October 21, 2008

No Natives in jukeboxes?

Someone apparently named Mathew Bailety posted the following comment on an unrelated blog entry. Since it didn't belong there, I decided to repost it here. It's not the most important issue, but Newspaper Rock covers the world of Native America in the popular culture from large to small.Why aren't there any Native American and related music on 7-inch 45 rpm records? Vinyl records aren't yet obsolete thanks to DJs & other artists & the world of turntablism. I do want a campaign to get Native American & related music on 45s because ... the 45 rpm format has never sadly had a fair share of the music. There are 45 rpm jukeboxes still in use but I never heard or played any Native American or related music on them even though Seeburg introduced in the 1950s literally the world's first 100-selection & first 45 rpm jukebox.Comment:  I presume there aren't many Native records in jukeboxes because there aren't many Native records. But there are probably a lot of bars in and around Indian Country that would play Native music if it were available on 45s. Here's a business opportunity for an enterprising entrepreneur. Go for it!

3 comments:

dmarks said...

What next? A campaign to get more 8-track tapes too?

Rob said...

Good point. Rather than develop Native 45s, we should develop jukeboxes that use CDs or digital files. Which I suspect people have done or are doing already. Such jukeboxes could use all the Native music available in digital formats.

dmarks said...

Brought back a memory of listening to Paul Revere and the Raiders "Indian Reservation" on a jukebox in a fish restaurant in 1971 or so.