Company History Believe it or not, the name Rock-Ola is actually derived from the name of the company's founder. It also happens to be a real cool name for a jukebox, implying a "rock 'n' roll' play on words.
David C. Rockola was born in Canada and as a young boy worked as a mechanic in a shop that repaired coin-operated devices. By 1926 he had his own company manufacturing coin-operated scales.
In the 1930s Rockola moved into pinball games and many other devices. As the demand for coin-operated phonographs increased the temptation to enter the jukebox arena, Rockola purchased a mechanism from a man named Smythe. Rockola reengineered this 12-select mechanism and started making jukeboxes in a big way (1935 Rock-Ola).
Farny Wurlitzer viewed this a huge threat to his business based on Rockola's success in other machines. Wurlitzer tried to convince David Rockola that there was no room in the industry for another manufacturer.
Wurlitzer then filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming patent infringement on the Smythe mechanism. Rockola eventually won the suit but not until he had spent half a million dollars in legal fees
. This hurt Rockola but didn't kill him. He continued manufacturing and in 1939 introduced a series of very successful jukeboxes called "Luxury Light-Up".
David C. Rockola (with glasses) with his attorney Louis Piquette