References to jukeboxes started frequently popping up in songs in America in the mid-1900s. The coin-operated music boxes received song releases first, which added to the popularity of the technology initially.

On this day, November 23rd, in 1889, the first jukebox went into operation in San Francisco. It later became a national phenomenon in diners and restaurants.

The earliest designs took a nickel, which unlocked the mechanism and allowed the listener to hear one selection. As the machines developed, users could choose between multiple records. By 1940, the device began to be called by the term “jukebox” in the United States, and it became a symbol of rowdy and disorderly “juke joints.” Now with personal audio players, jukeboxes no longer serve as the first release of music, and they have become less of a staple in modern culture.