History of the Jukebox

The Wurlitzer family started buying and selling musical items in Saxony as far back as 1659. Rudolph Wurlitzer, the father of the original Wurlitzer company, was born in 1829 and in 1853 came to the United States at the age of 24. In 1856, he founded The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially he imported musical instruments from his family in Germany to sell them on the American market, but soon made his way into manufacturing.

In 1880, the first Wurlitzer piano was built in the U.S., followed by the first coin-operated electric piano in 1896 and this was literally the start of the coin-operated music boom of the late 1800s.

Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Wurlitzer became famous for the large theatre organs that created sound for silent films. These large organs and many other types of automatic instruments were manufactured at a large facility in North Tonawanda, N.Y., where the factory still stands today.

Rudolph Wurlitzer died in 1914, leaving the business to his three sons. As the demand for theatre organs and automatic pianos weakened, Wurlitzer went through some difficult times. The depression of 1929 nearly put the company out of business. In 1933, Rudolph's youngest son, Farny, entered into a deal with Homer Capehart. Wurlitzer would manufacture a coin phonograph engineered by "Erickson" called the "Debutante", thus developing the first Wurlitzer Jukebox. The repeal of prohibition was imminent and the demand for coin-operated music was about to explode. It did, and by 1937, Wurlitzer had sold over 100,000 phonographs.

In the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s, the styling of Wurlitzer Jukeboxes was taken to a new level by a gifted designer named Paul Fuller. Among the models introduced during the early '40s were the 700, 750, and 850. With their sophisticated and artistic use of plastics, glass, and wood, these designs became instant classics, and established Wurlitzer as a definitive force within the industry.

As fate would have it, this was also the time when war broke out. In 1941, the U.S. government mandated that the Wurlitzer factories be used to produce war-related materials. The use of metal and plastics were also severely restricted during this period. Wurlitzer responded to these obstacles by releasing several now-legendary models including the 42-Victory and the 950, which relied heavily on wood and glass. The engineers, especially designer Paul Fuller, had continued to work on new jukebox models over this period. The result was called the ‘1015’. At the end of the war, in 1946, sales of the Wurlitzer 1015 Jukebox went off with a bang. People were mesmerized by the styling details, including animated bubble tubes, revolving color columns, and a revealed record changing mechanism. This forerunner to today's One More Time model sold over 56,000 units during its first 18 months on the market—going on to become the most successful jukebox of all time.

Throughout the next few decades following the jukebox's golden years, Wurlitzer continued to steadily release innovative designs. The record selection capacity increased. The audio quality of the jukeboxes became more powerful, and stereo sound quickly replaced mono. During this period, musical standards also shifted from 78 RPM vinyl records to 45s and LPs. Wurlitzer was consistently an early adapter of these new technologies. In these years, urban renewal, computerized coin-operated games, television, fast-food restaurants and other factors resulted in a decrease in demand for jukeboxes and from Wurlitzer’s point of view, it was no longer a profitable business. The other jukebox manufacturers could also make other coin-operated machines a nd production could be changed according to the market. Wurlitzer could not do this. They announced in 1973 that they would quit manufacturing the jukebox to spend more time on their organ and piano business. They decided to continue manufacturing coin-operated phonographs at its German plant, Deutsche Wurlitzer.

In recent years, a renewed interest in jukeboxes has arisen. The nostalgic look of the Wurlitzer Jukebox has become a symbol of the “good old days” and today many vintage Wurlitzer Jukeboxes have become much sought after collector’s items. The Wurlitzer revitalisation began in 1985, when Deutsche Wurlitzer GmbH was taken over by the Australian Nelson Group of Companies and in 1986 brought the ‘One More Time’ nostalgia jukebox with modern technology onto the market 40 years after the original ‘1015’, and it has enjoyed unbroken popularity right up to today.

Among the latest jukebox designs are the One More Time CD Jukebox that has been updated with state-of-the-art digital technology and more recently the One More Time CD – iPod with a prominently featured integrated iPod docking station.

In July of 2006, Gibson Guitar Corp. acquired Deutsche Wurlitzer from Nelson Group Overseas. With a manufacturing plant and headquarters in Hullhorst, Germany, Wurlitzer employs over 260 persons worldwide and has branch distribution and sales offices in the U.S. and U.K. A global network of representatives, dealers, and importers provides the expert knowledge and experience to support Wurlitzer customers all over the world. Development and technical engineers, along with production, assembly, quality control, sales, and marketing teams work together to produce products that Wurlitzer is proud to put its name on. All of these talented individuals have earned Wurlitzer Jukeboxes a reputation for uncompromising quality, spectacular sound, and cutting edge design.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5