Wurlitzer 1015

One of the most coveted jukebox models is the Wurlitzer 1015.  Introduced in 1946, this iconic machine became an instant sensation with its vibrant colors and elegant design.  The 1015 was forward-thinking and the perfect machine for a war-weary nation that wanted to .. dance into the future!

Wurlitzer in North Tonawanda, NY famous for organ production also made jukeboxes.  The 1015 sold to distributors for $750 and the demand was enormous.  In 1946 and 1947, a time when the average manufacturing production run for a new jukebox was 10,000, Wurlitzer shipped 56, 246 of the 1015.  The company stoked the public's appetite with the largest promotional campaign.  The success of the 1015 ushered in a great postwar boom in the jukebox business.  The number of jukeboxes soared from four hundred thousand just after the war to a high of about seven hundred thousand in the fifties.  

What happened then is a sad, familiar story.  The interstate highway system drove countless little roadhouses out of business.  Portable radios got smaller and cheaper. Home phonographs got better and cheaper.  Top 40 radio took over as the arbiter of the hits.  Wurlitzer saw the writing on the wall and diversified.  By 1973, jukeboxes which had once accounted for 80 percent of its revenues made up just 15 percent.  In 1974, as the strains of the polka "Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye" played, the company shut down its jukebox production line in North Tonawanda.  Today there are only about 225,000 jukeboxes operating in America.

The 1015, though, has survived its time.  It is the single most sought-after piece among jukebox collectors.  A reconditioned 1015 may fetch as much as thirteen thousands dollars, today!  Scholars of pop culture may see in it the perfect expression of a precise moment in twentieth-century history, a confluence of trends in economics, entertainment and material technology.  The 1015 is just that!  To collectors, it is something else!  A gaudy, romantic, beautiful thing that stands five feet high, glows in the dark and plays great music. *

*My high school had a 1015 that was wheeled out into the gymnasium after basketball games from nearby Coach Wally Johnson's office for after-the-game dances.  It is one of my favorite high school memories because it stood five feet high, glowed in the dark and played great music.