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History of the manufacturer  

Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation (Rockola); Chicago, IL

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Name: Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation (Rockola); Chicago, IL    (USA)  
Abbreviation: rockola
Products: Model types Others
Summary:

Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation Chicago, IL; Manufacturer of world wide popular Music Boxes for 78's and 45's.

Founded: 1926
Production: 1926 -
History:

David Colin Rockola was born January 23, 1897, in Manitoba, Canada. His father was an inventor. As a young boy (14) David Rockola began to work in a hotel as a bellboy. Later, he opened his own cigar store in Calgary and had a slot machine on the counter which made quite some money. At the age 23 he went to Chicago to work in a shop that repaired for Mills, Jennings and Watling, the top three slot machine manufacturers. In 1927 David Rockola founded "Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation" in Chicago.

From 1932 Rockola did produce also pinball games, starting with "Juggle ball", and many other devices but that made him nearly bankrupt - despite the fact that the machines were regarded as the most innovative and later collectble pingames. As the demand for coin-operated phonographs increased Rock-Ola moved into the jukebox arena. David Rockola purchased a mechanism from a Mr. Smythe. Rockola reengineered this 12-select mechanism and started 1935 making jukeboxes. Farny Wurlitzer viewed this a huge threat to his business based on Rockola's success in other machines. Wurlitzer tried to convince David Rockola that there was no room in the industry for another manufacturer. Wurlitzer then filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming patent infringement on the Smythe mechanism. Rockola eventually won the suit but not until he had spent half a million dollars in legal fees. This hurt Rockola but didn't kill him. He continued manufacturing and in 1939 introduced a series of very successful jukeboxes called "Luxury Light-Up".

During World War II, Rock-Ola led the industry in telephone-line music transmission systems. This was very popular because it allowed for many selections to be offered at a time when jukebox manufacturing was nearly halted because of the war effort. He produced also rifles (M1) and ammunition. After World War II, the jukebox industry was booming. Boys were coming home and it was party time. Wurlitzer came out with the model 1015, probably the most popular jukebox of all time, and Rock-Ola introduced the "Magic Glow" series. These were models 1422, 1426, and 1428.

Allthough Wurlitzer and AMI ruled the 30's and 40's, and Seeburg did in the 50's, it would be Rock-ola who became the market leader in the 60's:

In the 1950s and '60s Rock-Ola was a formidable competitor on the jukebox field. The company came up with many new ideas, including a full-featured jukebox that was so small it could be hung on the wall! As the demand for jukeboxes went down in the '70s, Rock-Ola wound down the business to almost nothing. In 1992 Rock-Ola sold the business to Glenn Streeter, owner of Antique Apparatus Co. In Torrance, Calif. Streeter has taken the Rock-Ola name and given it new life, making it now one of the top jukebox manufacturers in the country, featuring a full line of commercial and home jukeboxes. David Rockola died in 1993.

This manufacturer was suggested by Mario Spitzer.


Some models:
Country Year Name 1st Tube Notes
USA  78 Rock-Ola Max 477   Carousel music box, fully automatic, for 80 singles 45 rpm. First digitally controlled mod... 
USA  61 Regis 120 1488 12AU7  This Rock Ola Jukebox model carries the typical "American car" styling of the sixties, has... 
USA  61 Regis 200 1495 12AU7  This Rock Ola Jukebox model carries the typical "American car" styling of the sixties, has... 
USA  60 1478 Tempo II [120 Selections] 6AN8  120 selections: 3 groups / 40 titles each. 
USA  56 Jukebox 1454 6L6  Jukebox mit 120 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also 60 Singles mit 45 rpm. 
USA  60 Tempo II 1485   Jukebox mit 200 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also 100 Singles 45 rpm. 
USA  55 Icicle 1448   Jukebox mit 120 Wahlmöglichkeiten, für 60 Platten. 
USA  62 Princess 1493   Jukebox mit 100 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also 50 Singles mit 45 rpm. 
USA  52 Fireball 1436   Jukebox mit 120 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also für 60 Singles mit 45 rpm. 
USA  54 Comet 1438   Jukebox mit 120 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also 60 Singles mit 45 rpm. 
USA  54 1442   Jukebox mit 50 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also für 25 Singles mit 45 rpm. 
USA  54 1446   Jukebox mit 120 Wahlmöglichkeiten, also für 60 Singles mit 45 rpm. 

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