From Joe Viger:
On a recent business trip in Sacramento, California, I stumbled on this shop that sold long forgotten records and jukeboxes. When I saw these great machines, I flashed back to being a kid in Berlin, NH, where many Friday nights my parents and I would go to Sinibaldi's Restaurant for pizza. It was the late '70s and I was a pre-teen sorting out my musical tastes for a quarter. "Hotel California" was the be-all and end-all jukebox song for me at the time. At least until the first singles from The Cars and Devo came around or if they happened to have a Kiss song. The quarter my dad gave me got three plays, but he never weighed in on song selection. My mom always got a vote and it was usually the AM radio hit of the day from the long-gone local station WBRL. She was partial to scary stuff like Tony Orlando and Dawn, Captain and Tennille or Starland Vocal Band.
Dave Brigham, friend and editor of The Backside of America, saw one of these pictures online and commented, "Ah, that makes me feel good." Even with a mash-up of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon," "Muskrat Love" and "Afternoon Delight" buzzing in my head, I have to agree. It makes me feel good too.
Check out more photos from Joe Viger at www.joeviger.com.
I used to love going to diners and listening to jukeboxes. Aren't they due for a resurgence?
ReplyDeleteI started my broadcasting career at WBRL in 1978. Local radio is pretty much dead and gone in Berlin these days.
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