The Los Angeles Times has an entertaining article about Don Muller, owner of Jukeboxes Unlimited. Not only is he a jukebox enthusiast, but he’s also one of the few people who can repair record-playing jukeboxes. Many jukeboxes now play CDs, and many more taverns and restaurants are converting to Internet-connected devices that play Mp3s.
There’s not much Route 66 content in the story, although it does contain a listing of cool jukeboxes in the Los Angeles region. A few are on the Mother Road.
But the story got me to thinking about other cool jukeboxes on Route 66. There’s a good one at the Elbow Inn in Devils Elbow, Mo., that caters to its biking clientele with songs from Steppenwolf, AC/DC, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Cult. The Luna Cafe in Mitchell, Ill., has one that contains classic-rock and country music to please its blue-collar, steel-mill-working customers. An old bar in Tulsa where I quaff a beer from time to time contains lots of country, including former Tulsa acts Bob Wills and the Tractors.
And I remember the Eat-Rite Diner near downtown St. Louis having a jukebox that spun real vinyl 45s. It ran the gamut from 1960s and ’70s country to R&B to blues. It was apparent the jukebox had been there for decades and, as far as I know, it’s still there.
When I was doing research about the long-closed John’s Modern Cabins west of Rolla, Mo., I talked to an old couple who danced to Bob Wills’ “New San Antonio Rose” in the late 1930s or early ’40s when it was known as Bill and Bessie’s Place. Not only was Bill and Bessie’s a tourist court, but it also had a juke joint for drinking and dancing.
Do you know of a cool jukebox on the Mother Road? Chime in with the comments section.