AIR DATE: November 2018

Hey everybody, it’s Eric Church back for the forty-fifth episode of “Outsiders Radio.” We've been spotlighting songs from my new album Desperate Man.  This time, we’re going to feature “Jukebox & A Bar.” Those two things go together in my mind.  If you know me, you know I’m an old school kind of guy.  When you’ve got a problem, when you’re hurtin,’ there’s nothing like a jukebox and a bar.  It’s all about music & alcohol.  That’s where this song came from.

So there you go…that’s MY take on a jukebox song.  I’m not the first to tackle that subject.  Merle Haggard, Ernest Tubb, Gene Watson, and many other legends sang about the almighty jukebox.  The ultimate in old school!  A mechanical device that plays vinyl records.  So in this episode of Outsiders Radio, we’re gonna spend some time with the jukebox.  THIS song was originally recorded by Keith Whitley, but was a big ole hit for Mark Chesnutt.

Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about.  “Since she left me by myself, you’re the only family I got left.” A Jukebox & A Bar.  That’s our topic on Outsiders Radio.  On to our next jukebox song.  How many of you have had this happen?  You have your go-to spot, a place you’ve been going to for years.   One day you go there, and everything’s changed!  That’s happening a lot here in Nashville.  The minute you need some consolation, your favorite place has become a “fern bar,” where plants and a DJ have replaced the deer head and the jukebox.  Here’s Doug Stone.

He’s preachin’ to the choir.  We all know what we need when we need some consolation: A Jukebox & A Bar.  We did a little research, and learned that the history of the jukebox goes back over 100 years!  The first coin-operated phonograph came out in 1890.  But it only played one song at a time.  In 1918, an inventor came up with a device that automatically changed records.  The main thing was you drop a coin in the slot, and it plays your favorite song.  One of my favorite jukebox songs was done by Alabama, and here’s lead singer Randy Owen to tell you about it.

Randy Owen: A lot of people ask about the sound effects of Jukebox In My Mind, but it really is something the engineers got together and did. It’s actually really a record player jukebox.  I still like a lot of the old fashioned stuff, I guess I always will, and I love the jukeboxes.

That’s Alabama with a song about an IMAGINARY jukebox.  I’m Eric Church with songs about “A Jukebox & A Bar” on Outsiders Radio.  The word “jukebox” was first used in the south back in the 1940s.  Back then, they had “juke joints,” which were places that specialized in drinkin’ and dancing.’  The jukebox made it possible to provide music for dancing without hiring live musicians, so they became pretty popular all over the country. Here’s a Texas two-step about a jukebox from the legendary Buck Owens.

Now THAT’S country!  You can’t get more country than Buck Owens.  Unless you play a song from ANOTHER Bakersfield legend: Merle Haggard.   Back in 1966, Merle wrote a heartbreak song about a guy who has a new place he calls home.

Merle Haggard, whose new home features “swingin’ doors, a jukebox, and a barstool.” What more do you need besides “A Jukebox & A Bar?”  So many great country songs have started with that idea.  Here’s Alan Jackson with Don’t Rock The Jukebox.

Another great classic song about a jukebox.  Earlier, we said that the jukebox got its name from the juke joints in the south back in the 1940s.  In OTHER parts of the country, they called those places “honky tonks.”  Of course, inside those honky tonks, you STILL had jukeboxes.  If you spend your time hangin’ out in those places, they call you a Honky Tonk Man…here’s Dwight Yoakam.

That was the debut song from Dwight Yoakam, originally done by Johnny Horton in the 50s.  The line goes, “Love to give the girls a whirl to the music of an old jukebox.”  Of course the amount of money you spend for a song could vary from place to place, or time to time.  Back in the 60s, it cost ten cents to hear a song on a jukebox.  You might get three songs for a quarter.  That was a pretty good deal at a time when it cost a dollar to buy a single record.  But most people going to a bar weren’t there for just a song or two.  They were probably going to stay there all night.  That’s the idea behind THIS song by Eddie Rabbitt.

Let’s see…$2 back in 1976 probably got you about 24 songs, good for many an hour and a half in the bar.  Add that to the $5 bottle of whiskey, and the money goes pretty quickly.  You might notice that most of the songs we’re playing are from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  There haven’t been a lot of recent songs about a jukebox & a bar (besides MY song, of course).  We DID find this one from the band Son Volt.  It may be recent, but it deals with a lot of the same issues of heartbreak, alcohol, and music.

That’s a Jukebox of Steel from Son Volt.  If you’re a heartbroke hillbilly, you’re probably gonna NEED a steel jukebox.  Because when the sad songs come on, you might want to make them stop.  That’s the subject of this song from Mark Chesnutt.

In case you’re keeping track, that’s the SECOND jukebox song from Mark Chesnutt.  He obviously knows a lot about “A Jukebox & A Bar.”  That’s what we’re featuring in this edition of Outsiders Radio.  As you can hear, the jukebox has been a popular subject in country music.  There are a few songs we didn’t play that suggest using a jukebox as a tombstone.  In fact, the legendary 50s radio DJ, Alan Freed, is actually buried beneath a stone that’s shaped like an old jukebox.  But since we’re on the subject, here’s another great jukebox song from Joe Diffie.

I guess that’s an appropriate way to end our salute to “A Jukebox & A Bar,” a song that’s on my latest album Desperate Man.  I’m Eric Church, and as we wrap things up, I’ve got a benefit show coming up on December 8^th in Ashville, North Carolina.  It’s the 30th annual Christmas Jam put on the great guitar player Warren Haynes from the Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule.  Speaking of benefits, I did one a few weeks ago in New York City.  It was the annual Stand Up For Heroes event, and I got to sing with one of my heroes: Bruce Springsteen.  It was a moment I’ll never forget.  Here’s the song we did together.  See you next time on Outsiders Radio.