At first you might be fooled into thinking that Rock-Ola was named after the famous Rock n Roll era. However, it was in fact named after its founder David C Rockola who started as a vending machine mechanic at the tender age of 14. Later on in life, Rockola continued to dabble in everything 'coin-operated', from weighing machines to games, and it was not until 1934 (following a move to California) that Rockola started to move his company towards coin operated music machines. In 1934, Rock-Ola produced its first jukebox, the model A, introduced in January 1935.
Rock-Ola's design ethic was a large contributing factor to their success. Led by David Kochole, Rock-Ola always managed to stay in touch with the sprit of the time and designed their cabinets accordingly. As with all early jukebox companies, the introduction of plastics revolutionised the look of Rock-Ola's machines, and by the late thirties and early forties their jukeboxes were luxury light up models, covered with marbleised plastics and coloured lighting effects. Despite the rationing of metals and plastics during the war, Rock-Ola were able to come up with some of their most unusual and interesting designs - especially the 'tone column' series. Essentially a tone chamber with an upwards pointing speaker, these tall cabinets are now a rarity and highly sought after.
However, it wasn't until the fifties that Rock-Ola's designs really began to take off. Now using the latest technology to allow as many record selections as possible, the Tempo series in particular stands out as the iconic jukebox that defined teenage dreams and aspirations. Heavily referencing the era of automobile culture, the Tempo had curved glass screens and a pseudo Cadillac 'V' grille on the front.
Rock-Ola's success could perhaps be attributed to the drive of David Rockola himself, galvanized by the pressure put upon him by rival companies in a highly competitive industry. As a late entrant into the world of jukebox production, Rock-Ola came across a great deal of hostility, especially from Seeburg and Wurlitzer. These two companies eventually decided to approach him together and during a meeting with Seeburg's Homer Capehart and Farny Wurlitzer, Rockola was told that the jukebox market was saturated, and there was no room for his company. Instead, it was politely pointed out that Rockola could continue to be successful in the coin-op games market.
As you can imagine, this 'discussion' turned into a full-blown argument, until finally, a furious Rockola cried: "Gentlemen, you asked to see me. Now you are telling me how to run my company. We have nothing further to say to each other!" Whereby he promptly showed them the door. Now Rockola wanted to succeed in the jukebox industry more than ever, and it was a combination of technological know-how and up-to-date design that made the Rock-Ola company a success. Even through the relatively hard times of the seventies (a time turning its back on materialism) Rock-Ola weathered the storm.
