National Jukebox Day! – Screamin’ Scott

November 23rd is National Jukebox Day! It's one of my favorite days, as I am an avid collector of jukeboxes. Currently, I have 3 jukeboxes at the Randall Ranch. Each of them has its own unique story.

The first jukebox was installed at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco on November 23rd, 1889. It became an overnight sensation and made $1,100 in its first month. My next jukebox is a 1981 Rock-Ola 883. The story behind this jukebox is that it was at one time in used at the Emerald Theater in Mt. Clemens. For the longest time, you could find it way up in the upper balcony bar. The highest point of the theater. It was sold to a friend of mine who called up after I had made a visit to his home and asked if I was interested in the purchase of the jukebox. I was in love with this jukebox and proudly bought it. It's been in the game room at home for over 15 years, packed full of 45's records- a lot of them local Detroit bands like The Almighty Strut, The Look, Bitter Sweet Alley, Trash Brats, Kid Rock and others.

The fun of owning jukeboxes is finding rare 45's to put in the jukebox. A hard one to find is a song that was in the Steve Martin, John Candy film, "Planes, Trains & Automobiles." A Ray Charles song called, "Mess Around."  Normally, the record goes for 150 dollars. But I found it on a site called Discogs http://www.discogs.com- great site to find hard-to-find records.

In 2022, Jukeboxes are everywhere- on walls of local pubs, everywhere, but they are all hooked into the internet. You can now play almost any artist and music ever made. So today and in days to come, take time to enjoy a song on a local jukebox that has come a long way since paying a 5-cent nickle in a slot, to using your credit card. Long live the Jukebox.

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