Wurlitzer
1184950
221356717
2008-06-24T04:31:12Z
VerruckteDan
824876
update link
The '''Rudolph Wurlitzer Company''', usually referred to simply as '''Wurlitzer''', is an American company, formerly a producer of stringed instruments, woodwind, brass instruments, [[theatre organ]]s, [[fairground organ|band organs]], [[orchestrion]]s, [[electronic organ]]s, [[Wurlitzer electric piano|electric pianos]] and [[jukebox]]es.
Over time Wurlitzer changed to producing only organs and jukeboxes, but it no longer produces either. The factory, in the same complex as that of the [[Eugene DeKleist]] company (another maker of band organs and orchestrions, acquired by Wurlitzer), is in [[North Tonawanda]], [[New York]], USA. The building is now home to a wide array of tenants ranging from an indoor [[batting cage]] to private apartments to various light industrial and commercial businesses. The building's current owner is in the midst of a vast restoration project and has recently replaced the original Wurlitzer sign with a new one.
Deutsche Wurlitzer, owner of the Wurlitzer Jukebox and Vending Electronics trademark, was acquired by the [[Gibson Guitar Corporation]].
[[Image:Pipeorgan Wurlitzer label.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|A Wurlitzer label on a pipe organ.]]
[[Image:Dscn2823-Wurlitzer-3500-Zodiac-On.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Wurlitzer 3500 Juke-box (1971)]]
== Jukeboxes ==
The Wurlitzer was the iconic jukebox of the Rock 'n' Roll era, to the extent that Wurlitzer came in some places to be a generic name for any jukebox. The Wurlitzer is often used to invoke the period in films and television.
Replica jukeboxes bearing the Wurlitzer name are still available. The more recent models are able to play CDs, as well as brand new special edition units also with iPod connectivity. These full and smaller sized replica jukeboxes, now owned by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, are available to view at: http://www.deutsche-wurlitzerusa.com/ (click on the ear){{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
== Band organs ==
[[Fairground organ|Band organ]] models once produced by Wurlitzer include:
* #103 ([[Flying Horses Carousel]], [[Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts]], USA),
* #104,
* #105 (Museum Carousel, Museum of Carousel Art and History, [[Sandusky, Ohio]], USA),
* #125 (1901 Parker Carousel, Heritage Center of Dickinson County, [[Abilene, Kansas]], USA),
* #145B (Lakeside Carousel, International Market World, [[Auburndale, Florida]], USA),
* #146A (Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Carousel, [[Casino Pier]], [[Seaside Heights, New Jersey]], USA),
* #146B (1912 Parker Carousel, Burnaby Village Museum, [[Burnaby, British Columbia]], Canada),
* #148,
* #150 (1906 Bartholomew Murphy Carousel, [[City Park (New Orleans)|City Park]], [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], USA),
* #153 (1898 Carousel, [[Canobie Lake Park]], [[Salem, New Hampshire]], USA),
* #155 "Monster" ([[Elitch Gardens Carousel]], Kit Carson County Fairgrounds, [[Burlington, Colorado]], USA),
* #157 (1928 Spillman Carousel, [[Public Museum of Grand Rapids]], [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], USA),
* #160 "Mammoth" (modified in 1915 to a Wurlitzer Style 165, [[Joyland Amusement Park (Wichita)|Joyland Amusement Park]], [[Wichita, Kansas]], USA),
* #165 (1921 Dentzel Carousel, [[Glen Echo Park, Maryland|Glen Echo Park]], [[Glen Echo, Maryland]], USA), and
* #180 (Jasper Sanfilippo collection, Victorian Palace, [[Barrington Hills, Illinois]], USA).
Some orchestrions made by the company can be found at Clark's Trading Post, [[Lincoln, New Hampshire]], USA, the Music Hall, Nevada City, Montana, USA, and the Jasper Sanfilippo collection at Victorian Palace, Barrington Hills, Illinois, USA. The company's patents, trademarks and assets were acquired by the [[Baldwin Piano Company]] with their purchase of the keyboard division of Wurlitzer in 1988.
Chaminade High School, in Mineola, New York, is currently the only high school in the USA to have one in their school. It was bought from an adult movie theater.
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
== Theatre organs ==
Perhaps the most famous instruments Wurlitzer built were its [[pipe organ]]s (from 1914 until around 1940), which were installed in theaters, homes, churches, and other public places. "'''The Mighty Wurlitzer'''" [[theatre organ]] was designed, originally by [[Robert Hope-Jones]], as a "one man orchestra" to accompany silent movies. In all, Wurlitzer built over 2,200 pipe organs (and indeed more theatre organs than the rest of the theatre organ manufacturers combined); the largest one originally built was the 4 keyboard / 58 rank (set of pipes) instrument at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in New York City. The Music Hall instrument is actually a concert instrument, capable of playing classical as well as non-classical repertoire. It was the only Wurlitzer installation still in use that has dual identical, but independent [[organ console|console]]s.
Other large Wurlitzer organs still in their ''original'' locations include the [[Chicago Theater]] in Chicago Illinois (the oldest); [[Byrd Theater]] in Richmond, Virginia; [[Fox Theatre (St. Louis)|Fox Theatre]] in Saint Louis, Missouri; [[Fox Theatre (Detroit)|Fox Theatre]] in Detroit, Michigan; [[Shea's Performing Arts Center|Shea's Theater]] in Buffalo, New York; [[Bardavon 1869 Opera House]] in Poughkeepsie, New York, [[Riviera Theatre (North Tonawanda)|Riviera Theatre]] in North Tonawanda, New York; the [[Tennessee Theatre]] in Knoxville, Tennessee; the [[Alabama Theatre]] in Birmingham, Alabama; [[Coleman Theatre]] in Miami, Oklahoma; the Denver Paramount Theatre in Denver, Colorado; the [[Paramount Theater in Cedar Rapids, IA]], the [[Egyptian Theatre (Coos Bay, Oregon)|Egyptian Theatre]] in [[Coos Bay, Oregon]] and the [[Paramount Theatre (Seattle, Washington)|Paramount Theater]] in Seattle, Washington, [[The Plaza Theatre]], El Paso Texas, the [[Rose Theater (originally Riviera)]]and the [[Orpheum Theater (Omaha)|Orpheum Theater]] in [[Downtown Omaha]], Nebraska. Smaller instruments in the UK exist in their original installations, such as the Gaumont State Cinema, Kilburn and the [[Blackpool Tower]] Ballroom in the UK. These instruments are still being played several times a week.
Much larger, and more versatile, theatre organs have been built in the last 20 years by well-heeled private enthusiasts, the largest being the magnificent 5/80 organ at the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington, IL. Other examples include the San Sylmar, CA Nethercutt Collection 4/77, the [[Organ Stop Pizza]], Mesa, AZ 4/78, and the [[John Dickinson High School]] Wilmington, DE 3/66 mostly W.W. Kimball. These were built by a combination of older organs, and new pipework to achieve results.
New digital recreations of these instruments have also reached technological peaks in the last few years. Companies such as [[Walker Theatre Organs]], [[Allen Organ Company]] and [[Rodgers Instruments]] have utilized high-level, digital sampling of original pipe organ sounds to incorporate into their electronic instruments, resulting in very close duplications of these original musical wonders.
In the 1950s, the [[American Association of Theater Organ Enthusiats]] ([[AATOE]]) was formed to save and preserve theater organs that still remained. (There were other builders as well, including The John Compton Organ Co. LTD, Hill Norman and Beard, [[W.W. Kimball Company]], [[M.P. Moller]], Inc., [[Robert Morton Organ Company]], [[George Kilgen and Sons]], [[Marr and Colton]] Organ Company, the [[Barton Organ Company|Bartola]] Musical Instrument Company ([[Barton Organ Company]]), and the [[Wicks Organ Company]].) The AATOE is now know as the [[American Theater Organ Society (ATOS)]].<ref>[http://www.atos.org ATOS - American Theatre Organ Society<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and there is smaller but comparable society in the UK, the Cinema Organ Society.<ref>[http://www.cinema-organs.org.uk/ The Cinema Organ Society]</ref>
=== Wurlitzers in Britain ===
[[Image:Wurlitzer light.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Trocadero Wurlitzer, Elephant and Castle, London (detail)]]
There were a number of Wurlitzers in Britain in the period before the [[Second World War]] (1939-45). The first was a very small, six rank instrument installed at the Picture House, Walsall in the West Midlands. Before being exported to UK the organ had already seen some service in another cinema in Cleveland, Ohio USA. This organ is now located in the Congregational Church in [[Beer, Devon]] [http://www.beer-congregational-church.org.uk], a small fishing village on the south coast. The percussion and "toy counter" division was removed and lost when the organ was installed in this church, since it was not considered necessary for church purposes. Before the instrument was bought by the church it had been in a private residence in Sedgely, [[Staffordshire]], after its removal from the cinema.
Many Wurlitzers were in the larger cinemas and broadcasts were made by the [[BBC]] on a regular basis. The more famous of these organs were at the Empire Cinema in [[London]], The Tower Ballroom [[Blackpool]] and at the Granada cinema in [[Tooting]] - which is currently undergoing a lengthy restoration.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.lenrawle.co.uk/x/index.php?page=tooting| title=The Tooting Project}}</ref> It was recently played in public for the first time in 33 years. British organist [[Reginald Dixon]] was well known for his performances and broadcasts on the Blackpool organ.
The Trocadero [[Elephant and Castle]] Wurlitzer, was the largest organ ever to be shipped to the UK,<ref>[http://www.cinema-organs.org.uk/main%20pages/tech/choice.htm The Cinema Organ Society]</ref> installed in 1930 in time for the grand opening of the 3,400-seater Cinema. Organist Quintin Maclean is always associated with the instrument. This was closely followed in size by the Paramount/ODEONS at Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. The [[Cinema Organ Society]]<ref>[http://www.cinema-organs.org.uk The Cinema Organ Society]</ref> has an extensive list of British cinema organs.<ref>[http://www.cinema-organs.org.uk/main%20pages/List%204%20web.htm The Cinema Organ Society]</ref>
The Blackpool Opera House organ was the last new Wurlitzer to be installed in the UK in 1939 and was designed by [[Horace Finch]]. The Granada, Kingston also received a Wurlitzer in or around 1939, but most of this came from an earlier installation in Edinburgh. This was the last Wurlitzer installation to be opened and [[Reginald Dixon]] was at the console.
The Worthing Assembly hall houses the biggest Wurlitzer organ console in Europe, this console was installed in 1981 after being brought from Blackpool.
This organ was originally built in the late 1890s and was re-conditioned and brought back up to service in the 1960s, it was then bought by the national organ trust in the 1980s and installed in Worthing in 1981, the organ has been slowly upgraded to an electric air pump system, programmable pre-sets and a full pipe system.
Many of these organs have survived and are installed in private homes, Town Halls, Concert Halls and Ballrooms all over the country. The largest fully functioning Wurlitzer in Britain today is the four-manual organ in the Gaumont State Cinema in [[Kilburn]], London (now a bingo hall).<ref name="gaumont">{{cite web
|url = http://www.brent-heritage.co.uk/gaumont.htm
|title = The Gaumont State Cinema
|accessdate = 2007-11-10
|author = Juliette Soester, Willesden Local History Society
|date = September 2000
|work = Brent Heritage
}}</ref>.
== Electric pianos ==
{{main|Wurlitzer electric piano}}
From 1955 to 1982 the company also produced the highly regarded Wurlitzer electric piano series, an electrically amplified piano variant.
== Electric guitars ==
The Wurlitzer brand was applied to several lines of electric guitars during the 1960s. The first family of solid body electric guitars and basses were manufactured by the Holman Company of Neodosha, KS, from late 1965 until 1967. Models included the Cougar, Wildcat and Gemini, all of which had different body shapes. The majority of the Kansas made instruments were guitars, with only a handful of basses being manufactured.
The second family of guitars debuted in 1967, and were manufactured in Italy by the Welson company, and were semi-hollow in construction.
== Wurlitzers in popular culture ==
* A Wurlitzer jukebox is prominently featured in the 2005 movie ''[[V for Vendetta (film)|V for Vendetta]]'' in V's hideout.
* Singer-songwriter [[Tori Amos]] used Wurlitzer electric pianos on her albums "Strange Little Girls" and "Scarlet's Walk" and toured with them during her "Strange Little Tour" in 2001 and "On Scarlet's Walk" tour in 2002 and 2003.
* The [[Waylon Jennings]] song ''The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)'' is about an endless stream of coins being fed into the jukebox to play sad songs for the coin dropper's lost love.
* In [[John Betjeman]]'s documentary ''[[Metro-land (TV)|Metro-land]]'' (1973), Len Rawle performs on a Wurlitzer organ from the Empire cinema in [[Leicester Square]], which he had installed in his house in [[Chorleywood]].
*Wurlitzers are used in several songs on the 'As I Am' album released November 2007 by Alicia Keys.
* A Wurlitzer Jukebox is featured in the 1986 Tom Cruise Movie, "Top Gun".
* "Wurlitzer Jukebox" is a song on the album '[[Colossal Youth]]' by [[Young Marble Giants]].
* "The One With the Wurlitzer" is a song on the 1999 self-titled album by [[American Football]].
* In the television series [[Cheers]], a Wurlitzer 1015 is prominently displayed in the back of the bar behind the area where Sam and Woody work.
*Panic At The Disco used a wurlizter piano in "Mad As Rabbits" (2008)
*The [[Josh Ritter]] song "Kathleen" references the Wurlitzer.
*[[Tori Amos]], the popular american singer/songwriter and musician, plays a [[Wurlitzer]] in several of her albums, and has used them during her live tours.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.gibson.com/products/wurlitzer/ Wurlitzer Jukeboxes]
*[http://www.jukebox-world.de/index_en.html Jukebox-World] Jukebox-Archive, forum, serial number database, spare parts and more from Wurlitzer to NSM, from Seeburg to Tonomat and other manufacturers
*[http://www.jukebox-revival.eu/index1.html Wurlitzer and other jukeboxes and parts]
*[http://www.pinballrebel.com/archive/wurlitzer/wfeat.htm Pinballrebel.com] Wurlitzer jukebox information, videos, and museum with photos and descriptions.
*[http://www.theblackpooltower.co.uk/ballroom.htm Blackpool Tower Ballroom and organ]
*[http://www.uscellularcenter.com/theatre_info/index.asp The Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, IA]
*[http://www.rosetheater.org/about-ourbuilding.asp The Rose Theater (originally named Riviera), Omaha, NE]
*[http://www.omahaperformingarts.org/or_history.asp The Orpheum Theater, Omaha, NE]
*Deutsche-Wurlitzer USA [http://www.deutsche-wurlitzerusa.com/ Official Website]
*[http://www.atos.org American Theatre Organ Society]
*[http://www.gstos.org Garden State Theatre Organ Society]
*[http://www.cinema-organs.org.uk Cinema Organ Society]
*[http://www.geocities.com/Dtoskimball/ Dickinson Theatre Organ Society]
*[http://www.gameroomshow.com/jukebox.php Gameroom Show] Gameroom juke-box related website
*[http://my.stratos.net/~riderz/wurlitzer.html Wurlitzer Electric Piano Archives]
*[http://www.lenrawle.co.uk/ Len Rawle's homepage], noted British organist and renovator of Wurlitzers
*[http://www.wurlitzerguitars.com/ Wurlitzer Guitar history]
*[http://www.jukebox-france.com Wurlitzer jukebox France] Jukebox France Wurlitzer
*[http://www.theatreorgans.com/AU/opus/ WurliTzer Opus List]
[[Category:Electronic organ manufacturing companies]]
[[Category:Pipe organ builders]]
[[Category:Electric and electronic keyboard instruments]]
[[Category:Jukebox manufacturers]]
[[it:Wurlitzer]]