Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Kept that Jukebox Playing . . .


While working hours at the Ko-Op Cafe, the one almost constant presence was the Jukebox. From opening up at 7 a.m. till closing at 11 p.m. (Or was that 10:30 ?), most of the time - tunes were playing. Samuel Music of Effingham, owned and maintained the Jukebox and the pinball machines. Their two workers came by every few weeks to empty the till, load some new vinyl and clean / maintain the machine.

Once we had worked there long enough, Mize granted a few of us the privilege of sometimes taking a few quarters out of the cash register to play some of our favorites. A good time to exercise that special right was when a crowd of students came in - - what we called a 'rush.' Many of us also kicked in more from our own pocket; we loved pop music and truly kept the jukebox playing.

When I started work in November 1964, the Folk Music Revival was winding down as the British Invasion was firing up. And somewhere around 1966, Soul Music and Motown were having an impact. Put your dancing shoes on; here's one of my favorites from Jackie Wilson.


Jukeboxes are largely a memory today, but what was your favorite tune from the Sixties? I'll see if it can be spotlighted from here.

The Beatles in 1965 with "I Feel Fine."


The Animals in 1966-1967 . . . those tunes were our 'anthems' in the hall! The 'Mow' and his roommates in the 'Bahamas' wore out the groove on his album.




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