Wurlitzer jukebox owned by Bo Diddley: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A Wurlitzer 3700 Americana jukebox. The jukebox features a glass top with lists of available songs with corresponding artists. There is a coin slot at the top right corner and white rectangular buttons run horizontally near the top of jukebox's front. White buttons on the left side have black type and feature letters A-V. The white buttons on the right side have black type and feature numbers 1-9 and 0. A white button is found between the two sets reading, [RESET]. Gold letters appearing below the glass top on jukebox's front read, [Americana]. Label on back of jukebox features black type with top third portion reading, [WURLITZER®/MULTI - SELECTOR PHONOGRAPH/REG. U.S. PAT. OFFICE/MANUFACTURED BY/THE WURLITZER COMPANY/NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. U.S.A.]. Bottom of label reads, [SERIAL/NO./801744]. A set of keys and a yellow tag are taped to the jukebox's black power cord.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1973
• Manufactured by: Wurlitzer, American, founded 1853
• Owned by: Bo Diddley, American, 1928 - 2008
• Type: jukeboxes
• Medium: plastic, metal and glass
• Dimensions: 51 × 41 × 27 1/2 in. (129.5 × 104.1 × 69.9 cm)
• Dimensions: Cord Length: 88 1/2 in. (224.8 cm)
• Place made: North Tonawanda, Niagara County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Topic: Rock and roll (Music)
• Object number: 2013.177.6
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.