my favorites

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So good Bahia :heart_eyes:

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This is the first 45 I ever bought. High Blood Pressure was on the flip side. It was released in 1958 by Ace Records IIRC. Whenever I had a nickel I would play it on the diner tabletop jukeboxes. Huey Piano Smith is still alive. He’s 86 years old. I never knew the lyrics until I found this a few years ago:

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Civilization is passed by parents to children.

https://wallbox.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/5/3/19536949/601657_orig.jpg

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Bad Company-Rock and Roll Fantasy, Eric Clapton-Cocaine(Live) & Lay Down Sally, Kansas-Carry On My Wayward Sun, Foreigner-Hot Blooded, Rolling Stones-Waiting On A Friend

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All great songs :slight_smile:

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The Twist !!

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It sounds like fond memories of soda joints and sock hops. However, I’m a bit younger than those days. There could be a small portion of the Replay Forum that recalls the very specific time that video jukeboxes were the craze. Of course these days ended with the advent of MTV, and were fairly limited to a short period of time when technology was racing forward. In retrospect, the songs weren’t anything special, but it was a magical time when you had the video available of a singer singing their song literally at your fingertips. One of the bands that was heavy into 80’s videos is still one of my favorites…“The Cars”.
Side note on Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville: I was d.j.'ing a wedding reception behind a band (meaning I was fill-in time when the band wasn’t on stage, background music for dinner, and various emcee duties). The band was quite good, however they were unable to accommodate the wedding party request for that particular Jimmy Buffet classic as the lead singer was unsure on the lyrics (I know, I know…blasphemy!!). Needless to say, this particular (peculiar?) former d.j. filled in with a fairly credible version of Mr. Buffet’s classic. And no, I wasn’t drunk. I stay sober when working.

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In the late 80s came the “Laser Disc Jukebox”, where you are not only payin to hear the music, but now been able to see the videos!

It was in a turkish food joint, where I first encountered this concept and I was more than willing to pay 1 DM (Deutsche Mark) every day for 14 days straight, just to see “Leave me alone” by Michael Jackson before I went to school.

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YouTube killed the video jukebox star.