It was a big as a fridge!
So, why do I want a jukebox? Well, lets go back to my childhood with my little phonograph and those 6 racks full of 45's. Like I said, I didn't read too good yet when I first came down with Rock and Roll Fever. My father swore I was vaccinated with a photograph needle. Ok, so I have all these records, dozens with the exact same label. Now image a machine that lets you store all you favorites, and at the push of a button you get to hear the exact song you're in the mood for. My uncle Eddie's father got a old AMI model E jukebox from the fire company he belonged to. It was collecting dust in the basement and needed repairs. He paid some retired repairman he knew a couple bucks to replace the needle and a couple vacuum tubes and the thing was as good as new. (Well almost, as the tubes and lights heated up the jukebox; it started to smell like a smoky beer spilled barroom.) One Christmas when I was maybe 6 or 7, my aunt and uncle had this surprise for me after we were finished with dinner. Of course I couldn't eat because the suspense was killing me. And to this day, if you really want to get on my bad side, promise to tell me something, and then keep putting off the telling. Anyway, we finally get to my uncle's parents place and in the corner of the room is this big "thing" that looked like a refrigerator. My uncle's dad plugged it in, and at first it scared me a little as the lights started flickering on and the thing came to life. Of course I soon noticed the record player mechanize and a rack of 45's. My dad had to lift me up to put the quarter in and to press a button, and this thing grabs a record and starts playing. I was in total awe. Recently when I spotted a Pioneer CD changer that holds 300+1 CDs, and you can daisy-chain it with a second unit for 600+ CD access with one remote control, my breathing became heavy - my palms started to sweat - my nipples stood erect. It was love at first sight. Sort of like I feel Stream Train Engines have a life all of there own, a jukebox is sort of the same thing. It gets warm, it has heat in it's body, it sings, it's so happy it glows and changes color to reflect it's mood. I guess that's the main reason I love music so much. No matter what kind of mood I'm in, there is a song or two that expresses my feelings.