What is the most played song on American jukeboxes?
Some objects and symbols are just inherently American – eagles, stars, stripes, and in the musical world, the humble jukebox.
In many ways, the jukebox has become more of an icon of a specific era as they become increasingly less common out in the wild these days. But even still, there’s no denying that the memories and history they hold are priceless, and in that sense, they are not just a relic of the past but worth their weight in gold.
Think of the thousands of nights they have spent, from bustling bars in the metropolis to old watering holes in the outback across all 50 states: each one has a story to tell, with a unique musical journey being carved out in every single song they have ever played. From raucous dances to mournful moments, the jukebox has truly seen it all.
Indeed, you could argue that in some cases, the jukebox has stood as the longest-serving custodian of any of these establishments, and for that, it deserves all the recognition for its many hours of work over the years. But to this end, there inevitably has to be one song that beats out all the rest as America’s favourite jukebox classic.
For this, you might imagine it would be some kind of rock and roll standard, such as Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ or something similar. Though while this does come close to the top, it’s actually a far more morose and suave number that takes the pole position, as you picture all the romantic couples cosying up to Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy’.
What made Patsy Cline so popular on the American jukebox?
While the song admittedly doesn’t scream wild night out, it’s easy to see why a track like ‘Crazy’ would become such a central pillar of jukebox rotations. However, it was almost a missed opportunity, as Willie Nelson, who originally wrote it, was planning to shelve the demo, despite offers from artists, because he didn’t feel it was strong enough.
When Cline came into the fray to take over the country standard, though, everything changed. She had to take some convincing, with her having said that she didn’t want to sing Nelson’s songs and her song plugger, Hank Cochran, physically driving the writer to her house to try and persuade her.
Eventually, and thankfully, she did say yes, with the song reaching number two on the country charts and number nine on the main charts. It also became Cline’s best-selling single, notwithstanding her jukebox plaudit. Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly how many times the song has been played in this medium, but the statistics that have stood since 1996 don’t lie.
For that, despite her life and career coming to an all too tragic and sudden end not two years later, Cline’s voice and legacy will always live on. Every bar in every town and city knows her name, because the likelihood is that their jukebox has spun the sultry tones of ‘Crazy’ more than a few thousand times.
