On This Day in 1989, Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley Shared a Milestone 100 Years in the Making

On this day (August 11) in 1989, the Amusement & Music Operators Association released its list of the most-played jukebox singles to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the jukebox concept. Elvis Presley took the No. 1 slot with “Hound Dog.” Patsy Cline came in a close second with “Crazy” before taking the top spot in a revised list a decade later.

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Jukeboxes have been present in diners, bars, and other places where people gather for more than a century. According to Victrola, Louis Glass patented the first iteration of the concept in 1989. His coin-operated phonograph machine was cumbersome and delivered a small selection of music and poor sound quality. However, it planted the seed for the modern TouchTunes machines of today.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1966, Patsy Cline Released the Final Studio Album of Her All-Too-Short Career]

The concept of coin-operated record players continued to evolve over the next half-century. The first iterations of the modern jukebox appeared in the 1940s and became incredibly popular over the next twenty years. The 1950s saw Billboard create a chart to track the popularity of singles played in jukeboxes across the United States. Later, the publication would fold those numbers into its all-genre Hot 100 chart.

Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline Made Music History with Legendary Hits

Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline released iconic singles at the right moment in history to find themselves atop the list produced by the Amusement and Music Operators Association in 1989. Jukeboxes were at the peak of their popularity in the 1950s and 1960s.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller co-wrote “Hound Dog,” and Presley released it in the summer of 1956. The song was a massive hit, topping the Hot 100 as well as the country and R&B charts in the United States. It was also a hit across the pond, peaking at No. 2 on the official UK Singles Chart.

Cline released her rendition of the Willie Nelson-penned hit “Crazy” in 1961. It went to No. 2 on the country chart and No. 10 on the Hot 100. Later, the song became a country standard. When the AMOA released its initial chart in 1989, “Crazy” was the No. 2 song. When the association released its revised chart a decade later, Cline’s hit topped the list.

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